The Origins of the Romanesque Style in England

Westminster started out on a marshy island on the thames river outside london, which was called thorn island. It was first used as a royal base by canute, who found it useful for a small outpost that would be close to london but not within the bounds of london. And this little outpost on thorn island was then taken over by edward, who created a series of benedictine monasteries circling around london. The monks in these monasteries could serve as royal scribes, accountants, messengers, et cetera. By this time, its moved over to the east, closer to london, and particularly to westminster.