Our Lady of Westminster is a late late medieval statue of the

Madonna and child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in ...

, now placed at the entrance of the

Lady Chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chapel or a Marian chapel, an ...

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster. The site on which the cathedral stands in the City of ...

, London, under the thirteenth Station of the Cross. The image is an English alabaster, flat backed, high, and depicts the Virgin Mary enthroned with the Christ child on her right knee. Mary is crowned and holds a sceptre (now broken) in her left hand, the Christ child looks up at her and holds a globe with one hand, whilst with the other he blesses it. The statue is one of the greatest treasures of the cathedral, and the oldest item housed in the 19th-century foundation. Most experts in the field agree that the image was carved in the Nottingham area in about 1450 from

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that includes ...

mined at nearby

Chellaston Chellaston is a suburban village on the southern outskirts of Derby, in Derbyshire, England. History An early mention of Chellaston is thought to be a reference to Ceolarde's hill. This is mentioned in a 1009 charter when nearby lan ...

, but the intervening 500 years until 1954, when the statue was found and bought in Paris by the dealer S. W. Wolsey, are a blank. The name Our Lady of Westminster might also refer to other traditions and devotions relating to the much older

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

nearby.

History

Throughout the period of their production,

Nottingham alabaster Nottingham alabaster is a term used to refer to the English sculpture industry, mostly of relatively small religious carvings, which flourished from the fourteenth century until the early sixteenth century. Alabaster carvers were at work in Lo ...

images were hugely popular in Europe and were exported in large quantities, some ending up as far afield as Iceland, Croatia and Poland. But by the far the greatest market for these images was in France, where even today some churches retain ''in situ'' their English alabaster altarpieces. The trade continued up to and beyond the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

with the English ambassador to France reporting in January 1550 that three English ships had arrived laden with religious images to be sold in Rouen, Paris and beyond, this a year after

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

Putting away of Books and Images Act 1549 The Act for the abolishing and putting away of diverse books and images 1549 (3 & 4 Edw. 6 c. 10) was an Act of the Parliament of England. The preamble of the Act recites: It then proceeds to order the abolishing of all other religious boo ...

. It appears, therefore, that the statue of Our Lady of Westminster was exported to France some time between 1450 and 1550. It is much larger than most English alabaster work; the commonest surviving alabasters are thin panels carved in

high relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

from series covering the Passion or the ''

Life of Christ The life of Jesus in the New Testament is primarily outlined in the four canonical gospels, which includes his genealogy and Nativity of Jesus, nativity, Ministry of Jesus, public ministry, Passion of Jesus, passion, prophecy, Resurrection of ...

'' which were framed and mounted as

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

s. The discovery in 1863 of a headless but stylistically almost identical alabaster image, buried in the churchyard of All Saints' Broughton-in Craven suggests that, as was apparently usually the case, the statue was a standard model repeated several times by the workshop and probably produced for stock rather than upon receipt of a particular commission. Exports, as of the better documented contemporary export trade in

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

s of the

Cretan school Cretan School describes an important school of icon painting, under the umbrella of post-Byzantine art, which flourished while Crete was under Venetian rule during the late Middle Ages, reaching its climax after the Fall of Constantinople, becom ...

, were usually made in bulk for sale to dealers who then found buyers locally. It appears that the statue remained in its French shrine until the upheaval of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

when much ecclesiastical property was destroyed and dispersed. It then passed into private collections and is noted as having been in the collection of Baron de St Leger Daguerre, from whence it was put up for sale in 1954 at the ''Exhibition des Chefs d'oeuvre de la Curiosite du Monde''. It was there that the dealer S. W. Wolsey saw and purchased it and it then came to the attention of Cardinal Griffin and the Dean of York Minster. A minor bidding war ensued which Cardinal Griffin won. The statue was then enthroned in Westminster Cathedral on 8 December 1955 to the accompaniment of the choir singing the ''

Salve Regina The "Salve Regina" (, ; meaning 'Hail Queen'), also known as the "Hail Holy Queen", is a Marian hymn and one of four Marian antiphons sung at different seasons within the Christian liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church. The Salve Regina ...

''. In 1963, whilst on a trip to Italy, the Westminster Choir school presented a copy of the statue of Our Lady of Westminster and a booklet explaining the devotion to

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

Original appearance

The statue still retains enough of its polychromy to ascertain its original appearance. The throne was coloured an ochre red with the knops being picked out in gilt, the cloak was dark blue with the inner folds red. The ground beneath Mary's feet was a characteristic dark green scattered with red and white daisies and her crown, sceptre, mantle fastenings and the Christ child's hair were all gilded. These bright colours were characteristic of

Nottingham Alabaster Nottingham alabaster is a term used to refer to the English sculpture industry, mostly of relatively small religious carvings, which flourished from the fourteenth century until the early sixteenth century. Alabaster carvers were at work in Lo ...

since they, for the most part, were designed to be housed in wooden altarpieces with painted shutters and to be seen by candlelight in dimly lit churches. The fact that the statue is flat backed and almost

bas relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

in places makes it likely that it was intended for just such an altarpiece.

