Westminster Cathedral

Published 21 September 2026 · By the Guide to London editorial team · Editor: Terje Moy

Westminster Cathedral is the big striped brick building on Victoria Street, and it is not Westminster Abbey. It is the Roman Catholic cathedral of England and Wales, it is free to enter, it is open every day, and a lift runs up its bell tower to a viewing gallery 210 feet above the street for £10. That is the cheapest high view in central London by a wide margin.

The confusion with the Abbey is constant and understandable, because the two are eight minutes' walk apart and both are called Westminster something. They could hardly be less alike. The Abbey is Gothic, Anglican, royal and charges to get in. The Cathedral is Byzantine, Catholic, barely a hundred and twenty years old, and costs nothing.

Most visitors never find it, which is odd, because it is two minutes from Victoria station and thousands of people walk past the end of its piazza every hour. Go in. It is one of the strangest and most impressive interiors in London.

Why it looks like nothing else in London

Cardinal Herbert Vaughan promised a cathedral within ten years of his appointment and had to build it cheaply. He wanted a wide, uninterrupted nave focused on the high altar, a structure that could be finished first with the decoration left for later, and, above all, a building that would not compete with the Gothic of the Abbey next door.

The architect John Francis Bentley gave him an early Christian basilica in the Byzantine manner, built of brick because brick was cheap and everywhere in Victorian Britain. Work began in 1895 and the structure was complete in 1903. Church law does not allow a cathedral to be consecrated while debt remains on it, so the consecration had to wait until the last £7,000 was raised, which happened on the evening of 30 April 1910. The ceremonies followed that June.

The effect from outside is a red and white striped tower over a low, domed mass of brickwork, closer to Ravenna or Istanbul than to anything else in the city. Bentley's name appears nowhere inside. Like Wren at St Paul's, the building is his monument.

What to look for inside

Walk in from the piazza and the first thing you notice is the darkness. Bentley meant the lower walls to be lined with marble and the upper walls and vaults to be covered in mosaic. The marble happened. The mosaic, more than a century later, has only reached parts of the chapels, so the great vaults above you are still bare brick, black with a hundred years of candle smoke and soot.

Many visitors find this the best thing about the place. You are looking at an unfinished building, and the contrast between the dark roof and the glittering chapels tells you exactly what the whole interior was meant to be.

• The marble. Over 100 varieties, sourced from 24 countries, which is more than any other building in England. The six yellow columns holding up the canopy over the high altar came from Verona, and their green pedestals from Thessaly in Greece, the same stone used in Hagia Sophia.
• Eric Gill's Stations of the Cross. Fourteen low-relief panels carved into the nave piers in Hopton Wood limestone, commissioned in 1913 and dedicated on Good Friday 1918. They are deliberately plain, and the Cathedral's own advice is to see them in early morning or late afternoon, when low light throws the shadows that bring out the carving.
• The Rood Cross. Thirty feet of carved wood hanging between the sanctuary and the nave, made in Bruges to Bentley's design, with an eighteen-foot figure of Christ on a vermilion ground. John Singer Sargent suggested the green edging.
• The Holy Souls Chapel, on the north aisle, is the only chapel that really shows Bentley's own taste, with Art Nouveau mosaic worked in the old hand-laid method that shimmers as you move past it.
• The Lady Chapel mosaics slip London into the scheme: look for Tower Bridge and the Tower of London among the imagery.

The tower lift, and why it is the best value in London

A lift runs up the campanile to a viewing gallery 210 feet above Victoria Street, with an open outlook in all four directions. The Cathedral's own description puts it above Victoria Street and Buckingham Palace, and on a clear day the sweep takes in the roofs of Westminster, the river and Pimlico.

Set that against the London Eye at £29 online and £39 on the door, or the ticketed viewing platform at the Shard, and the arithmetic is obvious. A family of four goes up a bell tower with a view of the palace for less than a single adult ticket almost anywhere else. Our guide to the best free viewpoints in London covers the ones that cost nothing at all, and our comparison of London's viewing platforms ranks the paid ones.

The choir, and the free music

Westminster Cathedral Choir was founded in 1901 and is the only Catholic cathedral choir in the world that sings both Mass and Vespers every day. Its first Master of Music, Richard Terry, revived Renaissance polyphony that had not been heard in England for centuries, and the tradition has continued since; Simon Johnson has directed it since September 2021.

You do not pay to hear it. Attending a sung service costs nothing and visitors are welcome, including people who are not Catholic and who simply want to sit at the back and listen. Daily Mass is at 12.30pm from Monday to Saturday and at 12 noon on Sundays, and both are livestreamed, which is a useful way to check what a service is like before you commit an hour.

The Cathedral's own diary lists the full weekly pattern of Masses, Vespers and organ recitals, including the Grand Organ Festival. For the rest of London's free church music, see our guides to free live music in London and to St Martin-in-the-Fields, which has a comparable programme on the other side of St James's Park.

Tours, the cafe and the practical bits

Volunteers from the Guild of St John Southworth, recognisable by their red robes, are on hand inside and will answer questions or give you a short tour of the highlights on the spot. Longer and group tours are arranged through the Cathedral's tours page; school groups are catered for separately.

The Cathedral Cafe opens from 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Saturday. It is reached only by a flight of steps, so it is not an option for wheelchair users, and there are plenty of alternatives on Victoria Street. Lavatories are through the north door exit, beside the confessionals.

Access into the cathedral itself is level through the main entrance, but individual chapels have steps into them. There is an induction loop, and a British Sign Language interpreted Mass takes place on the first Sunday of each month at 4.30pm in the Cathedral Hall. Our accessible London guide covers the surrounding streets.

Getting there, and a ninety-minute Westminster loop

Victoria station, on the Victoria, District and Circle lines and the mainline network, is a two-minute walk, and St James's Park station is about the same in the other direction. Buses 3, 11, 24, 26 and 148 all stop on Victoria Street outside. There is no parking, and coaches drop off on Victoria Street opposite the piazza.

An efficient loop: start at the Cathedral, go up the tower, walk east along Victoria Street for eight minutes to the Abbey and the Palace of Westminster, then cut back north through St James's Park. That gives you the two cathedrals, Parliament and a park in under two hours, and only one of them charges anything.

If you are staying nearby, our guides to staying near Victoria and to Pimlico and Victoria cover the area, which is full of hotels and short on atmosphere. Westminster itself is the next neighbourhood east.

Because everything here is indoors and free, the Cathedral belongs on any wet-day itinerary and on our list of free things to do in London. At Christmas its carol services and Midnight Mass are among the busiest in the city: see Christmas in London for what needs booking.

Frequently asked questions

Is Westminster Cathedral the same as Westminster Abbey?

No. Westminster Cathedral is the Roman Catholic cathedral of England and Wales, built in Byzantine style between 1895 and 1903 on Victoria Street, and entry is free. Westminster Abbey is the Anglican church eight minutes away where coronations take place, it is medieval Gothic, and it charges for sightseeing.

How much does it cost to go up Westminster Cathedral tower?

£10 for an adult, £5 concession and £22 for a family (September 2026). The lift takes you to a viewing gallery 210 feet above Victoria Street. Tickets are sold only in the Cathedral Shop, which opens 10.30am to 4.30pm from Wednesday to Sunday, so the tower is not available on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Is Westminster Cathedral free to enter?

Yes. The cathedral is free and open every day, and there is no ticket desk. Only the tower lift carries a charge. Attending Mass, Vespers or an organ recital is also free, and visitors of any faith or none are welcome to sit at the back and listen.

Why are the walls of Westminster Cathedral unfinished?

Bentley intended marble below and mosaic above, but funds ran out and the mosaic scheme has never been completed. The lower walls and chapels are richly decorated while the high vaults remain bare brick, darkened by more than a century of candle smoke. Work continues chapel by chapel as money is raised.

What is the best time of day to visit Westminster Cathedral?

Mid-morning or late afternoon. The Cathedral itself recommends those hours for seeing Eric Gill's Stations of the Cross, because low light brings out the shallow carving. Late morning also lets you combine a visit with the tower, which sells tickets from 10.30am, and with the 12.30pm Mass if you want to hear the choir.

Sources

• Westminster Cathedral - Plan your Visit (checked September 2026)
• Westminster Cathedral - Tours and the Campanile (checked September 2026)
• Westminster Cathedral - History of the Cathedral (checked September 2026)
• Westminster Cathedral - Art, Marbles and Mosaics (checked September 2026)
• Westminster Cathedral - About the Choir (checked September 2026)
• The London Eye - Tickets and prices (for comparison) (checked September 2026)