The construction of Westminster Abbey, named as such due to its location in London's western side, took more than 500 years to complete. Its founders were Benedictine monks, who established an abbey at the site at the end of the 10th century. The building began to take its current form in 1245, when Henry III ordered the construction of a church that would be fit for English monarchs. Following European architectural trends, the Gothic style church was completed in 1745, with its two huge towers proudly overlooking the surrounding area. No longer a monastery, it became an Anglican church whose official name is Collegiate Church of St. Peter, Westminster, and in 1560 was reclassified as a 'Royal Peculiar', meaning that the church is actually under the direct supervision of the Monarch, not the Archbishop.