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Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
church in the City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...
, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations
A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special ...
of 40 English and British monarchs and a burial site for 18 English, Scottish, and British monarchs. At least 16 royal weddings have taken place at the abbey since 1100.
Although the origins of the church are obscure, an abbey housing Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
monks was on the site by the mid-10th century. The church got its first large building from the 1040s, commissioned by King Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex.
Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...
, who is buried inside. Construction of the present church began in 1245 on the orders of Henry III. The monastery was dissolved in 1559, and the church was made a royal peculiar
A royal peculiar is a Church of England parish or church exempt from the jurisdiction of the diocese and the province in which it lies, and subject to the direct jurisdiction of the monarch.
Definition
The church parish system dates from the ea ...
– a Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
church, accountable directly to the sovereign – by Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
. The abbey, the Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...
and St Margaret's Church became a UNESCO World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
in 1987 because of their historic and symbolic significance.
The church's Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...
is chiefly inspired by 13th-century French and English styles, although some sections of the church have earlier Romanesque styles or later Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
and modern styles. The Henry VII Chapel
The Henry VII Lady Chapel, now more often known just as the Henry VII Chapel, is a large Lady chapel at the far eastern end of Westminster Abbey, England, paid for by the will of King Henry VII. It is separated from the rest of the abbey by br ...
, at the east end of the church, is a typical example of Perpendicular Gothic
Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-ce ...
architecture; antiquarian John Leland called it ''orbis miraculum'' ("the wonder of the world").
The abbey is the burial site of more than 3,300 people, many prominent in British history: monarchs, prime ministers
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rat ...
, poets laureate, actors, musicians, scientists, military leaders, and the Unknown Warrior
The Unknown Warrior is an unidentified member of the British Empire, British Imperial armed forces who died on the Western Front (World War I), western front during the First World War. He is interred in a grave at Westminster Abbey, also kno ...
. Due to the fame of the figures buried there, artist William Morris
William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...
described the abbey as a "National Valhalla
In Norse mythology, Valhalla ( , ; , )Orchard (1997:171–172) is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. There were five possible realms the soul could travel to after death. The first was Fólkvang ...
".
History
Historians agree that there was amonastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
dedicated to Saint Peter
Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...
on the site prior to the 11th century, though its exact origin is somewhat obscure. One legend claims that it was founded by the Saxon king Sæberht of Essex
Sæberht, Saberht or Sæbert (d. 616) was an Anglo-Saxon King of Essex (r. 604 – 616), in succession of his father King Sledd. He is known as the first East Saxon king to have been converted to Christianity.
The principal source fo ...
, and another claims that its founder was the fictional 2nd-century British king Lucius
Lucius is a masculine given name derived from Lucius (Latin ; ), abbreviated L., one of the small group of common Latin forenames () found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius probably derives from Latin word ( gen. ), meaning "light" (<. One tradition claims that a young fisherman on the
In 1296,
Many rooms used by the monks have been repurposed. The dormitory became a library and a school room, and the monks' offices have been converted into houses for the clergy. The abbot had his own lodgings, and ate separately from the rest of the monks. The lodgings, now used by the Dean of Westminster, are probably the oldest continuously occupied residence in London. They include the Jericho Parlour (covered in wooden
An estimated 18 English, Scottish and British monarchs are buried in the abbey, including Edward the Confessor, Henry III, Edward I, Edward III, Richard II, Henry V, Edward V, Henry VII, Edward VI, Mary I, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, James I, Charles II, Mary II, William III, Queen Anne, and George II. Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots were the last monarchs to be buried with full tomb effigies; monarchs buried after them are commemorated in the abbey with simple inscriptions. George II was the last monarch to be buried in the abbey, in 1760, and George III's brother, Henry Frederick, was the last member of the royal family to be buried in the abbey, in 1790. Most monarchs after George II have been buried in
Since the 
The Coronation Chair (the throne on which English and British sovereigns are seated when they are crowned) is in the abbey's St George's Chapel near the west door, and has been used at coronations since the 14th century. From 1301 to 1996 (except for a short time in 1950, when the stone was stolen by Scottish nationalists), the chair housed the Stone of Scone upon which the kings of Scots were crowned. Although it has been kept in Scotland at
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry whose spiritual home is the abbey's Henry VII Chapel. The order was founded by George I of Great Britain, George I in 1725, fell out of fashion after 1812, and was revived by George V in 1913. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which included bathing as a symbol of purification. Members are given stalls with their banner, crest, and a stall plate at installation ceremonies in the abbey every four years. Since there are more members than stalls, some members wait many years for their installation. The Order of the Bath is the fourth-oldest Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom#Current orders of chivalry, British orders of chivalry, after the Orders of Order of the Garter, the Garter, Order of the Thistle, the Thistle, and Order of St Patrick, St Patrick (the latter is presently dormant).
Westminster Abbey is mentioned in the play ''Henry VIII (play), Henry VIII'' by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher (playwright), John Fletcher, when a gentleman describes Coronation of Anne Boleyn, Anne Boleyn's coronation. The abbey was mentioned in a 1598 sonnet by Thomas Bastard which begins, "When I behold, with deep astonishment/ To famous Westminster how there restort/ Living in brass or stony monument/ The princes and the worthies of all sort". Poetry about the abbey has also been written by Francis Beaumont and John Betjeman. The building has appeared in paintings by artists such as Canaletto, Wenceslaus Hollar, William Bruce Ellis Ranken, and J. M. W. Turner.
Playwright Alan Bennett produced ''The Abbey (1995 TV series), The Abbey'', a 1995 documentary recounting his experiences of the building. Key scenes in the book and film ''The Da Vinci Code'' take place in Westminster Abbey. The abbey refused to allow filming in 2005 (calling the book "theologically unsound"), and The Da Vinci Code (film), the film uses Lincoln Cathedral as a stand-in. The abbey issued a fact sheet to their staff which answered questions and debunked several claims made in the book. In 2022, it was announced that the abbey had given rare permission to film inside the church for ''Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning''.
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
had a vision of Saint Peter near the site. This seems to have been quoted as the origin of the salmon that Thames fishermen offered to the abbey, a custom still observed annually by the Fishmongers' Company
The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers (or Fishmongers' Company) is one of the 111 livery companies of the City of London, being an incorporated guild of sellers of fish and seafood in the City. The Company ranks fourth in the order of precede ...
.
The origins of the abbey are generally thought to date to about 959, when Dunstan
Dunstan ( – 19 May 988), was an English bishop and Benedictine monk. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised. His work restored monastic life in En ...
and King Edgar installed a community of Benedictine monks
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, the ...
on the site. At that time, the location was an island in the Thames called Thorney Island. This building has not survived, but archaeologists have found some pottery and foundations from this period on the abbey site.
Edward the Confessor's abbey
Between 1042 and 1052,Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex.
Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...
began rebuilding Saint Peter's Abbey to provide himself with a royal burial church. It was built in the Romanesque style and was the first church in England built on a cruciform
A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design.
Cruciform architectural plan
Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...
floorplan. The master stonemason
Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...
for the project was Leofsi Duddason, with Godwin and Wendelburh Gretsyd (meaning "fat purse") as patrons, and Teinfrith as "churchwright", probably meaning someone who worked on the carpentry and roofing. Endowments from Edward supported a community that increased from a dozen monks during Dunstan
Dunstan ( – 19 May 988), was an English bishop and Benedictine monk. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised. His work restored monastic life in En ...
's time, to as many as 80. The building was completed around 1060 and was consecrated
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
on 28December 1065, about a week before Edward's death on 5January 1066. A week later, he was buried in the church; nine years later, his wife Edith
Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English word , meaning ''wealth'' or ''prosperity'', in combination with the Old English , meaning ''wiktionary:strife, strife'', and is in common usage in this form in English language, Englis ...
was buried alongside him. His successor, Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, the decisive battle of the Norman ...
, was probably crowned here, although the first documented coronation is that of William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
later that year.
The only extant depiction of Edward's abbey is in the Bayeux Tapestry
The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidery, embroidered cloth nearly long and tall that depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest, Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William the Conqueror, William, Duke of Normandy challenging H ...
. The foundations still survive under the present church, and above ground, some of the lower parts of the monastic dormitory survive in the undercroft
An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and Vault (architecture), vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area whi ...
, including a door said to come from the previous Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
abbey. It was a little smaller than the current church, with a central tower.
In 1103, thirty-seven years after his death, Edward's tomb was re-opened by Abbot Gilbert Crispin
Gilbert Crispin ( 1055 – 1117) was a Christian author and Anglo-Norman monk, appointed by Archbishop Lanfranc in 1085 to be the abbot, proctor and servant of Westminster Abbey, England. Gilbert became the third Norman Abbot of Westminster to ...
and Henry I Henry I or Henri I may refer to:
:''In chronological order''
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry ...
, who discovered that his body was still in perfect condition. This was considered proof of his saintliness, and he was canonised in 1161. Two years later he was moved to a new shrine, during which time his ring was removed and placed in the abbey's collection.
The abbey became more closely associated with royalty from the second half of the 12th century, as kings increasingly used the nearby Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...
as the seat of their governments. In 1222, the abbey was officially granted exemption from the Bishop of London
The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723.
The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...
's jurisdiction, making it answerable only to the head of the Church itself. By this time, the abbey owned a large swath of land around it, from modern-day Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road via Oxford Circus. It marks the notional boundary between the areas of Fitzrovia and Marylebone to t ...
to the Thames, plus entire parishes in the City of London
The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
, such as St Alban, Wood Street
St Alban's was a church in Wood Street, City of London. It was dedicated to Saint Alban. Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt in 1634, destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and rebuilt, this time to a Gothic design by Sir Christopher Wr ...
and St Magnus the Martyr
St Magnus the Martyr, London Bridge, is a Church of England church (building), church and parish within the City of London. The church, which is located in Thames Street (London), Lower Thames Street near Monument to the Great Fire of London, Th ...
, as well as several wharfs.
Outside London, the abbey owned estates across southeast England, including in Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
, Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
and Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
. The abbot was also the lord of the manor
Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...
in Westminster, as a town of two to three thousand people grew around the abbey. As a consumer and employer on a grand scale, the abbey helped fuel the town's economy, and relations with the town remained unusually cordial, but no enfranchising charter was issued during the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
.
Henry III's rebuilding
Westminster Abbey continued to be used as a coronation site, but after Edward the Confessor, no monarchs were buried there until Henry III began to rebuild it in theGothic style
Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...
. Henry III wanted it built as a shrine to venerate Edward, to match great French churches such as Reims Cathedral
Notre-Dame de Reims (; ; meaning "Our Lady of Reims"), known in English as Reims Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral in the French city of the same name, the seat of the Archdiocese of Reims. The cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and wa ...
and the Sainte-Chapelle
The Sainte-Chapelle (; ) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France.
Construction b ...
, and as a burial place for himself and his family. Construction began on 6July 1245 under Henry's master mason, Henry of Reynes. The first building stage included the entire eastern end, the transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...
s, and the easternmost bay
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
of the nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
. The Lady chapel
A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chape ...
, built from around 1220 at the extreme eastern end, was incorporated into the chevet
In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. In Byzan ...
of the new building.
Part of the new building included a rich shrine and chapel to Edward the Confessor, of which the base only still stands. The golden shrine with its jewelled figures no longer exists. 4,000 marks (about £5,800) for this work came from the estate of David of Oxford, the husband of Licoricia of Winchester, and a further £2,500 came from a forced contribution from Licoricia herself, by far the biggest single donation at that time.
Around 1253, Henry of Reynes was replaced by John of Gloucester, who was replaced by Robert of Beverley around 1260. During the summer, there were up to 400 workers on the site at a time, including stonecutters, marblers, stone-layers, carpenters, painters and their assistants, marble polishers, smiths, glaziers, plumbers, and general labourers. From 1257, Henry III held assemblies of local representatives in Westminster Abbey's chapter house
A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...
; these assemblies were a precursor to the House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
. Henry III also commissioned the Cosmati
The Cosmati were a Roman family, seven members of which, for four generations, were skilful architects, sculptors and workers in decorative geometric mosaic, mostly for church floors. Their name is commemorated in the genre of Cosmatesque work, o ...
pavement in front of the High Altar. Further work produced an additional five bays for the nave, bringing it to one bay west of the choir
A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
. Here, construction stopped in about 1269. By 1261, Henry had spent £29,345 19s 8d on the abbey, and the final sum may have been near £50,000. A consecration ceremony was held on 13October 1269, during which the remains of Edward the Confessor were moved to their present location at the shrine behind the main altar. After Henry's death and burial in the abbey in 1272, construction did not resume and Edward the Confessor's old Romanesque nave remained attached to the new building for over a century.
In 1296, Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...
captured the Scottish coronation stone, the Stone of Scone
The Stone of Scone (; , meaning Stone of Destiny, also called clach-na-cinneamhuinn; ) is an oblong block of red sandstone that was used in the coronation of Scottish monarchs until the 13th century, and thereafter in the coronation of Englis ...
. He had a Coronation Chair
The Coronation Chair, also known as St Edward's Chair or King Edward's Chair, is an ancient wooden chair that is used by British monarchs when they are invested with regalia and crowned at their coronation. The chair was commissioned in 1296 b ...
made to hold it, which he entrusted to the abbot at Westminster Abbey. In 1303, the small crypt underneath the chapter house was broken into and a great deal of the king's treasure was stolen. It was thought that the thieves must have been helped by the abbey monks, fifty of whom were subsequently imprisoned in the Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
.
Completion of the Gothic church
From 1376, Abbot Nicholas Litlyngton andRichard II
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, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...
donated large sums to finish the church. The remainder of the old nave was pulled down and rebuilding commenced, with his mason Henry Yevele
Henry Yevele (''c''. 1320 – 1400) was the king of England's master mason from 1360 until his death in 1400. Early life and career
Henry is believed to have been born around 1320 possibly in Derbyshire to Roger and Marion Yevele. His father Roge ...
closely following the original design even though it was now more than 100 years out of date. During the 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 ...
of 1381, Richard prayed at Edward the Confessor's shrine for "divine aid when human counsel was altogether wanting" before meeting the rebels at Smithfield. In the modern day, the abbey holds Richard's full-length portrait, the earliest of an English king, on display near the west door.
Building work was not fully complete for many years. Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...
, disappointed with the abbey's unfinished state, gave extra funds towards the rebuilding. In his will, he left instructions for a chantry chapel
A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings:
# a chantry service, a set of Church service, Christian liturgical celebrations for the dead (made up of the Requiem Mass and the Office of the Dead), or
# a chantr ...
to be built over his tomb; the chapel can be seen from ground level. Between 1470 and 1471, because of fallout from the Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...
, Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville (also spelt Wydville, Wydeville, or Widvile; c. 1437Karen Lindsey, ''Divorced, Beheaded, Survived'', p. xviii, Perseus Books, 1995. – 8 June 1492), known as Dame Elizabeth Grey during her first marriage, was Queen of Engla ...
, the wife of Edward IV
Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
, took sanctuary at Westminster Abbey while her husband was deposed, and gave birth to Edward V
Edward V (2 November 1470 – ) was King of England from 9 April to 25 June 1483. He succeeded his father, Edward IV, upon the latter's death. Edward V was never crowned, and his brief reign was dominated by the influence of his uncle and Lord ...
in the abbot's house. In 1495, building work finally reached the end of the nave, finishing with the west window.
Under Henry VII, the 13th-century Lady chapel was demolished and rebuilt in a Perpendicular Gothic style; it is known as the Henry VII Chapel
The Henry VII Lady Chapel, now more often known just as the Henry VII Chapel, is a large Lady chapel at the far eastern end of Westminster Abbey, England, paid for by the will of King Henry VII. It is separated from the rest of the abbey by br ...
. Work began in 1503 and the main structure was completed by 1509, although decorative work continued for several years afterwards. Henry's original reason for building such a grand chapel was to have a place suitable for the burial of another saint alongside the Confessor, as he planned on having Henry VI canonised. The Pope asked Henry VII for a large sum of money to proclaim Henry VI a saint; Henry VII was unwilling to pay the sum, and so instead he is buried in the centre of the chapel with his wife, Elizabeth of York
Elizabeth of York (11 February 1466 – 11 February 1503) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from her marriage to King Henry VII of England, Henry VII on 18 January 1486 until her death in 1503. She was the daughter of King E ...
, rather than a large raised shrine like the Confessor.
A view of the abbey dated 1532 shows a lantern tower
In architecture, the lantern tower is a tall construction above the junction of the four arms of a cruciform (cross-shaped) church, with openings through which light from outside can shine down to the crossing (so it also called a crossing lante ...
above the crossing, but this is not shown in any later depiction. It is unlikely that the loss of this feature was caused by any catastrophic event: structural failure seems more likely. Other sources maintain that a lantern tower was never built. The current squat pyramid dates from the 18th century; the painted wooden ceiling below it was installed during repairs to World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
bomb damage.
In the early 16th century, a project began under Abbot John Islip
John Islip (1464Barbara F. Harvey and Henry Summerson‘Islip, John (1464–1532)’ ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008–1532) was abbot of the monastery of Westminster, London, ...
to add two towers to the western end of the church. These had been partially built up to roof level when building work stopped due to uncertainty caused by the English Reformation
The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...
.
Dissolution and Reformation
In the 1530s,Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
broke away from the authority of the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
in Rome and seized control of England's monasteries, including Westminster Abbey, beginning the English Reformation
The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...
. In 1535, when the king's officers assessed the abbey's funds, their annual income was £3,000. Henry's agents removed many relics, saints' images, and treasures from the abbey. The golden feretory
This page is a glossary of architecture.
A
B
C
The Caryatid Porch of the Athen ...
that housed the coffin of Edward the Confessor was melted down, and monks hid his bones to save them from destruction. The monastery was dissolved and the building became the cathedral for the newly created Diocese of Westminster Diocese of Westminster may refer to:
* Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster, since 1850, with seat at Westminster Cathedral
* Diocese of Westminster (Church of England)
The Diocese of Westminster was a short-lived diocese of the Church of Engl ...
. The abbot, William Benson, became dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
* Dean Sw ...
of the cathedral, while the prior
The term prior may refer to:
* Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery)
* Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case
* Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics
* Prio ...
and five of the monks were among the twelve newly created canons.
The Westminster diocese was dissolved in 1550, but the abbey was recognised (in 1552, retroactively to 1550) as a second cathedral of the Diocese of London
The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England.
It lies directly north of the Thames, covering and all or part of 17 London boroughs. This corresponds almost exactly to the historic county of ...
until 1556. Money meant for the abbey, which is dedicated to St Peter, was diverted to the treasury of St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...
; this led to an association with the already-old saying " robbing Peter to pay Paul".
The abbey saw the return of Benedictine monks under the Catholic Mary I
Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous a ...
, but they were again ejected under Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
in 1559. In 1560, Elizabeth re-established Westminster as a "royal peculiar
A royal peculiar is a Church of England parish or church exempt from the jurisdiction of the diocese and the province in which it lies, and subject to the direct jurisdiction of the monarch.
Definition
The church parish system dates from the ea ...
" – a church of the Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
responsible directly to the sovereign, rather than to a diocesan bishop – and made it the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter, a non-cathedral church with an attached chapter of canons, headed by a dean. From that date onwards, the building was simply a church, though it was still called an abbey. Elizabeth also re-founded Westminster School
Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...
