Westminster Abbey

Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret's Church*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, ii, iv
Reference	426
Region**	Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription	1987  (11th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO.

The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral (and served as one from 1546 - 1556), in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English monarchs.

Construction system was cut stone-bearing masonry. The style was English Gothic with Benedictine planning. A major landmark in London, and the site of coronation for the English monarchy.

Neither a cathedral nor a parish church, Westminster Abbey is a church owned directly by the royal family.

Located next to the Houses of Parliament in the Westminster neighborhood of London, Westminster Abbey is a must-see for any London visitor. With the oldest parts dating to the year 1050, the Abbey contains some of the most glorious medieval architecture in London. And because of its royal connections, it was spared King Henry VIII's general assault on monastic buildings during the Reformation.

The West Front. The coronation throne where monarchs of England have been crowned since the 1300s can be seen in the abbey. Fans of William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and other giants of literature will enjoy the Poet's Corner full of memorials to these and others.

English history or Christian history buffs will enjoy seeing the tombs of the Protestant Elizabeth I and Catholic "Bloody" Mary as well as the tombs of David Livingstone and Charles Darwin. Closer to our own time, in 1998 ten 20th-century Christian martyrs such as Deitrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Oscar Romero were immortalized in stone statues over the Great West Door.

According to tradition, a shrine was first founded here in 616 on a site then known as Thorney Island. It was said to have been miraculously consecrated after a fisherman on the River Thames saw a vision of Saint Peter.

While the existence of this shrine is uncertain, the historic Abbey was built by Edward the Confessor between 1045-1050 and was consecrated on December 28, 1065. Its construction originated in Edward's failure to keep a vow to go on a pilgrimage; the Pope suggested that he redeem himself by building an Abbey.

The original Abbey, in the Romanesque style that is called "Norman" in England, was built to house Benedictine monks. It was rebuilt in the Gothic style between 1245-1517. The first phase of the rebuilding was organised by Henry III, in Gothic style, as a shrine to honor Edward the Confessor and as a suitably regal setting for Henry's own tomb, under the highest Gothic nave in England.

The historic coronation throne. The work was largely finished by the architect Henry Yevele in the reign of King Richard II. Henry VII added a Perpendicular style chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary in 1503 (known as the Henry VII Lady Chapel).

Although the Abbey was seized by Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1534, and closed in 1540, becoming a cathedral until 1550, its royal connections saved it from the destruction wrought on most other English abbeys. The expression "robbing Peter to pay Paul" may arise from this period when money meant for the Abbey, which was dedicated to St. Peter, was diverted to the treasury of St. Paul's Cathedral.

It suffered damage during the turbulent 1640s, when it was attacked by Puritan iconoclasts, but was again protected by its close ties to the state during the Commonwealth period. Oliver Cromwell was given an elaborate funeral there in 1658, only to be disinterred in January 1661 and posthumously hanged from a nearby gibbet.

The Abbey was restored to the Benedictines under Queen Mary, but they were again ejected under Queen Elizabeth I in 1559. In 1579, Elizabeth re-established Westminster as a "royal peculiar" – a church responsible directly to the sovereign, rather than to a diocesan bishop – and made it the Collegiate Church of St. Peter, (i.e. a church with an attached chapter of canons, headed by a dean).

The Lady Chapel on the east end, next to Parliament. The abbey's two western towers were built between 1722 and 1745 by Sir Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor, constructed from Portland stone to an early example of a Gothic Revival design. Further rebuilding and restoration occurred in the 19th century under Sir George Gilbert Scott.

Until the 19th century, Westminster was the third seat of learning in England, after Oxford and Cambridge. It was here that the first third of the King James Bible Old Testament and the last half of the New Testament were translated. The New English Bible was also put together here in the 20th century.

Since the Christmas Day coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066, all English monarchs (except Lady Jane Grey, Edward V and Edward VIII, who did not have coronations) have been crowned in the Abbey. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the traditional cleric in the coronation ceremony. St. Edward's Chair, the throne on which British sovereigns are seated at the moment of coronation, is housed within the Abbey.

The shrine of Edward the Confessor.

Henry III rebuilt the Abbey in honour of the Royal Saint Edward the Confessor, whose memorial and relics were placed in the Sanctuary. The Shrine of St. Edward the Confessor has been the focus of pilgrimages to Westminster Abbey since the Middle Ages.

Henry III was buried nearby as were the Plantagenet kings of England, their wives and relatives. Subsequently, most English kings and queens were buried here. However, Henry VIII and Charles I are buried at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, as all royals have been since George II.

Aristocrats were buried in side chapels of Westminster Abbey and monks and people associated with the Abbey were buried in the cloisters and other areas. One of these was Geoffrey Chaucer, who was buried here as he had apartments in the Abbey as he was employed as master of the Kings Works.

Other poets were buried around Chaucer in what became known as Poets' Corner. Abbey musicians such as Henry Purcell were also buried in their place of work. Subsequently it became a great honor to be buried or memorialized here. The practice spread from aristocrats and poets to generals, admirals, politicians, scientists, doctors, and others.

Coronations

King Edward's Chair

Since the coronations in 1066 of both King Harold and William the Conqueror, all English and British monarchs, except Lady Jane Grey, Edward V and Edward VIII, who did not have coronations and Henry III because Prince Louis of France had taken control of London, have been crowned in the Abbey. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the traditional cleric in the coronation ceremony. St Edward's Chair, the throne on which British sovereigns are seated at the moment of coronation, is housed within the Abbey; from 1296 to 1996 the chair also housed the Stone of Scone upon which the kings of Scotland are crowned, but pending another coronation the Stone is now kept in Scotland.

Burials and Memorials

The Abbey at night, from Dean's Yard. Artificial light reveals the exoskeleton formed by flying buttresses

Henry III rebuilt the Abbey in honour of the Royal Saint Edward the Confessor whose relics were placed in a shrine in the sanctuary. Henry III was interred nearby in a superb chest tomb with effigial monument, as were many of the Plantagenet kings of England, their wives and other relatives. Subsequently, most Kings and Queens of England were buried here, although Henry VIII and Charles I are buried at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, as are all monarchs and royals after George II. In 2005 the original ancient burial vault of Edward the Confessor was discovered, beneath the 1268 Cosmati mosaic pavement, in front of the High Altar. A series of royal vaults dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries was also discovered using ground-penetrating radar.

Aristocrats were buried inside chapels and monks and people associated with the Abbey were buried in the Cloisters and other areas. One of these was Geoffrey Chaucer, who was buried here as he had apartments in the Abbey where he was employed as master of the Kings Works. Other poets were buried around Chaucer in what became known as Poets' Corner. Abbey musicians such as Henry Purcell were also buried in their place of work. Subsequently it became an honour to be buried or memorialised here. The practice spread from aristocrats and poets to generals, admirals, politicians, scientists, doctors, etc. These include:

Commemorated

Christian martyrs from across the world are depicted in statues above the Great West Door

• Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, buried in Nyeri, Kenya
• Sir Winston Churchill, buried at Bladon, Oxfordshire
• Paul Dirac, buried in Florida
• Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, buried at Hughenden Manor, Buckinghamshire
• Adam Lindsay Gordon, buried in Australia
• Jane Austen
• Charlotte Bronte, Emily Jane Bronte, Anne Bronte
• John Harrison, buried in St. John's Church in Hampstead
• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, buried at Cambridge, Massachusetts
• William Shakespeare, buried at Stratford-upon-Avon
• Oscar Wilde (in a stained glass window unveiled in 1995), buried in Paris [1]
• General James Wolfe
• Ten 20th century Christian martyrs from across the world are depicted in statues above the Great West Door. Unveiled in 1998 by Her Majesty The Queen, these are, from left to right:
  • St. Maximilian Kolbe
  • Manche Masemola
  • Janani Luwum
  • St Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia, Russian Grand Duchess
  • Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Óscar Romero
  • Dietrich Bonhoeffer
  • Esther John
  • Lucian Tapiedi
  • Wang Zhiming

Removed

The following were buried in the abbey but later removed on the orders of Charles II:

• Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector
• Admiral Robert Blake
• John Pym

Schools

Westminster School and Westminster Abbey Choir School are also in the precincts of the Abbey. It was natural for the learned and literate monks to be entrusted with education, and Benedictine monks were required by the Pope to maintain a charity school in 1179; Westminster School may have been founded even earlier for children or novices, and the legendary Croyland Chronicle relates a story of 11th century king Edward the Confessor's Queen Editha chatting to a schoolboy in the cloisters, and sending him off to the Palace larder for a treat.

Organ

The organ was built by Harrison & Harrison in 1937, with four manuals and 84 speaking stops, and was used for the first time at the Coronation of King George VI. Some pipework from the previous five-manual Hill organ was revoiced and incorporated in the new scheme. The two organ cases, designed in the late nineteenth century by John Loughborough Pearson, were re-instated and coloured in 1959.

Link to details of the organ on the National Pipe Organ Register.

Chapter

The Abbey is a collegiate church organised into the College of St Peter, which comprises the Dean and four residentiary Canons (one of whom is also Rector of St Margaret's Church, Westminster, and Speaker's Chaplain), and seventeen other persons who are members ex officio, as well as twelve lay vicars and ten choristers. The seventeen are the Receiver-General and Chapter Clerk, the Registrar, the Auditor, the Legal Secretary and the Clerk of the Works (the administrative officers). Those more directly concerned with liturgical and ceremonial operations include the Precentor, the Chaplain and Sacrist, the Organist, and the (honorary) High Steward and High Bailiff. The Abbey and its property is in the care of the Librarian, the Keeper of the Muniments, and the Surveyor of the Fabric. Lastly, the educational role of the Abbey is reflected in the presence of the Headmaster of the Choir School, the Headmaster and Under Master of Westminster School, and the Master of The Queen's Scholars.

The Abbey is governed by the Dean and Chapter established under the Elizabethan statute of 1560. This consists of the Dean and the four residentiary Canons.

Gallery

• 

  Westminster Abbey, as seen from the west

• 

  Westminster Abbey's West Door in sunshine

• 

  The west front

• 

  The tomb of King Henry III in the Abbey. Henry was crowned king at the age of nine, reigning from 1216 to 1272.

• 

  Rear side view from the nearby London Eye

• Westa.jpg

  Quicktime Virtual Reality Panorama of Westminster Abbey Daytime Quicktime Virtual Reality Panorama of Westminster Abbey.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Bradley, Simon, & Pevsner, Nikolaus. The Buildings of England-London 6: Westminster, Yale University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-300-09595-3
• Harvey, Barbara. Living and Dying in England 1100-1540: The Monastic Experience, Clarendon Press, 1995. ISBN 978-0198204312
• Knighton, C.S., & Mortimer, Richard. Westminster Abbey Reformed: 1540-1640, Ashgate Publishing, 2003. ISBN 978-0754608608
• Hexham, Irving. The Christian Traveler's Guide to Great Britain, Zondervan Publishing Company, 2001. ISBN 978-0310225522

• H.V. Morton, 1951. In Search of London (London: Methuen).
• Musical Times article on Westminster Abbey organists (subscription access)

External links

• Westminster Abbey
• Keith Short - Sculptor Images of stone carving for Westminster Abbey
• Panorama of Westminster Abbey
• Mystery Worshipper Report at the Ship of Fools website
• Carved Crests for the Knights of the Bath
• A history of the choristers and choir school of Westminster Abbbey
• Adrian Fletcher’s Paradoxplace Westminster Abbey Pages — Photos
• Satellite view of Westminster Abbey at WikiMapia

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