Westminster, City of, one of the boroughs of London, England. The name commonly refers only to the section of the borough containing Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, the government buildings in Whitehall, the prime minister's home on Downing Street, Westminster Abbey, and Westminster Cathedral.
Within the borough are the fashionable residential section of Mayfair, Piccadilly's shops, London's principal theaters, and Soho, an entertainment district. Other points of interest include the Albert Memorial, Fleet Street, the Law Courts, Piccadilly Circus, St. Clement Danes, the Strand, and Trafalgar Square. (For pictures or descriptions, .) Paddington Station, a major railway terminal, is here.
Westminster has been the site of churches and abbeys since the seventh century. Originally called Westmonasterium, the city grew up around the present abbey, begun in the 13th century. English kings began to reside in Westminster in the llth century. All of London's royal palaces are now in Westminster. Henry VIII made Westminster a city in 1540. It was made a borough of London County in 1899, and the next year was again chartered as a city. In 1965 Westminster was enlarged to include the former boroughs of Paddington and St. Marylebone.
Population (district): 181,286.
