Westminster School: Encyclopedia II - Westminster School - Location

Westminster School - Location

The School is located primarily in the former grounds of the long-defunct monastery at Westminster Abbey, its main buildings surrounding its private square Little Dean's Yard (known as 'Yard'), off Dean's Yard, where Church House, the headquarters of the Anglican Church, is sited, along with some of the Houses, the Common Room, the new humanities building Weston's, and College Hall.

The humanities are also taught in Sutcliff's (named after the sweet shop that used to occupy the ground floor of the building in the 19th century) on the neighbouring Great College Street, and the Robert Hooke Science Centre is just off Smith Square. As part of a recent expansion programme funded by a legacy from A A Milne, the school has added the nearby Millicent Fawcett Hall for dramatic performances and the Manoukian Centre for music.

College Garden, to the East of Little Dean's Yard, is believed to be the oldest garden in England, under continuous cultivation for at least the last thousand years. Just beyond rises the Victoria Tower of the Houses of Parliament; the Queen's Scholars have special rights of access to the House of Commons. To the North, the Dark Cloister leads straight to the Abbey, which serves as the School Chapel.

The playing fields are half a mile away at Vincent Square, which Dean Vincent created for the School by hiring a horse and plough to carve ten acres out of the open Tothill Fields. The boathouse is now at Putney, although the school's First Eight still annually returns to exercise its traditional right to land at Black Rod Steps of the Palace of Westminster.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Location", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki