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With a history which stretches all the way back to the 10th century, Westminster Abbey has stood through the lives of important people and world-changing events. But who is buried in in the floor of Westminster Abbey? And why are so many important people from British history buried there? Keep on reading to find out.

The abbey hasn’t always looked as we know it today. It used to be a humble monastery. In the 1040s, King Edward (later St Edward the Confessor) decided to place his palace by the banks of the river Thames on a patch of land known as Thorney Island. He chose the small monastery nearby to renovate into a large stone church. This church became known as the ‘west minster’ (meaning an important church, or church connected with a monastery) to differentiate it from St Paul's Cathedral, which was the ‘east minster’ in the City of London.

The church remained largely untouched for two centuries until the middle of the 13th Century, when King Henry III decided to rebuild it in the new Gothic style of architecture. The new abbey was specifically designed to be not only a great monastery and place of worship, but also a place for the coronation and burial of monarchs.

Since 1066, the abbey has been the setting for every single coronation and multiple important royal events, including sixteen royal weddings! But we don't have an umbrella or a golden stool, like these coronations from around the world.

There are roughly 3,300 burials in the church and cloisters (a covered walkway at the centre of the abbey) and many more memorials. Here are 10 names buried in Westminster Abbey that you might recognise.

1. Sir Isaac Newton
2. Stephen Hawking
3. Elizabeth I
4. Charles Darwin
5. Mary, Queen of Scots
6. Rudyard Kipling
7. Geoffrey Chaucer
8. Charles Dickens
9. Anne of Cleves
10. Oliver Cromwell

Rudyard Kipling, Geoffrey Chaucer and Charles Dickens are all buried in a section of the Abbey known as Poets’ Corner. More than 100 poets and writers are buried or have memorials here.

Geoffrey Chaucer, author of 'The Canterbury Tales', was the first poet to be buried in the corner way back in 1400. Roughly 200 years later, Edmund Spenser, who wrote 'The Faerie Queene' for Elizabeth I, asked to be buried near Chaucer. This started the tradition of burials and memorials in the abbey which continues to this day.

But who decides who goes in the corner? The Deans of Westminster are people who are tasked with choosing the residents of the corner, they make their decision based on merit, although they also consult with literary experts.

In the west end of the nave (the central part of the church building), is the grave of the Unknown Warrior, a British soldier who died in World War 1 whose body was brought from France to be buried in the abbey on 11th November 1920.

Like many casualties of WW1, the identity of the Unknown Warrior is not known. This is to allow his grave to symbolise all lives lost in the war. The grave contains soil from France and is covered by a slab of black Belgian marble from a quarry near Namur – two important locations of the war. When the soldier was buried, special permission was granted to make an audio recording of the service. This recording was the first electrical recording ever to be sold to the public.

There are many graves on the floor of the abbey, but the grave of the Unknown Warrior is the only one that you are not allowed to walk upon.

See the Unknown Warrior’s grave and find out more about how the body was chosen and brought home.

It’s not reserved for ladies: Lady Chapel is a traditional British term for a chapel dedicated to ‘Our Lady’, Mary, mother of Jesus. The Lady Chapel of Westminster Abbey was commissioned by Henry VII. He spent a huge amount of money on the chapel and today it is thought to be an exceptional example of late medieval architecture with an impressive fan-vaulted ceiling.

The chapel is the burial place of fifteen kings and queens including Elizabeth I, Mary I, Mary Queen of Scots, and what is thought to be the remains of Edward V and Richard Duke of York.

Wondering who all the royal bones mentioned in this article belonged to? Here are some greatest hits among British kings, queens and leaders.

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