Venue Bookings

East Cloister

The East Cloister is available in the summer months for receptions. Occasionally private tours of the Undercroft Museum and the Abbey can be arranged. The East Cloister is suitable for 200 people.

The present Cloisters were begun in the thirteenth century, when Henry III’s church was being built; and they were finished in the late fourteenth century.

Of the eastern cloister the four bays nearest the church, including the Chapter House entrance (finished in 1253), were begun by Abbot Crokesley (1246-1258) and the east cloister was continued by Abbot Simon de Bircheston (1344-1349).

In the cloisters the monks spent a great part of their time; at first only the upper half was glazed and the lower part was closed with shutters, but later on the whole was filled in with coloured glass. Carpets of hay and straw in winter, and rushes in summer covered the stone floor and benches. The walls were decorated with paintings, and lamps were suspended by chains from the roof. Fine views can be enjoyed of the south side of the Abbey and into the Garth.

It is a wonderfully atmospheric location for an evening reception.

Receptions: up to 200 people
Summer months only

For enquiries relating to hire charges, please email bookings@westminster-abbey.org