Welcome to Westminster Abbey, or the Collegiate Church of St. Peter at Westminster, to give it its full name. The story of the Abbey begins with the small 8th-century church that we mentioned before, standing on the site. Over the next centuries, a Benedictine monastery and another church dedicated to St. Peter rose here, until Henry III began building the present structure in the 13th century. Executed in Gothic style, the project took over 500 years to complete. This cross-shaped masterpiece drew inspiration from the great French cathedrals, featuring an apse with radiating chapels, pointed arches, rose windows, and flying buttresses. Yet its English character remains evident in the single rather than double aisles, and in the long nave with its wide projecting transepts. Step inside and look up — you’ll see the highest Gothic vault in England, rising nearly 31 metres (102 feet).