Westminster Abbey and the "Dowry of Mary"

The first evidence of the title " Dowry of Mary" comes from the will of the Countess of Pembroke who in 1377 established a mortuary chapel so that daily Masses could be sung for her husband, next to the Chapel of St John in

, and presented the

Abbot of Westminster The Abbot of Westminster was the head (abbot) of Westminster Abbey. List Notes ReferencesTudorplace.com.ar{Unreliable source?, certain=y, reason=self published website; and Jorge H. Castelli is not an expert, date=January 2015 * Westminster ...

with an alabaster statue of the Virgin Mary. Soon after this the cultus of Mary in Westminster received royal impetus through Richard II.

Jean Froissart Jean Froissart ( Old and Middle French: '' Jehan'', – ) (also John Froissart) was a French-speaking medieval author and court historian from the Low Countries who wrote several works, including ''Chronicles'' and ''Meliador'', a long Arthuria ...

gives a vivid description of the manner in which the young King

Richard II of England Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father die ...

, during the 1381

Peasants' Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black ...

, prepared to meet the rebels, led by

Wat Tyler Wat Tyler (c. 1320/4 January 1341 – 15 June 1381) was a leader of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt in England. He led a group of rebels from Canterbury to London to oppose the institution of a poll tax and to demand economic and social reforms. Wh ...

, at Smithfield: "Richard II on the Saturday after Corpus Christi went to Westminster, where he heard Mass at the Abbey with all his Lords. He made his devotions at a statue of Our Lady in a little chapel that had witnessed many miracles and where much grace had been gained, so that the Kings of England have much faith in it." Another chronicler, Strype, described the event thus: "On the coming of the rebels and Wat Tyler, the same King went to Westminster . . . confessed himself to an anchorite; then took himself to the chapel of Our Lady of Pew; there he said his devotions, and went to Smithfield to meet the rebels." The outcome of the meeting was favourable with Wat Tyler throwing down his arms and taking up the King's colours. Naturally the King and Court regarded this as a miracle wrought by the Holy Virgin, and therefore set about encouraging her veneration at Westminster. After his success in quelling the rebels, and their acceptance of the standard of the realm, Richard returned to meet his mother at Westminster and to give thanks. Froissart records the young King's words as follows: "Yes, Madam . . . rejoice and praise God, for today I have regained my kingdom which I had lost." And he placed the Kingdom under Our Lady's protection - in thanksgiving for having regained it.'' It is Richard who refurbished the Chapel of Our Lady of Pew in the abbey, and commissioned the

Wilton Diptych The Wilton Diptych () is a small portable diptych of two hinged panels, painted on both sides, now in the National Gallery, London. It is an extremely rare survival of a late medieval religious panel painting from England. The diptych was pain ...

which shows him placing himself and England (signified by the banner with a George Cross and a miniature representation of England) under the Virgin Mary's protection. Furthermore, at the special desire of the king, this mandate was issued at Lambeth on 10 February 1399 and reads as follows: "The contemplation of the great mystery of the Incarnation has brought all Christian nations to venerate her from whom came the beginnings of redemption. But we, as the humble servants of her inheritance, and liegemen of her especial dower - as we are approved by common parlance ought to excel all others in the favour of our praises and devotions to her." Just as the Countess's alabaster statue replaced an earlier image, so now Our Lady of Westminster becomes a link to the Dowry tradition, that started in Westminster and radiated throughout pre-Reformation England.

Our Lady of Pew

The statue Our Lady of Pew in Westminster Abbey was created by Sister

Concordia Scott Sister Concordia Scott (1924 – 2014) was a Scottish sculptor and Benedictine nun, of the Minster Abbey community, Minster-in-Thanet, Kent. Her commissioned works have included statues for Westminster Abbey, Canterbury Cathedral, Coventry Cath ...

OSB, of Minster Abbey near Ramsgate in Kent. Sculpted of alabaster, the statue of the Virgin and Child stands in the niche of the Chapel of Our Lady of Pew. The statue was enthroned in the Pew Chapel on 10 May 1971. The original statue here had disappeared centuries ago. The design of the 20th-century piece was inspired by the 15th-century English alabaster Madonna at Westminster Cathedral."Our Lady of Pew", Westminster Abbey
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References

Bibliography

''Catholic Trivia, Our Forgotten Heritage'', HarperCollins, 1992 ''Shrines of Our Lady in England'', Anne Vail, Gracewing Publishing, 2004 ''English Medieval Alabasters'' (with a catalogue of the collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum), Francis Cheetham, Second Edition, The Boydell Press, 2005. ''Our Lady Of Westminster'', H. M. Gillett, Thomas Of Fleet Street Ltd, 1956

External links

Westminster Cathedral websitePathe News footage of the dedication of the shrine

Gallery

Image:OLWestminster_III.jpg, Image:OLWestminster_IV.jpg, Image:OLWestminster_V.jpg, Image:OL_of_Pew.jpg, A copy of Our Lady of Westminster by Sister Concordia Scott enshrined as "Our Lady of Pew" in Westminster Abbey Image:Ourlady_alabaster.jpg, A comparable English alabaster carving of the Virgin & Child from the British Museum Image:OLWestminsterII_copy.jpg, The installation and blessing of the shrine of Our Lady of Westminster on 8 December 1956 {{coord, 51.49577, -0.13910, display=title Statues of the Madonna and Child Shrines to the Virgin Mary Gothic sculptures Alabaster Roman Catholic shrines in the United Kingdom