, providing for 40 students (the King's (or Queen's) Scholars) and their schoolmasters. The King's Scholars have the duty of shouting ''Vivat Rex'' or ''Vivat Regina'' ("Long live the King/Queen") during the coronation of a new monarch. In the modern day, the dean of Westminster Abbey remains the chair of the school governors.
In the early 17th century, the abbey hosted two of the six companies of churchmen who produced the King James Version
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...
of the Bible. They used the Jerusalem Chamber
The Jerusalem Chamber is a room in what was formerly the abbot's house of Westminster Abbey. The room overlooks the main west door of the abbey. It was added in the fourteenth century. The abbot's house was made the deanery when the monastery was ...
in the abbey for their meetings. The First Company was headed by the dean of the abbey, Lancelot Andrewes
Lancelot Andrewes (155525 September 1626) was an English bishop and scholar, who held high positions in the Church of England during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. During the latter's reign, Andrewes served successively as Bishop of Chi ...
.
In 1642, the English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
broke out between Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
and his own parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
. The Dean and Chapter fled the abbey at the outbreak of war, and were replaced by priests loyal to Parliament. The abbey itself suffered damage during the war; altars, stained glass, the organ, and the Crown Jewels
Crown jewels are the objects of metalwork and jewellery in the regalia of a current or former monarchy. They are often used for the coronation of a monarch and a few other ceremonial occasions. A monarch may often be shown wearing them in portra ...
were damaged or destroyed. Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...
was given an elaborate funeral there in 1658, only for a body thought to be Cromwell's to be disinterred in January 1661 and posthumously hanged from a gibbet
Gibbeting is the use of a gallows-type structure from which the dead or dying bodies of criminals were hanged on public display to deter other existing or potential criminals. Occasionally, the gibbet () was also used as a method of public ex ...
at Tyburn
Tyburn was a Manorialism, manor (estate) in London, Middlesex, England, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. Tyburn took its name from the Tyburn Brook, a tributary of the River Westbourne. The name Tyburn, from Teo Bourne ...
. In 1669, the abbey was visited by the diarist Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...
, who saw the body of the 15th-century queen Catherine de Valois
Catherine of Valois or Catherine of France (27 October 1401 – 3 January 1437) was Queen of England from 1420 until 1422. A daughter of King Charles VI of France, she married King Henry V of England and was the mother of King Henry VI. Cath ...
. She had been buried in the 13th-century Lady chapel in 1437, but was exhumed during building work for the Henry VII Chapel and not reburied in the intervening 150 years. Pepys leaned into the coffin and kissed her on the mouth, writing "This was my birthday, thirty-six years old and I did first kiss a queen." She has since been re-interred close to her husband, Henry V. In 1685, during preparations for the coronation of James II, a workman accidentally put a scaffolding pole through the coffin of Edward the Confessor. A chorister, Charles Taylour, pulled a cross on a chain out of the coffin and gave it to the king, who then gave it to the Pope. Its whereabouts are unknown.
18th and 19th centuries
At the end of the 17th century, the architectChristopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was ac ...
was appointed the abbey's first Surveyor of the Fabric. He began a project to restore the exterior of the church, which was continued by his successor, William Dickinson. After over two hundred years, the abbey's two western towers were built in the 1740s in a Gothic–Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
style by Nicholas Hawksmoor
Nicholas Hawksmoor ( – 25 March 1736) was an English architect. He was a leading figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Hawksmoor worked alongside the principal architects ...
and John James.
On 11 November 1760, the funeral of George II was held at the abbey, and the king was interred next to his late wife, Caroline of Ansbach
Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach (Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline; 1 March 1683 – 20 November 1737) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland and List of Hanoverian royal consorts, Electress of Hanover from 11 J ...
. He left instructions for the sides of his and his wife's coffins to be removed so that their remains could mingle. He was the last monarch to be buried in the abbey. Around the same time, the tomb of RichardII developed a hole through which visitors could put their hands. Several of his bones went missing, including a jawbone which was taken by a boy from Westminster School and kept by his family until 1906, when it was returned to the abbey.
In the 1830s, the screen dividing the nave from the choir, which had been designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, was replaced by one designed by Edward Blore
Edward Blore (13 September 1787 – 4 September 1879) was a 19th-century English landscape and architectural artist, architect and antiquary.
Early career
Blore was born in Derby, the son of the antiquarian writer Thomas Blore.
Blore's backg ...
. The screen contains the monuments to the scientist Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...
and the military general James Stanhope. Further rebuilding and restoration occurred in the 19th century under the architect George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...
, who rebuilt sections of the chapter house and north porches, and designed a new altar and reredos
A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images.
The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...
for the crossing. His successor, J. L. Pearson
John Loughborough Pearson (5 July 1817 – 11 December 1897) was a British Gothic Revival architect renowned for his work on churches and cathedrals. Pearson revived and practised largely the art of vaulting, and acquired in it a proficie ...
, finished the work on the north porches and also reconstructed the northern rose window.
20th century
The abbey saw "Prayers For Prisoners"suffragette
A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...
protests in 1913 and 1914. Protesters attended services and interrupted proceedings by chanting "God Save Mrs Pankhurst" and praying for suffragette prisoners. In one protest, a woman chained herself to her chair during a sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
. On 11June 1914, a bomb planted by suffragettes of the Women's Social and Political Union
The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom founded in 1903. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership and p ...
exploded inside the abbey. No serious injuries were reported, but the bomb blew off a corner of the Coronation Chair. It also caused the Stone of Scone to break in half, although this was not discovered until 1950 when four Scottish nationalists broke into the church to steal the stone and return it to Scotland.
In preparation for bombing raids during World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the Coronation Chair and many of the abbey's records were moved out of the city, and the Stone of Scone was buried. In 1941, on the night of 10May and the early morning of 11May, the Westminster Abbey precincts and roof were hit by incendiary bombs. Although the Auxiliary Fire Service
The Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) was first formed in 1938 in Great Britain as part of the Civil Defence Service. Its role was to supplement the work of brigades at local level. The Auxiliary Fire Service and the local brigades were superseded ...
and the abbey's own fire-watchers were able to stop the fire spreading to the whole of the church, the deanery and three residences of abbey clergy and staff were badly damaged, and the lantern tower above the crossing collapsed, leaving the abbey open to the sky. The cost of the damage was estimated at £135,000. Some damage can still be seen in the RAF Chapel, where a small hole in the wall was created by a bomb that fell outside the chapel. No one was killed, and the abbey continued to hold services throughout the war. When hostilities ceased, evacuated objects were returned to the abbey, 60,000 sandbags were moved out, and a new permanent roof was built over the crossing. Two different designs for a narthex
The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...
(entrance hall) for the west front were produced by architects Edwin Lutyens
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...
and Edward Maufe
Sir Edward Brantwood Maufe, RA, FRIBA (12 December 1882 – 12 December 1974) was an English architect and designer. He built private homes as well as commercial and institutional buildings, and is remembered chiefly for his work on place ...
during World War II, but neither was built.
Because of its outstanding universal value, the abbey was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
in 1987, together with the nearby Palace of Westminster and St Margaret's Church.
In 1997, the abbey, which was then receiving approximately 1.75 million visitors each year, began charging admission fees to visitors at the door (although a fee for entering the eastern half of the church had existed prior to 1600).
21st century
In June 2009, the first major building work in 250 years was proposed. Acorona
Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to:
* Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star
* Corona (beer), a Mexican beer
* Corona, informal term for the coronavirus or disease responsible for the COVID-19 ...
– a crown-like architectural feature – was suggested to be built around the lantern over the central crossing, replacing an existing pyramidal structure dating from the 1950s. This was part of a wider £23-million development of the abbey completed in 2013. On 4 August 2010, the Dean and Chapter announced that, "after a considerable amount of preliminary and exploratory work", efforts toward the construction of a corona would not be continued.
The Cosmati
The Cosmati were a Roman family, seven members of which, for four generations, were skilful architects, sculptors and workers in decorative geometric mosaic, mostly for church floors. Their name is commemorated in the genre of Cosmatesque work, o ...
pavement underwent a major cleaning and restoration programme for two years, beginning in 2008. On 17September 2010, Pope Benedict XVI
Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...
became the first pope to set foot in the abbey when he participated in a service of evening prayer with archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams
Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet, who served as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury from 2002 to 2012. Previously the Bishop of Monmouth and Archbishop of W ...
. On 29April 2011, the abbey hosted the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place on Friday, 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London, England. William was second in the line of succession to the British throne at the time, later becoming heir apparent. T ...
.
In 2018, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries were opened. Located in the medieval triforium
A triforium is an interior Gallery (theatre), gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, o ...
, high up around the sanctuary, they are areas for displaying the abbey's treasures. A new Gothic access tower with a lift was designed by the abbey architect and Surveyor of the Fabric, Ptolemy Dean
Ptolemy Hugo Dean (born 1968) is a British architect, television presenter and the 19th Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey. He specialises in historic preservation, as well as designing new buildings that are in keeping with their histo ...
.
In 2020, a 13th-century sacristy
A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records.
The sacristy is us ...
was uncovered in the grounds of the abbey as part of an archaeological excavation. The sacristy was used by the monks of the abbey to store objects used in Mass
Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
, such as vestment
Vestments are Liturgy, liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christianity, Christian religion, especially by Eastern Christianity, Eastern Churches, Catholic Church, Catholics (of all rites), Lutherans, and Anglicans. ...
s and chalice
A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...
s. Also on the site were hundreds of buried bodies, mostly of abbey monks. On 10 March 2021, a vaccination centre opened in Poets' Corner
Poets' Corner is a section of the southern transept of Westminster Abbey in London, England, where many poets, playwrights, and writers are buried or commemorated.
The first poet interred in Poets' Corner was Geoffrey Chaucer in 1400. Willia ...
to administer doses of COVID-19 vaccine
A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19).
Knowledge about the structure and fun ...
s.
