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Westminster Stairs was an important site in early modern London that provided access to the Thames from Westminster Abbey. Used during royal processions and by rivermen throughout daily life, Westminster Stairs was known as being a place of bustling activity.
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As Westminster Abbey’s main outlet to the Thames, Westminster
Stairs provided direct access to Westminster Hall
from its littoral position.
The stairs were likely located a few dozen metres south of present-day Westminster Bridge and extended into a small causeway
for easier and more abundant boat access at low tide.
As the main aquatic access point to Westminster Abbey, which was a hub of royal, noble, and city ceremony, these stairs
served an important role in city processions. Even the
Like the dozens of stairs along the Thames in London, Westminster
Stairs played its part in the intricate navigational system designed for rivermen,
who would ferry travelers and transport goods along the Thames. Artistic depictions of these stairs
showcase the various barges and wherries
one might see navigating the Thames, and these scenes also capture a bustle that is generally ascribed to the activity
of rivermen. Indeed, references to Westminster Stairs
accord with Peter Ackroydʼs popular characterization of London’s rivermen as eccentric, boisterous, and intrusive gondoliers
(Ackroyd 139–143).
canon-like speech is still in fashion and responds,
as long as there are watermen at Westminster Stairs(Middleton sig. E2v).