I took this picture 📷 of Westminster Abbey on Monday evening. I like it.

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10 facts about Westminster Abbey

I have checked several sources on the internet and I have selected the following 10 facts about Westminster Abbey:

1. Westminster Abbey was formed by Benedictine monks during “the middle of the tenth century, establishing a tradition of daily worship which continues to this day.” Specifically, the first Westminster Abbey was established in 960.
   Source: https://www.guidelondon.org.uk/blog/major-london-sites/11-facts-about-westminster-abbey.

2. Westminster Abbey is built close to where a vision of St Peter is said to have been seen on the Thames by a salmon fisherman named Edric.
   Source: https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/top10facts/629670/Top-10-facts-Westminster-Abbey.

3. Abundance of tombs
   The royal tombs and Poets’ Corner are well known, but did you know that there are 450 tombs and monuments in Westminster Abbey? For several hundred years anyone who could afford the fees could be buried in the Abbey, and then came the gradual change to public figures. The tombs of the not-so-famous can be just as fascinating as those of the celebrated. Look for the skeleton emerging from Lady Nightingale’s tomb – it’s a grisly vision of death.
   Source: https://www.britain-magazine.com/features/region/england/london/10-facts-about-westminster-abbey.

4. The Abbey's network of groovy cloisters houses the oldest door in the realm. Made of solid oak from Hainault (yes, really), the Abbey Oak door (once thought to be covered in human skin) is said to date all the way back to 1050. Not only is the thing old, it’s the only surviving Anglo-Saxon door in England.
   Source: https://www.timeout.com/london/blog/13-awesome-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-westminster-abbey-031717

5. The Martin Luther King statue
   Though it might seem incongruous with a medieval cathedral, there's a statue of Martin Luther King above the west gate of the abbey. It's one of 10, including St Elizabeth of Russia and Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador. Added in 1998, these statues' niches were empty since the middle ages. The abbey chose martyrs from every continent, who fought repression.
   Source: https://londonist.com/london/secret/7-secrets-of-westminster-abbey.

6. The architecture within Westminster Abbey is beyond spectacular, and one of the most magnificent areas is the Henry VII Chapel commonly referred to as the Lady chapel. The pendant fan vault ceiling is beyond beautiful and definitely must be seen in person.
   Source: https://www.guidelondon.org.uk/blog/major-london-sites/11-facts-about-westminster-abbey.

7. Bearded woman
   St Wilgeforte was a favourite of women who wanted to be rid of abusive husbands. The saint was said to have grown a beard after praying to be made repulsive to escape a forced marriage. Her statue is of one of the many sculptures of saints and angels in the Lady Chapel of Henry VII.
   Source: https://www.britain-magazine.com/features/region/england/london/10-facts-about-westminster-abbey/

8. It is not an Abbey. Officially it is a Royal Peculiar, a church responsible directly to the sovereign.
   Source: https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/top10facts/629670/Top-10-facts-Westminster-Abbey.

9. During WWII, almost 60,000 sandbags were used to protect all the immovable royal and medieval tombs housed in the Henry VII Lady Chapel.
   Source: https://www.timeout.com/london/blog/13-awesome-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-westminster-abbey-031717.

10. The beautiful organ at Westminster Abbey was made by Harrison and Harrison and “installed for the Coronation of King George VI in 1937. With four manuals and 84 speaking stops, it incorporated some of the pipework from the previous five-manual instrument, built by William Hill in 1848.”
    Source: https://www.guidelondon.org.uk/blog/major-london-sites/11-facts-about-westminster-abbey.