Architecture
The building is chiefly built in a Geometric Gothic style, using Reigate stone for facings. The church has an eleven-baynave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
with aisle
An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...
s, transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...
s, and a chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
with ambulatory
The ambulatory ( 'walking place') is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th century but by the 13t ...
and radiating chapels. The building is supported with two tiers of flying buttress
The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of a ramping arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, to convey to the ground the lateral forces that push a wall ou ...
es. The western end of the nave and the west front were designed by Henry Yevele in a Perpendicular Gothic
Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-ce ...
style. The Henry VII Chapel was built in a late Perpendicular style in Huddlestone stone, probably by Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...
and William Vertue
William Vertue (died 1527) was an English architect specialising in Fan vault ceilings.
Along with his brother Robert, he was involved in the construction of the Tower of London (1501–1502) and Bath Abbey. The Vertue brothers are reported as ...
. The west towers were designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor
Nicholas Hawksmoor ( – 25 March 1736) was an English architect. He was a leading figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Hawksmoor worked alongside the principal architects ...
and blend the Gothic style of the abbey with the Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
style fashionable during his lifetime.
The modern Westminster Abbey is largely based on French Gothic
French Gothic architecture is an architectural style which emerged in France in 1140, and was dominant until the mid-16th century. The most notable examples are the great Gothic cathedrals of France, including Notre-Dame Cathedral, Reims Cathed ...
styles, especially those found at Reims Cathedral
Notre-Dame de Reims (; ; meaning "Our Lady of Reims"), known in English as Reims Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral in the French city of the same name, the seat of the Archdiocese of Reims. The cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and wa ...
, rather than the contemporaneous English Gothic
English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...
styles. For example, the English Gothic style favours large and elaborate towers, while Westminster Abbey did not have any towers until the 18th century. It is also more similar to French churches than English ones in terms of its ratio of height to width: Westminster Abbey has the highest nave of any Gothic church in England, and the nave is much narrower than any medieval English church of a similar height. Instead of a short, square, eastern end (as was the English fashion), Westminster Abbey has a long, rounded apse
In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...
, and it also has chapels radiating from the ambulatory, which is typical of a French Gothic style. However, there are also distinctively English elements, such as the use of materials of contrasting colours, as with the Purbeck marble
Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone found in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England. It is a variety of Purbeck stone that has been quarried since at least Roman times as a decorative building stone.
Geology
S ...
and white stone in the crossing.
The northern entrance has three porches, with the central one featuring an elaborately carved tympanum, leading it to acquire the nickname "Solomon
Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...
's porch" as a reference to the legendary temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accord ...
.
The abbey retains its 13th- and 14th-century cloister
A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...
s, which would have been one of the busiest parts of the church when it was part of a monastery. The west cloister was used for the teaching of novice monks, the north for private study. The south cloister led to the refectory
A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...
, and the east to the chapter house and dormitory. In the southwest corner of the cloisters is a cellarium
A cellarium (from the Latin ''cella'', "pantry"), also known as an ''undercroft'', was a storehouse or storeroom, usually in a medieval monastery or castle. In English monasteries, it was usually located in or under the buildings on the west range ...
formerly used by the monks to store food and wine; in modern times, it is the abbey café. The north cloister and northern end of the east cloister, closest to the church, are the oldest; they date to , whereas the rest are from 1352 to 1366. The abbey also contains a Little Cloister, on the site of the monks' infirmary. The Little Cloister dates from the end of the 17th century and contains a small garden with a fountain in the centre. A passageway from the Little Cloister leads to College Garden
College Garden is a private garden of Westminster Abbey in London, open to the public Monday through Friday from 10:00am to 4:00pm throughout the year. The garden can be visited separately from the abbey and no charge is made to visit the garden ...
, which has been in continuous use for 900 years, beginning as the medicine garden for the monks of the abbey and now overlooked by canons' houses and the dormitory for Westminster School
Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...
.
The newest part of the abbey is the Weston Tower, finished in 2018 and designed by Ptolemy Dean
Ptolemy Hugo Dean (born 1968) is a British architect, television presenter and the 19th Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey. He specialises in historic preservation, as well as designing new buildings that are in keeping with their histo ...
. It sits between the chapter house and the Henry VII Chapel, and contains a lift shaft and spiral staircase to allow public access to the triforium, which contains the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries. The tower has a star-shaped floorplan and leaded windows
Leadlights, leaded lights or leaded windows are decorative windows made of small sections of glass supported in lead cames. The technique of creating windows using glass and lead came to be known as came glasswork. The term 'leadlight' could b ...
with an elaborate crown rooftop. The lift shaft inside is faced with 16 kinds of stone from the abbey's history, including Purbeck marble, Reigate stone, and Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone geological formation (formally named the Portland Stone Formation) dating to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic that is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The quarries are cut in beds of whi ...
. The project took five years and cost £22.9million. The galleries were designed by McInnes Usher McKnight.
Interior
The church's interior hasPurbeck marble
Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone found in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England. It is a variety of Purbeck stone that has been quarried since at least Roman times as a decorative building stone.
Geology
S ...
piers and shafting. The roof vaulting is quadripartite, with ridge ribs and bosses and, at , it is one of Britain's highest church vaults. To accommodate as many guests as possible during coronations, the transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...
s were designed to be unusually long and the choir was placed east (rather than west) of the crossing; this is also seen in Rheims Cathedral
Notre-Dame de Reims (; ; meaning "Our Lady of Reims"), known in English as Reims Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral in the French city of the same name, the seat of the Archdiocese of Reims. The cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and wa ...
. The 13th-century interior would have been painted in bright colours and gilded, although the piers Piers may refer to:
* Pier, a raised structure over a body of water
* Pier (architecture), an architectural support
* Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name)
* Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...
would have been left unpainted.
Although the nave was built over the course of centuries from the east to the west end, generations of builders stuck to the original design and it has a unified style. Markers of the long gap in building between 1269 and 1376 are relatively minor, but can be seen at the fifth bay from the crossing. The spandrel
A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame, between the tops of two adjacent arches, or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fil ...
s above the arches towards the earlier east end are decorated with diaper-work, and are plain towards the (later) west end. The lancet window
A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...
s on the earlier side have a foiled
''Foiled'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Blue October, released on April 4, 2006, by Universal Records. The album debuted at number 29 on the US Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200, marking the band's first entry on the chart. Th ...
circle, and have an unencircled quatrefoil
A quatrefoil (anciently caterfoil) is a decorative element consisting of a symmetrical shape which forms the overall outline of four partially overlapping circles of the same diameter. It is found in art, architecture, heraldry and traditional ...
on the later side; the shields on the aisle walls are carved on the earlier side, and painted on the later side. Above the crossing, in the centre of the church, is a roof lantern which was destroyed by a bomb in 1941 and restored by architect Stephen Dykes Bower
Stephen Ernest Dykes Bower (18 April 1903 – 11 November 1994) was a British church architect and Gothic Revival designer best known for his work at Westminster Abbey, Bury St Edmunds Cathedral and the Chapel at Lancing College. As an architec ...
in 1958. In the choir aisles, shields of donors to the 13th- and 14th-century rebuilding are carved and painted in the spandrels of the arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game
** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware
** Arcad ...
. At the eastern end of the nave is a large screen separating the nave from the choir, made of 13th-century stone, reworked by Edward Blore in 1834, and with paintwork and gilding by Bower in the 1960s.
Behind the main altar is the shrine and tomb of Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex.
Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...
. Saints' shrines were once common in English medieval churches, but most were destroyed during the English Reformation
The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...
and Edward is the only major English saint whose body still occupies his shrine. Arranged around him in a horseshoe shape are a series of tombs of medieval kings and their queens: Henry III, Eleanor of Castile
Eleanor of Castile (1241 – 28 November 1290) was Queen of England as the first wife of Edward I. She was educated at the Castilian court and also ruled as Countess of Ponthieu in her own right () from 1279. After diplomatic efforts to s ...
, Edward I, Philippa of Hainault
Philippa of Hainault (sometimes spelled Hainaut; Middle French: ''Philippe de Hainaut''; 24 June 1310 (or 1315) – 15 August 1369) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the wife and political adviser of King Edward III. She acted a ...
, Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...
, Anne of Bohemia
Anne of Bohemia (11 May 1366 – 7 June 1394), also known as Anne of Luxembourg, was Queen consort of England, Queen of England as the first wife of King Richard II. A member of the House of Luxembourg, she was the daughter of Charles IV, Holy ...
, and Richard II. Henry V is in the centre of the horseshoe, at the eastern end. Henry III's tomb was originally covered with pieces of coloured glass and stone, since picked off by generations of tourists. Above Henry V's tomb, at mezzanine
A mezzanine (; or in Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft with non-sloped ...
level over the ambulatory
The ambulatory ( 'walking place') is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th century but by the 13t ...
, is a chantry
A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings:
# a chantry service, a set of Christian liturgical celebrations for the dead (made up of the Requiem Mass and the Office of the Dead), or
# a chantry chapel, a b ...
chapel built by mason John Thirske and decorated with many sculpted figures (including Henry V riding a horse and being crowned in the abbey). At the western end, the shrine is separated from the main church by a stone reredos
A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images.
The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...
which makes it a semi-private space. The reredos depicts episodes from Edward's life, including his birth and the building of the abbey. The shrine is closed to the public, except for special events.
The abbey includes side chapels radiating from the ambulatory. Many were originally included in the 13th-century rebuilding as altars dedicated to individual saints, and many of the chapels still bear saints' names (such as St Nicholas and St Paul). Saints' cults were no longer orthodox after the English Reformation, and the chapels were repurposed as places for extra burials and monuments. In the north ambulatory are the Islip Chapel, the Nurses' Memorial Chapel (sometimes called the Nightingale Chapel), the Chapel of Our Lady of the Pew, the Chapel of St John the Baptist, and St Paul's Chapel. The Islip Chapel is named after Abbot John Islip
John Islip (1464Barbara F. Harvey and Henry Summerson‘Islip, John (1464–1532)’ ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008–1532) was abbot of the monastery of Westminster, London, ...
, who commissioned it in the 16th century. The screen inside is decorated with a visual pun on his name: an eye and a boy falling from a tree (eye-slip). Additional chapels in the eastern aisle of the north transept are named after (from south to north) St John the Evangelist, St Michael, and St Andrew. The chapels of St Nicholas, St Edmund, and St Benedict are in the south ambulatory.
The footprint of the south transept is smaller than the northern one because the 13th-century builders butted against the pre-existing 11th-century cloister
A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...
s. To make the transepts match, the south transept overhangs the western cloister; this permitted a room above the cloisters which was used to store the abbey muniment
A muniment or muniment of title is a legal term for a document, title deed or other evidence, that indicates ownership of an asset. The word is derived from the Latin noun ''munimentum'', meaning a "fortification, bulwark, defence or protection". ...
s. In the south transept is the chapel of St Faith
Saint Faith, Saint Faith of Conques or Saint Faith of Agen (; ; ) is a saint who is said to have been a girl or young woman of Agen in Aquitaine. Her legend recounts how she was arrested during persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire and r ...
, built as the vestry
A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...
for the abbey's monks. On the east wall is a painting of St Faith holding the grid-iron on which she was roasted to death.
Chapter house and Pyx Chamber
The octagonalchapter house
A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...
was used by the abbey monks for daily meetings, where they would hear a chapter of the Rule of St Benedict
The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by Benedict of Nursia, St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot.
The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up ...
and receive their instructions for the day from the abbot. The chapter house was built between 1250 and 1259 and is one of the largest in Britain, measuring nearly across. For 300 years after the English Reformation, it was used to store state records until they were moved to the Public Record Office
The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO, pronounced as three letters and referred to as ''the'' PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was m ...
in 1863. It was restored
''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004, by BEC Recordings.
Track listing
Standard release
Enhanced edition
Deluxe gold edition
Standard Aus ...
by George Gilbert Scott in the 19th century.
The entrance is approached from the east cloister via outer and inner vestibules, and the ceiling becomes higher as a visitor approaches the chapter house. It is an octagonal room with a central pillar, built with a small crypt below. Around the sides are benches for 80 monks, above which are large stained-glass windows depicting the coats of arms of several monarchs and the abbey's patrons and abbots. The exterior includes flying buttress
The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of a ramping arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, to convey to the ground the lateral forces that push a wall ou ...
es (added in the 14th century) and a leaded roof designed by Scott. The interior walls of the chapter house are decorated with 14th- and 15th-century paintings of the Apocalypse
Apocalypse () is a literary genre originating in Judaism in the centuries following the Babylonian exile (597–587 BCE) but persisting in Christianity and Islam. In apocalypse, a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a ...
, the Last Judgement
The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism.
Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...
, and birds and animals. The chapter house also has an original, mid-13th-century tiled floor. A wooden door in the vestibule, made with a tree felled between 1032 and 1064, is one of Britain's oldest. It may have been the door to the 11th-century chapter house in Edward the Confessor's abbey, and was re-used as the door to the Pyx Chamber in the 13th century. It now leads to an office.
The adjoining Pyx Chamber was the undercroft
An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and Vault (architecture), vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area whi ...
of the monks' dormitory. Dating to the late 11th century, it was used as a monastic and royal treasury. The outer walls and circular piers also date to the 11th century; several capitals
Capital and its variations may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital
** List of national capitals
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter
Econom ...
were enriched in the 12th century, and the stone altar was added in the 13th century. The term ''pyx'' refers to the boxwood chest in which coins were held and presented to a jury during the Trial of the Pyx
The Trial of the Pyx () is a judicial ceremony in the United Kingdom to ensure that newly minted coins from the Royal Mint conform to their required dimensional and fineness specifications. Although coin quality is now tested throughout the year ...
, when newly minted coins were presented to ensure they conformed to the required standards. The chapter house and Pyx Chamber are in the guardianship of English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
, but under the care and management of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster.
Henry VII Chapel
The Henry VII Lady Chapel, also known simply as the Henry VII Chapel, is a largelady chapel
A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chape ...
at the far eastern end of the abbey which was paid for by the will of King Henry VII. The chapel, built in late Perpendicular Gothic
Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-ce ...
style, inspired English poet John Leland to call it the ''orbis miraculum'' (the wonder of the world). The tombs of several monarchs, including Edward V
Edward V (2 November 1470 – ) was King of England from 9 April to 25 June 1483. He succeeded his father, Edward IV, upon the latter's death. Edward V was never crowned, and his brief reign was dominated by the influence of his uncle and Lord ...
, Henry VII, Edward VI
Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...
, Mary I, Elizabeth I, James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
* James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
* James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
* James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334 ...
, Charles II, George II and Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567.
The only surviving legit ...
, are in the chapel.
It is noted for its pendant- and fan vault
A fan vault is a form of vault used in the Gothic style, in which the ribs are all of the same curve and spaced equidistantly, in a manner resembling a fan. The initiation and propagation of this design element is strongly associated with E ...
-style ceiling, probably designed by William Vertue
William Vertue (died 1527) was an English architect specialising in Fan vault ceilings.
Along with his brother Robert, he was involved in the construction of the Tower of London (1501–1502) and Bath Abbey. The Vertue brothers are reported as ...
, which writer Washington Irving
Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...
said was "achieved with the wonderful minuteness and airy security of a cobweb". The ceiling is not a true fan vault, but a groin vault
A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: La ...
disguised as a fan vault. The interior walls are densely decorated with carvings, including 95 statues of saints. Many statues of saints in England were destroyed in the 17th century, so these are rare survivors. Like much of the rest of the medieval building, they would originally have been painted and gilded. From outside, The chapel walls are supported from outside by flying buttresses, each in the form of a polygonal tower topped with a cupola
In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout.
The word derives, via Ital ...
. At the centre of the chapel is the tomb of Henry VII and his wife, Elizabeth of York, which was sculpted by Pietro Torrigiano
Pietro Torrigiano (24 November 1472 – July/August 1528) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Florence, who had to flee the city after breaking Michelangelo's nose. He then worked abroad, and died in prison in Spain. He was important in ...
(who fled to England from Italy after breaking Michaelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...
's nose in a fight).
The chapel has sub-chapels radiating from the main structure. One, to the north, contains the tombs of Mary I and Elizabeth I; both coffins are in Elizabeth's monument. Another, to the south, contains the tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots. Both monuments were commissioned by James I, Elizabeth's successor to the English throne and Mary's son. At the far eastern end is the RAF Chapel, with a stained-glass window dedicated to those who died in the 1940 Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...
. The RAF Chapel was the original burial site of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...
in 1658. Cromwell was disinterred in 1661, after the Stuart Restoration
The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...
, when his body was hanged in chains on the gallows at Tyburn
Tyburn was a Manorialism, manor (estate) in London, Middlesex, England, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. Tyburn took its name from the Tyburn Brook, a tributary of the River Westbourne. The name Tyburn, from Teo Bourne ...
.
The chapel has been the mother church
Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral church, or ...
of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...
since 1725, and the banners of its members hang above the stalls. The stalls retain their medieval misericord
A misericord (sometimes named mercy seat, like the biblical object) is a small wooden structure formed on the underside of a folding seat in a church which, when the seat is folded up, is intended to act as a shelf to support a person in a p ...
s: small ledges for monks to perch on during services, often decorated with varied and humorous carvings.
Monastic buildings
Many rooms used by the monks have been repurposed. The dormitory became a library and a school room, and the monks' offices have been converted into houses for the clergy. The abbot had his own lodgings, and ate separately from the rest of the monks. The lodgings, now used by the Dean of Westminster, are probably the oldest continuously occupied residence in London. They include the Jericho Parlour (covered in wooden linenfold panelling
Linenfold (or linen fold) is a simple style of relief carving used to decorate Frame and panel, wood panelling with a design "imitating window tracery", "imitating folded linen" or "stiffly imitating folded material". Originally from Flanders, ...
), the Jerusalem Chamber (commissioned in 1369), and a grand dining hall with a minstrels' gallery which is now used by Westminster School. The prior also had his own household, separate from the monks, on the site of present-day Ashburnham House
Ashburnham House is an extended seventeenth-century house on Little Dean's Yard in Westminster, London, United Kingdom, which since 1882 has been part of Westminster School. It is occasionally open to the public, when its staircase and first f ...
in Little Dean's Yard (now also part of Westminster School).
Artworks and treasures
The nave and transepts have sixteen crystal chandeliers made of hand-blownWaterford glass
Waterford Crystal is an Irish manufacturer of Lead glass, crystal glassware, especially cut glass products. It is named after the city of Waterford in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In January 2009, the main Waterford Crystal manufacturing base o ...
. Designed by A. B. Read and Stephen Dykes Bower, they were donated by the Guinness family
The Guinness family is an extensive Irish family known for its achievements in brewing, banking, politics, and religious ministry. The brewing branch is particularly well known among the general public for producing the dry stout beer Guinnes ...
in 1965 to commemorate the abbey's 900th anniversary. The choir stalls were designed by Edward Blore in 1848. Some stalls are assigned to high commissioners
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...
of countries in the Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...
.
Beyond the crossing to the west is the sacrarium, which contains the high altar. The abbey has the 13th-century Westminster Retable
The Westminster Retable, the oldest known panel painting altarpiece in England,Hamilto ...
, thought to be the altarpiece from Henry III's 13th-century church and the earliest surviving English panel painting
A panel painting is a painting made on a flat panel of wood, either a single piece or a number of pieces joined together. Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century, panel painting was the normal method, when not pain ...
altatrpiece, in its collections. The present high altar and screen were designed by George Gilbert Scott between 1867 and 1873, with sculptures of Moses
In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...
