The images above and description below are of the 1245 abbey constructed by King John's son Henry III. We have little detail of the original abbey.

The apse of Westminster Abbey, or rather that part of it that is not given over to St. Edward's Chapel, is the location of its high altar. Just before the high altar (pictured above) is a large open space for the coronation ceremony to take place. To its left sit the bishops of England and the Abbot of Westminster. To its right sits the King and his immediate entourage. Above the king's seat is a box where the royal family (other than the Princes of the Blood) sit. The beginning of this coronation space is marked by a stepped dais surmounted by a simple seat, planted at the center of the space where the transept crosses the main nave. This seat is where the Lionheart will receive the homage of his vassals. A few feet in front of this dais is a chair believed to have been used by Edward the Confessor. It is in this seat that the actual coronation rite will take place.