Westminster Abbey visitors to use royal entrance for first time

The King Charles III Sacristy will allow visitors to use the royal entrance to the coronation church

Credit: Ben Birchall/Getty

The Queen has become patron of a new building to be named after the King at Westminster Abbey.

The King Charles III Sacristy is a £13 million entrance lobby that will allow visitors to follow in the footsteps of monarchs and royal brides by entering the historic church via the Great West Door.

The Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle,Dean of Westminster,said the changes would allow members of the public to experience “the full drama of this shrine and house of memory”.

Fundraising for the multimillion-pound project is already under way,with the construction phase set to start at the end of 2024 and finish in 2026.

The Queen has given her backing to the initiative by becoming its patron months after she was crowned in the Abbey in May 2023,alongside the King.

The monarch has seen the plans for the single-storey,state-of-the-art,L-shaped building,which will complement the Abbey’s historic style.

The design is likely to have pleased the King,who has been outspoken about architecture in the past,and critical of modern additions clashing with traditional approaches.

Speaking in 1984 about the proposed National Gallery extension,he famously stated: “What is proposed is like a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend.”

The new lobby will be built adjoining the nave on the footprint of Henry III’s medieval Great Sacristy.

Dr Hoyle said: “This splendid building,which is both new and old,will transform the welcome our visitors receive and,more importantly,change the way they see Westminster Abbey.

“The full drama of this shrine and house of memory is best appreciated by approaching it from the Great West Doors.

“The transepts and aisles will emerge calmer and more graceful as we move chairs and ticketing booths out of the abbey.

“It is a building fit for a King and for an abbey whose faith and ministry is both old and new.”

Westminster Abbey has served as the coronation church for nearly 1,000 years and is the final resting place of 17 monarchs. It is the venue for many royal weddings and funerals,including those of Elizabeth II.

The grand entrance was used by the King and his wife as they arrived for their own Coronation and also by the then Catherine Middleton when she entered the Abbey on the arm of her father to marry Prince William in April 2011.

It is hoped that the more “prestigious” entrance will improve the visitor experience,offering an immediate view of the Nave on arrival. Currently,visitors enter via the Great North Door,which insiders admit can feel like a side entrance.