, St Peter
Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the early Christian Church. He appears repe ...
, St Paul
Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...
, and King David
David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament.
The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...
by H. H. Armistead, as well as a mosaic of the Last Supper
Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, ''The Last Supper (Leonardo), The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic ...
by J. R. Clayton and Antonio Salviati
Antonio Salviati (18 March 1816 – 25 January 1890) was an Italian glass manufacturer and founder of the Salviati (glassmakers), Salviati family firm.
Biography
A native of Vicenza, Salviati was a lawyer who became interested in glass work af ...
.
The south transept contains wall paintings made , which Richard Jenkyns calls "the grandest of their time remaining in England". Depicting Thomas the Apostle
Thomas the Apostle (; , meaning 'the Twin'), also known as Didymus ( 'twin'), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Thomas is commonly known as "doubting Thomas" because he initially doubted the resurrection of ...
looking at Christ's wounds
A wound is any disruption of or damage to living tissue, such as skin, mucous membranes, or organs. Wounds can either be the sudden result of direct trauma (mechanical, thermal, chemical), or can develop slowly over time due to underlying diseas ...
and St Christopher
Saint Christopher (, , ; ) is venerated by several Christian denominations. According to these traditions, he was a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman emperor Decius (), or alternatively under the emperor Maximinus Daia (). ...
carrying the Christ Child
The Christ Child—also known as Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, Child Jesus, Divine Child, Divine Infant and the Holy Child—refers to Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ during his early years. The term refers to a period of life of Jesus, Jesus' l ...
, the paintings were discovered in 1934 behind two monuments. Fourteenth-century paintings are on the backs of the ''sedilia
In church architecture, sedilia (plural of Latin ''sedīle'', "seat") are seats, typically made of stone, located on the liturgical south side of the altar—often within the chancel—intended for use by the officiating priest, deacon, an ...
'' (seats used by priests on either side of the high altar). On the south side are three figures: Edward the Confessor, the angel Gabriel
In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...
, and the Virgin Mary. On the north side are two kings (possibly Henry III and Edward I) surrounding a religious figure, possibly St Peter. They were walled off during the Commonwealth period by order of Parliament, and were later rediscovered.
Over the Great West Door are ten statues of 20th-century Christian martyrs of various denominations; the statues were sculpted by the abbey's craftsmen in 1998. Those commemorated are Maximilian Kolbe
Maximilian Maria Kolbe (born Raymund Kolbe; ; 8 January 1894 – 14 August 1941) was a Polish Roman Catholic priest, Conventual Franciscan friar, missionary, saint, martyr, and a Nazi concentration camp victim, who volunteered to die in place ...
, Manche Masemola, Janani Luwum
Janani Jakaliya Luwum was a Ugandan Anglican bishop. He was the archbishop of the Church of Uganda from 1974 to 1977 and one of the most influential leaders of the modern church in Africa. He was arrested in February 1977 and died shortly after. ...
, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna
Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia (born Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine; 1 November 1864– 18 July 1918) was a German Hessian and Rhenish princess of the House of Hesse-Darmstadt, and the wife of Grand Duke Sergei Alex ...
, Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
, Óscar Romero
Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (15 August 1917 – 24 March 1980) was a prelate of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. He served as Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Salvador, Archdiocese of San Salvador, the Titular ...
, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, neo-orthodox theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the s ...
, Esther John
Esther John (), born Qamar Zia (Urdu: ), on 14 October 1929; died 2 February 1960) was a Pakistani Christian nurse who was murdered in 1960 for her efforts in Christian evangelism. She was subsequently recognized as a Christian martyr. In 1998, s ...
, Lucian Tapiedi
Lucian Tapiedi ( – 1942) was a Papuan Anglican teacher who was one of the Martyrs of New Guinea The Martyrs were eight Anglican clergy, teachers, and medical missionaries killed by the Japanese in 1942 (a total of 333 church workers of all ...
, and Wang Zhiming.
From the chapter house is a doorway leading to the abbey's library, which was built as a dormitory for the monks and has been used as a library since the 16th century. The collection has about 16,000 volumes. Next to the library is the Muniment Room, where the abbey's historic archives are kept.
Cosmati pavement
At the crossing in front of Edward the Confessor's shrine and the main altar is the Cosmati pavement, a 700-year-old tile floor made of almost 30,000 pieces of coloured glass and stone. Measuring almost 25 feet square, coronations take place here. The floor is named after theCosmati
The Cosmati were a Roman family, seven members of which, for four generations, were skilful architects, sculptors and workers in decorative geometric mosaic, mostly for church floors. Their name is commemorated in the genre of Cosmatesque work, o ...
family in Rome, who were known for such work. It was commissioned by Richard Ware, who travelled to Rome in 1258, when he became abbot, and returned with stone and artists. The porphyry
Porphyry (; , ''Porphyrios'' "purple-clad") may refer to:
Geology
* Porphyry (geology), an igneous rock with large crystals in a fine-grained matrix, often purple, and prestigious Roman sculpture material
* Shoksha porphyry, quartzite of purple c ...
used was originally quarried as far away as Egypt, and was presumably brought to Italy during the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
. It was surrounded by a Latin inscription in brass letters (since lost) identifying the artist as Odericus, probably referring to designer Pietro di Oderisio or his son. The inscription also predicted the end of the world 19,863 years after its creation. Unlike traditional mosaic work, the pieces were not cut to a uniform size but made using a technique known as ''opus sectile
''Opus sectile'' is a form of '' pietra dura'' popularized in the ancient and medieval Roman world where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials were marble, mother of pearl, and gla ...
'' ("cut work"). It is unique among Cosmati floors in Europe for the use of dark Purbeck-marble trays, forming bold borders, instead of the more typical white marble. The pavement influenced later floor treatments at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
St George's Chapel, formally titled The King's Free Chapel of the College of St George, Windsor Castle, at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal peculiar, Royal Peculia ...
, and Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...
.
Geometric designs, such as those in the pavement, were thought to help the abbey's monks with contemplation, and conveyed medieval Christian ideas on the nature of the universe that could not easily be put into words. Much of the design relies on the geometric doubling of the square, considered a trade secret by stonemasons. The four-sided squares, four-fold symmetry, and the four inner roundel
A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of differ ...
s of the design represent the four elements
The classical elements typically refer to earth, water, air, fire, and (later) aether which were proposed to explain the nature and complexity of all matter in terms of simpler substances. Ancient cultures in Greece, Angola, Tibet, India, a ...
of classical philosophy, with the central roundel representing the unformed state of the universe at its creation. Each inner roundel is touched by two bands, which represent the shared qualities of each element; water and air were both considered "moist" in classical philosophy, and air and fire were both considered "hot".
Stained glass
The abbey's 13th-century windows would have been filled withstained glass
Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
, but much of this was destroyed in the English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
and the Blitz
The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War.
Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...
and was replaced with clear, plain glass. Since the 19th century, new stained glass, designed by artists such as Ninian Comper
Sir John Ninian Comper (10 June 1864 – 22 December 1960) was a Scottish architect, one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival architects.
His work almost entirely focused on the design, restoration and embellishm ...
(on the north side of the nave) and Hugh Easton and Alan Younger (in the Henry VII Chapel), has replaced clear glass.
The north rose window was designed by James Thornhill
Sir James Thornhill (25 July 1675 or 1676 – 4 May 1734) was an English painter of historical subjects working in the Italian baroque tradition. He was responsible for some large-scale schemes of murals, including the "Painted Hall" at the R ...
and made by Joshua Price in 1722; it shows Christ, the apostles (without Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot (; ; died AD) was, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane, in exchange for thirty pieces of sil ...
), the Four Evangelists
In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew the Apostle, Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Mark, Luke the Evangelist, Luke, and John the Evangelist, John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts ...
, and, in the centre, the Bible. The window was restored by J. L. Pearson in the 19th century, during which the feet of the figures were cut off. Thornhill also designed the great west window, which shows the Biblical figures of Abraham
Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...
, Isaac
Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...
, and Jacob
Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...
, as well as representatives of the Twelve Tribes of Israel
The Twelve Tribes of Israel ( , ) are described in the Hebrew Bible as being the descendants of Jacob, a Patriarchs (Bible), Hebrew patriarch who was a son of Isaac and thereby a grandson of Abraham. Jacob, later known as Israel (name), Israel, ...
underneath.
In the Henry VII Chapel, the west window was designed by John Lawson and unveiled in 1995. It depicts coats of arms and cyphers of Westminster Abbey's benefactors, particularly John Templeton
Sir John Marks Templeton (29 November 1912 – 8 July 2008) was an American-born British investor, banker, fund manager, and philanthropist. In 1954, he entered the mutual fund market and created the Templeton Growth Fund, which averaged gro ...
(whose coat of arms is prominent in the lower panel). In the centre are the arms of Elizabeth II. The central east window, designed by Alan Younger and dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was unveiled in 2000. It depicts Comet Hale–Bopp
Comet Hale–Bopp (formally designated C/1995 O1) is a long-period comet that was one of the most widely observed of the 20th century and one of the brightest seen for many decades.
Alan Hale (astronomer), Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp disc ...
, which was passing over the artist's house at the time, as the star of Bethlehem
The Star of Bethlehem, or Christmas Star, appears in the nativity of Jesus, nativity story of the Gospel of Matthew Matthew 2, chapter 2 where "wise men from the East" (biblical Magi, Magi) are inspired by the star to travel to Jerusalem. There, ...
. The donors of the window, Lord and Lady Harris of Peckham, are shown kneeling at the bottom.
In 2018, artist David Hockney
David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English Painting, painter, Drawing, draughtsman, Printmaking, printmaker, Scenic design, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considere ...
unveiled a new stained-glass window for the north transept to celebrate the reign of Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
. It shows a country scene inspired by his native Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
, with hawthorn blossoms and blue skies. Hockney used an iPad to design the window, replicating the backlight that comes through stained glass.
Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries
TheWestminster Abbey Museum
The Westminster Abbey Museum was located in the 11th-century vaulted undercroft beneath the former monks' dormitory in Westminster Abbey, London, England. This was located in one of the oldest areas of the abbey, dating back almost to the foundat ...
was located in the 11th-century vaulted undercroft
An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and Vault (architecture), vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area whi ...
beneath the former monks' dormitory. This is one of the oldest areas of the abbey, dating almost to the foundation of the church by Edward the Confessor in 1065. This space had been used as a museum since 1908, but was closed to the public when it was replaced as a museum in June 2018 by the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries (high in the abbey's triforium
A triforium is an interior Gallery (theatre), gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, o ...
and accessed through the Weston Tower, which encloses a lift and stairs).
The exhibits include a set of life-size effigies
An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain ...
of English and British monarchs and their consorts, originally made to lie on the coffin in the funeral procession or to be displayed over the tomb. The effigies date from the 14th to the 18th centuries, and some include original clothes.
On display in the galleries is '' The Coronation Theatre, Westminster Abbey: A Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II'', a portrait by Ralph Heimans
Ralph Heimans, (born 1970) is an Australian-British contemporary portrait painter based in London, England. He is considered to be "one of today's leading portrait artists". He is best known for his large-scale Royal portraits of Queen Elizabet ...
of the queen standing on the Cosmati pavement where she was crowned in 1953. Other exhibits include a model of an unbuilt tower designed by Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was ac ...
; a paper model of the abbey as it was for Queen Victoria's 1837 coronation; and the wedding licence of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, who were married in the abbey in 2011.
Burials and memorials
Over 3,300 people are buried or commemorated in the abbey. For much of its history, most of the people buried there (other than monarchs) were people with a connection to the church – either ordinary locals or the monks of the abbey, who were generally buried without surviving markers. Since the 18th century, it has been an honour for any British person to be buried or commemorated in the abbeya practice boosted by the lavish funeral and monument of Isaac Newton, who died in 1727. By 1900, so many prominent figures were buried in the abbey that the writer William Morris called it a "National Valhalla". Politicians buried in the abbey includePitt the Elder
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (15 November 170811 May 1778) was a British Whig statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him "Chatham" or "Pitt the Elder" to distinguish him from his son Wi ...
, Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a British British Whig Party, Whig politician and statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centurie ...
, Pitt the Younger
William Pitt (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806) was a British statesman who served as the last prime minister of Great Britain from 1783 until the Acts of Union 1800, and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom from January 1801. He left o ...
, William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780 ...
, William Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party.
In a career lasting over 60 years, he was Prime Minister ...
, and Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. At ...
. A cluster of scientists surrounds the tomb of Isaac Newton, including Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
and Stephen Hawking
Stephen William Hawking (8January 194214March 2018) was an English theoretical physics, theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between ...
. Actors include David Garrick
David Garrick (19 February 1716 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil a ...
, Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...
, and Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...
. Musicians tend to be buried in the north aisle of the nave, and include Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...
and Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
. George Frideric Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti.
Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
is buried in Poets' Corner.
An estimated 18 English, Scottish and British monarchs are buried in the abbey, including Edward the Confessor, Henry III, Edward I, Edward III, Richard II, Henry V, Edward V, Henry VII, Edward VI, Mary I, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, James I, Charles II, Mary II, William III, Queen Anne, and George II. Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots were the last monarchs to be buried with full tomb effigies; monarchs buried after them are commemorated in the abbey with simple inscriptions. George II was the last monarch to be buried in the abbey, in 1760, and George III's brother, Henry Frederick, was the last member of the royal family to be buried in the abbey, in 1790. Most monarchs after George II have been buried in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
St George's Chapel, formally titled The King's Free Chapel of the College of St George, Windsor Castle, at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal peculiar, Royal Peculia ...
, or at the Frogmore Royal Burial Ground, east of Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...
.
Poets' Corner
The south transept of the church is known as Poets' Corner because of its high number of burials of, and memorials to, poets and writers. The first wasGeoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...
(buried around 1400), who was employed as Clerk of the King's Works and had apartments in the abbey. A second poet, Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser (; – 13 January 1599 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English poet best known for ''The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the House of Tudor, Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is re ...
(who was local to the abbey), was buried nearby in 1599. The idea of a Poets' Corner did not crystallise until the 18th century, when memorials were established to writers buried elsewhere, such as William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
and John Milton
John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...
. Since then, writers buried in Poets' Corner have included John Dryden
John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate.
He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...
, Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...
, Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
, and Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...
. Not all writers buried in the abbey are in the south transept; Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...
is buried standing upright in the north aisle of the nave, and Aphra Behn
Aphra Behn (; baptism, bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration (England), Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writ ...
in the cloisters.
The Unknown Warrior
On the floor, just inside the Great West Door in the centre of the nave, is the grave of the Unknown Warrior: an unidentified soldier killed on a European battlefield during theFirst World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Although many countries have a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
A Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is a monument dedicated to the services of an unknown soldier and the common memories of all soldiers killed in war. Such tombs are located in many nations and are usually high-profile na ...
(or Warrior), the one in Westminster Abbey was the first; it came about as a response to the unprecedented death toll of the war. The idea came from army chaplain David Railton, who suggested it in 1920. The funeral was held on 11 November 1920, the second anniversary of the end of the war. The Unknown Warrior lay in state for a week afterwards, and an estimated 1.25 million people viewed his gravesite in that time. This grave is the only floor stone in the abbey on which it is forbidden to walk, and every visit by a foreign head of state begins with a visit to it.
Royal occasions
The abbey has strong connections with the royal family. It has been patronised by monarchs, been the location for coronations, royal weddings and funerals, and several monarchs have attended services there. One monarch was born and one died at Westminster Abbey. In 1413, Henry IV collapsed while praying at the shrine of Edward the Confessor. He was moved into the Jerusalem Chamber, and died shortly afterwards. Edward V was born in the abbot's house in 1470. The first jubilee celebration held at the abbey was forQueen Victoria's Golden Jubilee
The Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria was celebrated on 20 and 21 June 1887 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. It was celebrated with a Thanksgiving Service at Westminster Abbey, and a banquet to which ...
in 1887. Rather than wearing the full regalia that she had worn at her coronation, she wore her black mourning clothes topped with the insignia of the Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...
and a miniature crown. She sat in the Coronation Chair—which received a coat of dark varnish for the occasion, which was painstakingly removed afterwards—making her the only monarch to sit in the chair twice. Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...
, marked their silver, gold, and diamond wedding anniversaries with services at the abbey and regularly attended annual observances there for Commonwealth Day
Commonwealth Day is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations, held on the second Monday in March. While the date holds some official status in select member states of the Commonwealth, observances of the date are not uniform, an ...
.
The monarch participates in the Office of the Royal Maundy on Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday, also referred to as Holy Thursday, or Thursday of the Lord's Supper, among other names,The day is also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries. is ...
each year, during which selected elderly people (as many people of each sex as the monarch has years of their life) receive alms of coins. The service has been held at churches around the country since 1952, returning to the abbey every 10 years.
Coronations
Since the coronation of William the Conqueror
The coronation of the British monarch, coronation of William the Conqueror as King of England took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on 25 December 1066, following the Norman Conquest of England. It was the first coronation which can be proved ...
in 1066, 40 English and British monarchs have been crowned in Westminster Abbey (not counting Edward V, Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey (1536/1537 – 12 February 1554), also known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage, and nicknamed as the "Nine Days Queen", was an English noblewoman who was proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland on 10 July 1553 and reigned ...
, and Edward VIII
Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...
, who were never crowned). In 1216, Henry III could not be crowned in the abbey because London was occupied by hostile forces at the time. Henry was crowned in Gloucester Cathedral
Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity and formerly St Peter's Abbey, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishme ...
, and had a second coronation at Westminster Abbey in 1220. When he had the abbey rebuilt, it was designed with long transepts to accommodate many guests at future coronations. Much of the order of service derives from the ''Liber Regalis
The ''Liber Regalis'' (Latin for "Royal Book") is an English medieval illuminated manuscript which was, most likely, compiled in 1382 to provide details for the coronation of England's new queen, Anne of Bohemia. Other sources suggest that it may ...
'', an illuminated manuscript made in 1377 for the coronation of Richard II and held in the abbey's collections. On 6 May 2023, the coronation of Charles III
The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, Camilla, as Monarchy of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth re ...
took place at the abbey. The area used in the church is the crossing, known in the abbey as "the theatre" because of its suitability for grand events. The space in the crossing is clear rather than filled with immovable pews (like many similar churches), allowing for temporary seating in the transepts.
The Coronation Chair (the throne on which English and British sovereigns are seated when they are crowned) is in the abbey's St George's Chapel near the west door, and has been used at coronations since the 14th century. From 1301 to 1996 (except for a short time in 1950, when the stone was stolen by Scottish nationalists), the chair housed the Stone of Scone upon which the kings of Scots were crowned. Although it has been kept in Scotland at Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...
since 1996, the stone is returned to the Coronation Chair in the abbey as needed for coronations. The chair was accessible to the public during the 18th and 19th centuries; people could sit in it, and some carved initials into the woodwork.
Before the 17th century, a king would hold a separate coronation for his new queen if he married after his coronation. The last of these to take place in the abbey was the coronation of Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...
in 1533, after her marriage to Henry VIII. Fifteen coronations of queens consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...
have been held in the abbey. A coronation for Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour (; 24 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was ...
, Henry VIII's third wife, was planned but she died before it took place; no coronations were planned for Henry's subsequent wives. Mary I's husband, Philip II of Spain, Philip of Spain, was not given a separate coronation due to concerns that he would attempt to rule alone after Mary's death. Since then, there have been few opportunities for a second coronation; monarchs have generally come to the throne already married.
