It’s one of the biggest tourist attractions in London, but for centuries the most magical and impressive section of Westminister Abbey has been off limits to visitors.
Now, for the first time in 700 years, the triforium – a stunning attic located high above the Abbey floor – will open to the public as a new museum space.
The space is currently being reinvented as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries, and will make its debut on June 11.
The 13th-century space, located 70-feet above the ground (nave) floor had previously been used for storage. But after a $32.5 million renovation, it will now become a museum with incredible views.
The galleries will enable visitors to view many rarely seen treasures and collections, including Prince William and Catherine’s marriage license, and will provided unique views into the Abbey and outside to surrounding London.
The museum will also display treasures from the church’s history, such as Mary II’s 17th-century coronation chair and an altarpiece from Henry III’s reign, when the triforium was first constructed.
Susan Jenkins, the galleries’ curator, told Condé Nast Traveller: “You look all the way down this gothic nave, at the route Catherine Middleton and Prince William took. It lets you appreciate the abbey and some of its most historic elements—the Cosmati pavements, the shrine of Edward the Confessor—from a different vantage point, in a way that you simply can’t when you tour it now. And it’s breathtaking.”
To access the area, which looks out over the nave and alter, architects built a new tower, the Abbey’s first major addition since 1745.
Once inside the triforium, the windows of the galleries look out onto the Houses of Parliament and St. Margaret’s church, and visitors will be able to walk around the upper mezzanine and look down to the abbey’s ground floor.
English poet John Betjeman once described the triforium as having “the best view in Europe”, and it’s sure to impress visitors all these years later.
“It is not often that we are given the chance to make history, so come and join us as we create the most historic structural addition to Westminster Abbey in nearly 300 years,” Westminster Abbey said on their website.