Henry II of England, Henry II held a coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey in 1170 for his son, known as Henry the Young King, while Henry II was still alive in an attempt to secure the succession. However, the Young King died before his father and never took the throne.
Weddings
At least 16 royal weddings have taken place at the abbey. Royal weddings at the abbey were relatively rare before the 20th century, with royals often married in a Chapel Royal or at Windsor Castle; this changed with the 1922 wedding of Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood, Princess Mary at the abbey. In 1923, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon became the first royal bride to leave her bouquet on the grave ofthe Unknown Warrior
The Unknown Warrior is an unidentified member of the British Empire, British Imperial armed forces who died on the Western Front (World War I), western front during the First World War. He is interred in a grave at Westminster Abbey, also kno ...
, a practice continued by many royal brides since.
Royal weddings have included:
Funerals
Many royal funerals took place at the abbey between that of Edward the Confessor in 1066 and that of Prince Henry, the last royal buried in the church, in 1790. There were no royal funerals at the abbey from then until that of Alexandra of Denmark, Queen Alexandra in 1925; the queen was buried inWindsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...
. Other queen consorts, such as Mary of Teck in 1953 and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2002, have also had funerals at the abbey before being buried elsewhere.
On 6 September 1997, the ceremonial funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales was held at the abbey. Before the funeral, the railings of the abbey were swamped with flowers and tributes. The event was more widely seen than any previous occasion in the abbey's history, with 2 billion television viewers worldwide. Diana was buried privately on a private island at Althorp, her family estate.
On 19 September 2022, the Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, state funeral of Elizabeth II took place at the abbey before her burial at St George's Chapel, Windsor. It was the first funeral of a monarch at Westminster Abbey for more than 260 years.
People
Dean and Chapter
Westminster Abbey is a collegiate church governed by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster as established by a royal charter from Elizabeth I dated 21 May 1560, which created it as the Collegiate Church of St Peter Westminster (aroyal peculiar
A royal peculiar is a Church of England parish or church exempt from the jurisdiction of the diocese and the province in which it lies, and subject to the direct jurisdiction of the monarch.
Definition
The church parish system dates from the ea ...
). In 2019, David Hoyle (priest), David Hoyle was appointed Dean of Westminster. The chapter consists of four canons and a senior administrative officer, known as the Receiver General. One of the canons is also Rector (ecclesiastical), rector of the adjoining St Margaret's Church, Westminster, and is often the chaplain of the Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons. In addition to the dean and canons, there are minor canons.
King's almsmen
Six King's (or Queen's) almsmen and women are supported by the abbey. They are appointed by royal warrant on the recommendation of the dean and the Home Secretary, attend Matins and Evensong on Sundays, and perform requested duties for a small stipend. On duty, they wear a distinctive red gown with a crowned rose badge on the left shoulder. The almshouse was founded near the abbey by Henry VII in 1502, and the twelve almsmen and three almswomen were originally minor court officials who were retired due to age or disability. They were required to be over the age of 50, single, with a good reputation, literate, able to look after themselves, and with an income of under £4 per year. The building survived the Dissolution of the Monasteries, but was demolished for road-widening in 1779. From the late 18th to the late 20th century, almsmen were usually old soldiers and sailors; today, they are primarily retired abbey employees.Schools
Westminster School is in the abbey. Instruction has taken place since the 14th century with the monks of the abbey; the school regards its founder as Elizabeth I, who dissolved the monastery for the last time and provided for the establishment of the school, the dean, canons, assistant clergy, and lay officers. The schoolboys were rambunctious; Westminster boys have defaced the Coronation Chair, disrupted services, and once interrupted the consecration of four bishops with a bare-knuckle fight in the cloisters. One schoolboy carved on the Coronation Chair that he had slept in it overnight, making him probably its longest inhabitant. Westminster School became independent of the abbey Dean and Chapter in 1868, although the institutions remain closely connected. Westminster Abbey Choir School, also on the abbey grounds, educates the choirboys who sing for abbey services.Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry whose spiritual home is the abbey's Henry VII Chapel. The order was founded by George I of Great Britain, George I in 1725, fell out of fashion after 1812, and was revived by George V in 1913. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which included bathing as a symbol of purification. Members are given stalls with their banner, crest, and a stall plate at installation ceremonies in the abbey every four years. Since there are more members than stalls, some members wait many years for their installation. The Order of the Bath is the fourth-oldest Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom#Current orders of chivalry, British orders of chivalry, after the Orders of Order of the Garter, the Garter, Order of the Thistle, the Thistle, and Order of St Patrick, St Patrick (the latter is presently dormant).
Music
Andrew Nethsingha has been the abbey's organist and master of the choristers since 2023. Peter Holder (organist), Peter Holder is the sub-organist, Matthew Jorysz the assistant organist, and Dewi Rees is the organ scholar.Choir
Since its foundation in the 14th century, the primary role of the Westminster Abbey choir has been to sing for Daily Office (Anglican), daily services; the choir also plays a central role in many state occasions, including royal weddings and funerals, coronations, and memorial services. In 2012, the choir accepted an invitation fromPope Benedict XVI
Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...
to sing with the Sistine Chapel Choir at a Papal Mass in St Peter's Basilica. The all-male choir consists of twelve professional Lay clerk, adult singers and thirty Choirboy, boy choristers from eight to 13 years old who attend the Westminster Abbey Choir School.
Organ
The first record of an organ at Westminster Abbey was the mention of a gift of three Mark (currency), marks from Henry III in 1240 for the repair of one (or more) organs. ''Unum parem organorum'' ("a pair of organs") was recorded in the Lady Chapel in 1304. An inventory compiled for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540 lists a pair of organs in the choir and one in the Islip Chapel. During the Commonwealth of England, Commonwealth, a Royalist source said that soldiers who were billeted in the abbey "brake downe the Organ, and pawned the pipes at severall Ale-houses for pots of Ale"; an organ was played at the Restoration in 1660, however, suggesting that it had not been completely destroyed. In 1720, an organ gifted by George II and built by Christopher Shrider was installed over the choir screen; organs had previously been hidden on the north side of the choir. The organ was rebuilt by William Hill & Son in 1848. A new organ was built by Harrison & Harrison in 1937, with four Manual (music), manuals and 84 Organ stop, speaking stops, and was played publicly for the first time at the coronation of George VI and Elizabeth that year. Some pipework from the previous Hill organ of 1848 was re-voiced and incorporated into the new instrument. The two organ cases, designed and built in the late 19th century by J. L. Pearson, were reinstated and coloured in 1959. In 1982 and 1987, Harrison & Harrison enlarged the organ at the direction of Simon Preston to include an additional lower choir organ and a Pipe organ#Romantic period, bombarde organ. The full instrument has five manuals and 109 speaking stops. Its console was refurbished by Harrison & Harrison in 2006, and space was prepared for two additional 16-foot stops on the lower choir organ and the bombarde organ. The abbey has three other organs: the two-manual Queen's Organ in the Lady Chapel, a smaller Basso continuo, continuo organ, and a practice organ.Bells
There have been bells at the abbey since at least the time of Henry III, and the current bells were installed in the north-west tower in 1971. The ring of bells, ring is made up of ten bells, hung for change ringing, which were cast in 1971 by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry and tuned to the musical notes F#, E, D, C#, B, A, G, F#, E and D. The tenor bell in D (588.5 Hz) has a weight of 30Hundredweight, cwt, 1Quarter (unit), qtr, 15 lb (3,403 lb, or 1,544 kg). Two additional service bells were cast by Robert Mot in 1585 and 1598, and a Church bell#Sanctus bell, sanctus bell was cast in 1738 by Richard Phelps (bellfounder), Richard Phelps and Thomas Lester. Two bells are unused; one was cast , and the second was cast in 1742 by Thomas Lester. The Westminster Abbey Company of Ringers ring peals on special occasions, such as the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.In popular culture
Westminster Abbey is mentioned in the play ''Henry VIII (play), Henry VIII'' by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher (playwright), John Fletcher, when a gentleman describes Coronation of Anne Boleyn, Anne Boleyn's coronation. The abbey was mentioned in a 1598 sonnet by Thomas Bastard which begins, "When I behold, with deep astonishment/ To famous Westminster how there restort/ Living in brass or stony monument/ The princes and the worthies of all sort". Poetry about the abbey has also been written by Francis Beaumont and John Betjeman. The building has appeared in paintings by artists such as Canaletto, Wenceslaus Hollar, William Bruce Ellis Ranken, and J. M. W. Turner.
Playwright Alan Bennett produced ''The Abbey (1995 TV series), The Abbey'', a 1995 documentary recounting his experiences of the building. Key scenes in the book and film ''The Da Vinci Code'' take place in Westminster Abbey. The abbey refused to allow filming in 2005 (calling the book "theologically unsound"), and The Da Vinci Code (film), the film uses Lincoln Cathedral as a stand-in. The abbey issued a fact sheet to their staff which answered questions and debunked several claims made in the book. In 2022, it was announced that the abbey had given rare permission to film inside the church for ''Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning''.
See also
* Archdeacon of Westminster * List of churches in London * Abbot of WestminsterNotes and references
Notes
References
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* {{Authority control Westminster Abbey, Churches completed in 1745 Christian monasteries established in the 10th century Church of England church buildings in the City of Westminster, Abbey Collegiate churches in England Coronation church buildings English Gothic architecture in Greater London Gothic architecture in England Grade I listed churches in the City of Westminster Nicholas Hawksmoor buildings Monasteries in London Religion in the City of Westminster, Abbey Royal Peculiars, London, Westminster Abbey, Abbey Tourist attractions in the City of Westminster, Abbey World Heritage Sites in London 13th-century architecture in the United Kingdom Edward Blore buildings Burial sites of the House of Tudor Burial sites of the House of Stuart Former cathedrals in London 1st-millennium establishments in England Burial sites of the House of Hanover Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation