west minster abbey is in the heart of london

8/6/2019 West Minster Abbey is in the Heart of London

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Westminster Abbey is in the heart of

London - next to Big Ben and the

Houses of Parliament. Two major

railway stations, two London

Underground stations and regular red

London buses will take you close to

the Abbey doors.

HistoryWestminster Abbey is steeped in

more than a thousand years of history.Benedictine monks first came to this site in

the middle of the tenth century, establishing atradition of daily worship which continues to

this day.

The Abbey has been the coronationchurch since 1066 and is the final resting

place of seventeen monarchs.

The present church, begun by Henry

III in 1245, is one of the most important Gothic buildings in the country, with the medievalshrine of an Anglo-Saxon saint still at its heart.

A treasure house of paintings, stained glass, pavements, textiles and other artefacts,

Westminster Abbey is also the place where some of the most significant people in the nation'shistory are buried or commemorated. Taken as a whole the tombs and memorials comprise the

most significant single collection of monumental sculpture anywhere in the United Kingdom.

The Library and Muniment Room houses the important (and growing) collections ofarchives, printed books and manuscripts belonging to the Dean and Chapter of Westminster,providing a centre for their study and for research into all aspects of the Abbey's long and varied

history.

The Abbey has a fine series of monumental brasses dating from the late 13th century onwards.

A brass consists of engraved metal plates, shaped and cut to fit into a matrix prepared for them on a


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tomb. The earliest figure brass in England is that to Sir John DAbernon, 1277, at Stoke DAbernon in

Surrey. Brasses are important for the history of costume and armour but many were destroyed or

melted down at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s and during the English Civil

War.

Wall paintings

Originally the walls of the Abbey would have been whitened and

coloured in red lines with rosettes. A fragment of this design was seen inthe early 20

thcentury, hidden behind a blocked recess at the end of the

wall passage in St Nicholas's chapel. The most important wall paintings inthe Abbey are from the late 13

thcentury i.e. the figure of St Faith in her

chapel and the figures of Christ with St Thomas and St Christopher in thesouth transept. The series of 14

thcentury paintings of the Apocalypse and

the Last Judgement in the Chapter House are the most extensive.

St Faith: The six foot (two metre) high crowned figure of the saint stands on a corbel and

beneath a canopy and is wearing a dark green tunic with a rose coloured mantle lined with furagainst a rich vermilion background. She holds a book and a grid-iron, the symbol of her

martyrdom. The wall behind is dark green and the recess is painted with zig-zag red and whitebands. The painting is in oil on a thin primed ground and can be dated c.1290-1300. On the dado

are a series of geometrical panels, with a crucifixion scene in the centre. To the north is a prayingBenedictine monk with a Latin inscription slanting upwards towards the saint. This can be

translated as "From the burden of my sore transgressions sweet virgin deliver me; make mypeace with Christ and blot out my iniquity". The painting was cleaned in the 1970s.

Christ with St Thomas and St Christopher: These two paintings were in the chapel of

St Blaise, a small chapel in the southern section of the south transept which survived until the

18

th

century. They had been obscured by two monuments (now re-located) and were onlydiscovered during cleaning in 1934. By 1936 figures of the Risen Christ with St Thomas and StChristopher bearing the Christ Child on his shoulder had been revealed. The main figures are

nine feet (three metres) in height. The Incredulity of St Thomas is painted on a vermilion ground,diapered with fleurs de lys which were once gold, as was the vexillum, or cross, that Christ holds

in his left hand. With his right he grasps the hand of the kneeling St Thomas to put it against thewound in his side. Christ wears a pink coloured mantle and the Apostle wears a pale yellow tunic

and dark green over-mantle. No inscription remains. St Christopher is painted on a green ground,originally diapered with small rosettes. The saint has his mantle drawn over his head and carries

his staff in his right hand while he holds the Child on his shoulder, supporting the foot in hishand. The Child wears a blue robe and carries an apple. In the water through which the saint is

wading there is a small head, which may represent a mermaid associated with his legend. TwoLatin inscriptions remain. These can be translated: "Think that St Christopher was so called

because he carried Christ. The Omnipotent makes grow the One whom he is carrying" and at thebase "Whoever keeps safe the image of St Christopher is surely possessed by no exhaustion on

that day". Both saints were revered by Henry III. The paintings are in oil on a thin primed groundand have been attributed to Master Walter of Durham, the King's Painter. Dates from 1270-1300

have been suggested for the paintings. The rosettes carved around the arches also have traces ofcolour.


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Eleanor of Castile tomb: Eleanor, queen of Edward I, died in 1290. On the stone base ofher tomb, visible from the north ambulatory, are faint traces of a painting of a sepulchre, at thefeet of which are four pilgrims and at the head is a knight praying before the Virgin Mary and

Child. By his armorial surcoat the knight can be identified as SirOtes de Grandison, Lord ofGrandson near Lausanne, a close friend of Edward I. The background is apple green and his

surcoat has blue and white stripes with a red bend and the pilgrims wear grey and red. Thepainter is thought to be Master Walter of Durham. A framed reconstruction of the painting by

Prof. E.W.Tristram stands by the tomb.

Edmund (Crouchback), Earl of Lancaster tomb: Edmund, brother to Edward I, died in1296. On the base of his tomb on the north side are the remains of a painting depicting ten

knights in mail armour and surcoats, although only a few can now be made out. The painting isalso thought to be by Walter of Durham. First described and drawn by John Carter in the late 18th

century the paintings were damaged by an oil bomb thrown by a fanatic in 1968.

Tomb assigned to King Sebert:On the arch of this early 14th

century tomb in the southambulatory are remains of vine leaves, a Catherine wheel and head of a woman. By tradition the

bones of Sebert, who died in about 616, were re-buried in this tomb in 1307, after Henry III had

rebuilt this part of the Abbey.

Chapter House: The main series of paintings in the wall arcades were the gift of John ofNorthampton, a monk of Westminster from 1375-1404. The lower tiers of paintings of birds and

animals were probably painted a century later. The Apocalypse series begins in the north-westbay (to the left as you enter). Some scenes are now obliterated or very faint. Each arch has four

scenes from the Revelation of St John the Divine, framed in bands of red decorated with smalldogs or roses. Scrolls of text appear beneath each scene. In the heads of the arches are angels

playing musical instruments. The Apocalypse series is interrupted in the eastern bays by the LastJudgement or Doom group. These show Christ in Majesty robed in crimson with a golden

nimbus sitting on the arc of Heaven with a globe beneath his feet. Seraphim are shown holding

golden crowns and in two more arcades are crowds of figures which have the appearance ofportraits. The paintings were cleaned in 1924 and in the 1980s.

Chapel of Our Lady of the Pew: This small chapel off the north ambulatory has severaldesigns on the walls, brought up by cleaning in 1923. The vaulting has red stars on a white

ground with a roof boss depicting the Assumption of the Virgin, who is dressed in red. The ribshave barber pole bands and rosettes and the walls are diapered over with pine-shaped designs, on

each of which is a fleur de lys. This was a popular design in the late 14th

century. The antlers andhead of a white hart, a badge of Richard II, can still be made out.

Fragment in St Paul's chapel: a small band of medieval painting behind the bust ofAnne Cottington in this chapel was uncovered in 1952 during cleaning. It consists of red foliage

in circular patterns with a green band above.

Painted shields on the wall of the nave: Aristocratic and wealthy relatives andbenefactors to the building of Henry III's church between 1245 and 1272 were first

commemorated by carved shields of arms (to be seen in the choir aisles and easternmost bays ofthe nave). When the rest of the nave was finally rebuilt nearly 150 years later the series was

continued but the shields were painted onto the spandrels of the wall arcades. A few shields werere-painted in the 1960s. Those that remain on the south side are: Roger de Venables, Roger de


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Montealto, Fulk Fitzwarren, Robert de Thwenge, William Longspee, Earl of Salisbury andWilliam Ferrars, Earl of Derby. On the north they are: Gilbert Talbot, John de Balliol, Robert deRoss, Roger de Mowbray, Henry de Hastings, John de Dreux, Earl of Richmond and Hugo de

Vere, Earl ofOxford.

Upper Islip chapel: in the late 1920s, nearly 400 years since the death of Abbot JohnIslip who built this chantry chapel, traces of two monochrome paintings of St Peter and St

Edward the Confessor were found either side of the altar in the upper chapel. They stand on largecorbels beneath elaborate canopies and are about ten feet (three metres thirty cms.) tall. The

paintings in this chapel were executed by Master Humphrey in 1530 but the central Crucifix andfigure of Christ standing on a rainbow have not survived. (The scheme of paintings in the upper

and lower chapels can be seen in a drawing in the mortuary roll of Abbot Islip, 1532, in theAbbey'

Cosmati pavement

The great pavement in front of the High Altar of Westminster Abbeyis a unique and remarkable object. The complexity and subtlety of the designand workmanship can be seen nowhere else on this scale. It was laid down in

1268 by order of Henry III who had started re-building Edward theConfessors Abbey in the new Gothic style in 1245. The workmen came

from Rome, with a man called Odoricus at their head. The pavement belongs to a type of inlaidstone decoration known as Cosmati work, after one of the families of craftsmen who specialized

in it and the technique is called opus sectile, cut work. This differs from ancient Roman andearlier medieval mosaic work which consists of square stones of equal size. It is also abstract in

design. There is an even bigger contrast with the other great 13th century pavement at the Abbey,that in the Chapter House which is a tiled floor in the English tradition. The great pavement is 24

feet 10 inches (7 metres 58 centimetres) square, with dimensions calculated in Roman feet andconsists of geometrical patterns built up from pieces of stone of different colours and sizes cut

into a variety of shapes: triangles, squares, circles, rectangles and many others. The centralroundel is made of onyx and the pavement also includes purple porphyry, green serpentine and

yellow limestone. Also part of the original material are pieces of opaque coloured glass red,turquoise, cobalt blue and bluish white. It lies on a bed of dark limestone known as Purbeck

marble. This is a major departure from Italian methods, since at home the workmen used whitemarble as a base. The use of glass in a pavement also goes against Italian practice.

The design consists of a broad border with a rectangle in the middle of each side and fiveroundels between each rectangle. The border encloses another square set transversely with its

corners pointing north, south, east and west. Between the inner border and the transverse squareare four triangular spaces occupied by large roundels. Within the transverse square is a pattern

known as a quincunx, with a large roundel in the very centre flanked by four roundels as if inorbit around the centre. The basic layout is a four-fold symmetry, but in detail the variations are

endless. No two roundels are the same. Of the four orbiting roundels one is circular, onehexagonal, one heptagonal and one octagonal. The infill patterns are all different. The three

damaged inscriptions, formed of brass letters, refer to the end of the world, calculating that it willlast for 19,683 years (Italian Cosmati pavements do not have inscriptions). They were copied in

the 15th century by the Abbey chronicler John Flete. The Latin inscriptions can be translated as:


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In the year of Christ one thousand two hundredandtwelve plus sixty minus four, thethirdKingHenry, the city, Odoricus and the abbot put these porphyry stones together.

If the reader wisely considers all that is laiddown, he will findhere the endof theprimum mobile; a hedge (lives for) three years, adddogs andhorses andmen, stags andravens,

eagles, enormous whales, the world: each one following triples the years of the one before.

The sphericalglobe here shows the archetypal macrocosm.

Why was the year 1268 expressed in such a roundabout fashion? It is usually suggested

that 1212 plus 60 equals 1272, the date of Henry IIIs death, and 60 minus 4 equals 56, the lengthof his reign. It would seem therefore that the inscriptions were added shortly after his death. The

abbot mentioned was Richard de Ware, who was buried beneath the pavement. Richard Sporley,a medieval monk of Westminster, wrote Theprimum mobile means this world, whose age or

ending the writer estimates, as he imagines it, by increasing the numbers three-fold. So a hedgelives three years, a dog nine, a horse twenty seven, a man eighty one and so on. The final date is

calculated by a chronology based on the mythical life-spans of animals. And he explains that themacrocosm is the great world in which we live, the microcosm being man. The spherical

globe, he says, is the round stone, having in itself the colours of the four elements, fire, air,water and earth. According to the only medieval interpretation we have, the pavement thus

symbolises the world, or the universe, and its end.The pavement is currently undergoing a major cleaning and conservation programme.

Architecture

The present building dates mainly from the reign of King Henry III. In1245 he pulled down the eastern part of the 11th century Abbey, which had

been founded by King Edward the Confessor and dedicated in 1065. Earlier in

Henry's reign, on 16 May 1220, he had laid the foundation stone for a newLady Chapel at the east end of the Confessor's church, but as the Abbey's ownfinancial resources were not sufficient to continue the rebuilding of the whole

church at this time no other work was carried out.

It is said that Henry's devotion to St Edward later prompted him to build a moremagnificent church in the newest Gothic style, and also to provide a new shrine for the Saint,near to whom Henry himself could be buried. The three master masons supervising the work

were Henry of Reyns, John of Gloucester and Robert of Beverley. It is not known if Henry wasEnglish or French but the architect was greatly influenced by the new cathedrals at Reims,

Amiens and Chartres, borrowing the ideas of an apse with radiating chapels and using the

characteristic Gothic features of pointed arches, ribbed vaulting, rose windows and flyingbuttresses. The design is based on the continental system of geometrical proportion, but itsEnglish features include single rather than double aisles and a long nave with wide projecting

transepts. The Abbey has the highest Gothic vault in England (nearly 102 feet) and it was madeto seem higher by making the aisles narrow. The Englishness is also apparent in the elaborate

mouldings of the main arches, the lavish use of polished Purbeck marble for the columns and theoverall sculptural decoration. The east-west axis was determined by the existing position of the

Lady Chapel.


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A spacious area between the high altar and the beginning of the quire was necessary toprovide a theatre where coronations could take place. The stonework (which came from Caenin France and Reigate in Surrey), the sculptured roof bosses and the other carvings would have

been brightly coloured and the wall arcades may have been decorated in vermilion and gold. Thewalls were adorned with fine paintings, and two, depicting St Thomas and St Christopher, were

rediscovered in the 1930s. Some of the original colour on the censing angels in the south transeptwas discovered at about the same time. Brilliant ruby and sapphire glass, with heraldic shields

set in a grisaille (or grey monochrome) pattern, filled the windows. The chapel screens andtombs added to the display of colour. By 1269 the apse, radiating chapels, transepts and choir

were complete and the new shrine received the bones of St Edward on 13 October.

When Henry III died in 1272 only one bay of the nave beyond the choir screen had beencompleted. The old Norman nave remained attached to the far higher Gothic building for over a

century until more money became available at the end of the fourteenth century. The westernsection of the nave was then carried on by Abbot Nicholas Litlyngton using money bequeathed

by Cardinal Simon Langham (Litlyngtons predecessor as abbot) and work slowly progressed fornearly a hundred and fifty years. It was probably Litlyngton who insisted that the general design

of Henry III's masons should be followed thus giving the Abbey great architectural unity. Master

mason Henry Yevele made only minor alterations in the architectural design but it can be seen oncloser inspection that the diaper (or rosette) decoration on the spandrels of the arches wasdiscontinued in the nave, and other details are not as elaborate as the older work. In the bay of

the nave just to the west of the quire screen can be seen the junction of the old and new work.

In 1422 Henry V was buried at the eastern end of St Edwards Chapel. In accordancewith his will a lavishly sculptured chantry chapel was built over the tomb, with two turret

staircases leading to an altar above. The designer was John Thirske, who was probably alsoresponsible for the carved altar screen in the Confessor's chapel added at this period, showing

representations of events in the life of St Edward. Abbot John Islip, died 1532, added his ownJesus chapel off the north ambulatory and finally completed the nave vaulting and glazed the

west window, but the top parts of the west towers remained unfinished.

The next great addition to the Abbey was the construction of a magnificent new Lady

Chapel by Henry VII between 1503 and 1519 to replace the 13th century chapel. ThePerpendicular architecture here is in total contrast to the rest of the Abbey. No accounts for this

building have been found but it is thought that the architects were Robert Janyns and WilliamVertue. It has been called "one of the most perfect buildings ever erected in England" and "the

wonder of the world". Henry spent lavish sums on its decoration. The glory of the chapel is itsdelicately carved fan vaulted roof, with hanging pendants. These are constructed on half-

concealed transverse arches. All around the chapel are Tudor emblems such as the rose andportcullis, and nearly one hundred statues of saints still remain in niches around the walls. The

original jewel-like stained glass by Bernard Flower has, however, disappeared.

The last phase of building was the completion in 1745 of the West Towers in Portlandstone, to a design by Nicholas Hawksmoor, the Abbey's Surveyor.

Royals & the Abbey

Westminster Abbey has always enjoyed close links with the monarchy not least in its

unbroken role as the coronation church since 1066.


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Kings and queenshave beensignificant

benefactors of theAbbey, beginning

with King Edgar(reigned 95975)

who gave theoriginal monastic

community atWestminster

substantial landscovering most of

what is now theWest End of London. Almost a hundred years later King Edward (later Edward the Confessor)

established his palace close to this monastic community and built for it a large stone churchwhich became his own burial place. In the mid-thirteenth century Henry III rebuilt the

Confessors church, providing the Gothic building we have today. Henrys own burial here in

1272 established Westminster as the principal royal burial place for the next 500 years. RichardII, Henry V, Henry VII and Elizabeth I were all influential in shaping the Abbeys history.

Westminster Abbey or - to use its formal name - the Collegiate Church of St. Peter,Westminster, is a Royal Peculiar. This means it is a free chapel of the Sovereign, exempt from

any ecclesiastical jurisdiction other than that of the Sovereign. Royal Peculiars originated inAnglo-Saxon times and developed as a result of the unique relationship between the Norman and

Plantagenet Kings and the English Church. In 1222 the Abbey was declared a Papal Peculiar,exempt from the jurisdiction of both the Bishop of London and the Archbishop of Canterbury. It

has been a Royal Peculiar since 1533 when the Ecclesiastical Licences Act, as confirmed by theAct of Supremacy of 1559, transferred to the Sovereign the jurisdiction which had previously

been exercised by the Pope.O

ther Royal Peculiars include St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castleand the Chapels Royal.

Coronations at WestminsterAbbey

Westminster Abbey has witnessed 38 coronations: the first documented coronation here

was that of William the Conqueror in 1066, the most recent was that of Queen Elizabeth II on 2June 1953.

Before 1066 there was no fixed location for the coronation ceremony. Bath, Canterbury,Kingston-Upon-Thames and Winchester were all at various times places of crowning and

Edward the Confessor does not seem to have deliberately planned the Abbey as a coronationchurch. However, his immediate successor, Harold Godwineson, is known to have been at

Westminster when the king died and it is likely that his crowning the following day was in theAbbey, though there is no surviving contemporary evidence to confirm it.

William I (the Conqueror), who as Duke of Normandy defeated Harold at the Battle of

Hastings in October 1066, marched to London with his army after the battle and, perhaps toreinforce his claim to be King Edwards legitimate successor, chose the Abbey for his crowning

on Christmas Day. His is the first certain crowning of a king at Westminster and all subsequent


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coronations have taken place here. Only two monarchs - Edward V (a boy king, one of thePrinces in the Tower) and Edward VIII (who abdicated) - have not been crowned at all.

The Abbeys role as a coronation church influenced Henry IIIs rebuilding of the churchin the mid-thirteenth century. The worshipping requirements of the monastic community had to

be reconciled with the need for a large space or theatre in which an assembly of people couldwitness the anointing and crowning of the monarch. The plan of the Abbey copies the French

coronation church, Reims Cathedral, in placing the quire to the west of the crossing andtransepts. This created a large space between the quire and the sanctuary suitable for the

coronation ceremony. At other times wooden screens across the transepts provided the enclosedquire required for monastic worship.

The first king to be crowned in the Gothic abbey church was Edward I in 1274, though

only the eastern portion of the new building was complete by that stage. Later, around 1298,Edward ordered the construction of the Coronation Chairwhich is said to have been used at

every subsequent coronation.

From at least the thirteenth century the monarch made a formal progress from the Tower

of London to the Palace of Westminster on the eve of the coronation.O

n coronation day theceremonies began in Westminster Hall whence a grand procession made its way to the Abbey for

the coronation service itself, returning to the Hall afterwards for a lavish banquet. Theseceremonies no longer take place. James II declined the procession from the City, and the

preliminary ceremonies and banquet in Westminster Hall were abandoned after George IVscoronation in 1821. Instead, for the coronation of William IV in 1831, a temporary building was

erected at the west end of the Abbey to provide space for the processions to form. An annexe ofthis kind has been constructed ever since.

The coronation service, though always following a common pattern, has also proved

remarkably adaptable. The Latin order of service of the middle ages gave way, at the crowning

of Elizabeth I in 1558, to a mixture of Latin and English and then, at the coronation of James I(James VI of Scotland) in 1603, to an entirely English liturgy. In 1689 the service was adaptedagain so that William III and Mary II might be crowned as joint monarchs. A second Coronation

Chair (now in the Abbeys Museum) was made to emphasise the shared nature of theirsovereignty.

At eighteenth and early nineteenth century coronations public spectacle sometimes

overshadowed religious significance. At George IIIs coronation in 1761 some of thecongregation began to eat a meal during the sermon! George IVs coronation was a great

theatrical spectacle and the king spent vast sums of money on it. In contrast his successor,William IV, had to be persuaded to have a coronation at all and spent so little money that itbecame known as the penny coronation. With Queen Victorias coronation in 1838, however,

came a renewed appreciation of the true significance of the coronation ceremony.

Twentieth century coronations combined the solemnity of the religious service withmagnificent pageantry and, because of Britains history as an imperial power, became truly

international occasions. Dignitaries from all over the world and from many different ethnic andreligious backgrounds attended, some to witness the coronation of their own Head of State,

others as diplomatic representatives of foreign countries. The decision to televise the coronationof the present Queen in 1953 made it possible for the general public to witness the ceremony in


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its entirety for the first time. It is possible that few watching realized just how far back intohistory the roots of that magnificent ceremony stretched, and how little fundamental change hadoccurred over the centuries.

Royal Burials at WestminsterAbbey.

St Edward the Confessor built a new Abbey Church at Westminster, refounding the

monastery there. Thus he created his own burial place, a symbol of his kingship and grandeur tobear comparison with anything contemporary monarchs could show. The Abbey was ready for

Edwards burial in January 1066. It was not until Henry III rebuilt Edwards church in a moremagnificent style 200 years later that another English monarch chose the Abbey as his burial

place. Even then Henry decreed that his heart should be buried at Fontevrault Abbey in Francewhere his predecessors had tombs.

As space for royal burials around the Shrine of St Edward was full Henry VII built a new

Lady Chapel at the east end of the Church, with vaults beneath the floor, for burials of himself

and other members of the Tudor dynasty. Elizabeth I, who died in 1603, was the last Englishmonarch to have a monument erected at the Abbey. In 1612 James I chose to bring the body ofhis mother, Mary, Queen of Scots, to the Abbey from Peterborough cathedral where she had

originally been buried and he erected a magnificent monument for her in the south aisle of HenryVIIs chapel. For the burial of his queen, Caroline, George II constructed a large new vault under

the central aisle of the Lady Chapel and in 1760 he was the last monarch to have interment in theAbbey. Lack of space for royal monuments and burials meant that subsequent monarchs were

buried at Windsor.

Royal Weddings at Westminster

Abb

ey.

Westminster Abbey has hosted only sixteen royal weddings in its long history (of

reigning monarchs or those who, had it been established at the time, were entitled to the styleRoyal Highness). History records a number of weddings taking place at Westminster but his

did not necessarily mean at the Abbey. Another probable venue was St Stephens chapel in thePalace of Westminster. Whitehall Palace and Greenwich Palace were two of the locations used

by Henry VIII. St Jamess Palace and St Georges chapel Windsor were also popular with latermonarchs and their children. Princess Patricia, a grand-daughter of Queen Victoria, began the

modern trend for royal marriages at Westminster Abbey in 1919 and Princess Mary andElizabeth Bowes Lyon, who married the future George VI, chose to follow her example.

William, Prince to Miss Catherine Middleton

29 April2011

Prince William, eldest son of Charles, Prince

of Wales and the late Diana, Princess ofWales, to Miss Catherine Middleton.


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Funerals

Many elaborate royal funerals have taken place in Westminster Abbey prior to burial

here. A wooden effigy of the monarch or consort, fully dressed in royal robes, was displayed onthe hearse at the funeral, as a likeness of the deceased. The Abbey authorities were able to keep

the hearse furniture so several of the medieval funeral effigies still survive here, although nonehave their original robes.

In the Abbey Museum the funeral effigies of Edward III, Anne of Bohemia (queen of

Richard II), Katherine de Valois (queen of Henry V), Henry VII and his queen Elizabeth ofYork, Mary Tudor and Anne of Denmark (queen of James I) can be seen. The effigy of Elizabeth

I was re-made in 1760 with a new wax head and costume but the original corset and drawers onthe effigy made in 1603 survived and are now shown separately from the clothed effigy. Only

the headless body of James Is effigy survives so is not displayed. At the funeral of Charles II noeffigy was displayed on the coffin, just a crown on a purple cushion, a precedent followed by

succeeding monarchs. But a wax figure was specially made to stand over the vault where he was

buried and this is also displayed in the Museum. The earlier effigies suffered water damage inthe Blitz of 1941 but were restored after the war although for some only the heads could besalvaged.

George II was the last monarch buried in the Abbey, in 1760. The next funeral of a

monarch or consort in the Abbey was not until 1925 when the coffin of Queen Alexandra, widowof King Edward VII, lay in state under the lantern tower. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother,

widow of King George VI, had close connections with the Abbey so requested that her funeralbe held here. But these queens are not buried in the Abbey. Diana, Princess of Wales was buried,

by her own wish, at her family home at Althorp.

Abbey Bells

It is probable that the Abbey of Edward the Confessor dedicated in 1065 and which had a

central tower and two western towers was furnished with bells. The first recorded informationconcerning Abbey bells, however, is found in the Close Rolls of King Henry III where an

instruction in 1230 to Edward of Westminster required that he make for the Abbey a bigger bellthan any of those he had made previously. In the following year Edward was commissioned to

make a small bell that shall be in tune with the great bell.

Bell Cast 1310

The chronicler Matthew Paris in 1255 noted that five bells were in use, andthis was depicted in his illuminated manuscript. A bell cast for the Abbeyc.1310 by Richard de Wimbis bearing the inscription Christe Audi Nos is

on display in the Abbeys museum. By the late fifteenth century a ring of sixbells was installed and although recasting occurred the number of bells at

the Abbey remained at six until the twentieth century.


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In 1919 King George V and Queen Mary were present at Londons Whitechapel BellFoundry when two Abbey bells were recast and two bells newly cast to form a ring of eight.Restoration of the Abbeys bell installation had become necessary when ringing for the

Armistice in 1918 was almost impossible due to the poor condition of the bell frame and fittings.The eight bells continued in use for 52 years ringing out in 1937 for the coronation of King

George VI, in 1953 for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and on 8 May 1945 forVE Day Theweight of the tenor, the largest bell, was 28cwt (1,410kg).

In 1971 a bequest to the Abbey by Dr Eric Perkins, the brother of the Reverend JocelynPerkins who was Sacrist at the Abbey from 1900 to 1958, enabled a ring of ten bells to be cast.

The Whitechapel Bell Foundry again was instructed. From the ring of eight the two oldest bells,which dated from the sixteenth century and the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, were retained. They

are chimed daily prior to evening service.

Clochard

In the mid thirteenth century under the aegis of King Henry III rebuilding the Abbey inthe Gothic style commenced. At this time a separate bell tower or clochard was erected on the

north side of the Abbey and bells rang out from the clochard for 300 years.

North West Tower

During the sixteenth century six bells were installed in the incomplete north-west tower,the height of which was lower than the nave roof. In the early eighteenth century Sir Christopher

Wren proposed the completion of the towers and the work was later undertaken by the SurveyorNicholas Hawksmoor and his successor John James. At last in 1745, five centuries after the

building of King Henry IIIs Abbey commenced, the colossal task was completed. The two

towers were raised to their present height and the bells moved to a higher belfry in the north-westtower.

Ten bells

The 1971 ring of ten bells was dedicated at a service in the Abbey attended by Her

Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 9 November that year. The tenor bell has a diameter of 4 feet 6

inches (137 cm), a weight of 30cwt 1qtr 15lb (1,530 kg) and is tuned to the note of D. Itsinscription notes previous Abbey tenor bell castings in 1430, 1599 and 1738. The treble, the

smallest bell, has a diameter of 2 feet 3 inches (618 cm) and a weight of 4cwt 3qtr 16lb (246kg).The tenor bell is tolled following the announcement of the death of a member of the Royal

family and on the death of the Dean of Westminster.The bells are hung for traditional English style change ringing in which the bells swing

full circle, allowing the ringers to vary the sequence in which the bells sound. The sequences aredetermined by rules that produce bell ringing methods, one of which rung at the Abbey is

Yorkshire Surprise Royal.


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Ringers

The Abbeys Domesday cartulary records the establishment of the Brethren of the Guild

of Westminster in 1255 whose members were charged with the duty of ringing the bells for an

annual fee of one hundred shillings. In 1921 Dean Ryle, following what he believed to have beenthe spirit of the old Brethren, organised the Westminster Abbey Company of Ringers. This is a

volunteer group which continues to operate and which comprises principal, supernumerary and

honorary members.

Ringing occasions

The Abbey bells are rung for major church festivals, saints days, Royal and Abbey

anniversaries, civic events and for special services. Annual ringing dates are given in theschedule. Service ringing takes place at service conclusion except when the Monarch attends

when the bells are also rung beforehand. On solemn occasions the bells are rung half-muffled, aleather pad being strapped to one side of the clapper ball. The bells provide a distinctive effect

sounding strident and soft alternately. Ringing for All Souls and Remembrance is half-muffledand the method Stedman Caters is rung.

Peals

Significant events and anniversaries whether royal, national or Abbey related are markedby the ringing of a full peal. This comprises a minimum of 5000 different changes (or sequences)

and is performed without a break. A peal takes over three hours to complete and demandsconsiderable concentration by the ringers and the conductor all of whom commit the progress of

the 5000 changes to memory. Inscribed peal boards noting the event, the ringers and otherinformation are mounted on the ringing chamber walls.

Sisterrings

Two other rings of bells have been cast to the same specification as those at the Abbey. In

1936 the Whitechapel Bell Foundry reproduced the sizes and weights of the then eight Abbeybells for Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

In 1977 a set of bells, cast by Whitechapel to the specification of the Abbey's ten bells, formed abicentennial gift by the English Ditchley Foundation to the Congress of the United States. The

bells are installed in the Old Post Office Tower in Washington D.C. and each bell is inscribedwith the Great Seals of the United States and of Britannia. The Abbey's coat of arms is cast on

the headstock of each bell.

Benedictine monastery

The monks at Westminster Abbey wore the black habit of the

Order of St Benedict, who had originally established the Benedictine

rules for the monks of his own abbey at Monte Cassino in Italy about540 AD. According to the Rule they were to take a vow of obedience, lead a simple and self-

denying life, be celibate and own no property. The simple celebration of the daily services in


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praise of God was their first duty, and work (often farm work) and reading took up the rest oftheir time. At a time when very few people, even kings, could write, monasteries were the mainsource of education. As they became richer and more monks were ordained priests the tradition

of manual work ceased and they were more concerned with administration of their lands andpossessions.

The first monks were brought to Westminster in about 960 AD by St Dunstan, then

Bishop of London. No trace of the building to which they came has been found as King Edwardthe Confessor built a new Abbey on the site, which was consecrated on 28 December 1065. It

was built on a marshy area called Thorney Island, surrounded by tributaries of the Tyburn river.The numbers of monks at Westminster varied through the centuries from about 30 to 60,

although only 24 were left when Henry VIII dissolved the monastery in 1540. But thecommunity also included many lay servants, masons, and almsmen. Only the Pyx Chamber and

the Undercroft (now the Museum) in the cloisters remain from Edwards 11th century Abbey. In1245 Henry III began rebuilding much of the Church in the new Gothic style of architecture. The

monastic buildings from this period, like the magnificent octagonal Chapter House, still survivetoday, though some are incorporated into later structures. The great dormitory is now divided

into the Abbey Library and the Great Hall of Westminster School, and the Prior's residence is

now part of Ashburnham House. The garden, where the monks took exercise and grew herbs,can still be visited. Part of the Infirmary now forms the Little Cloister. It was here that the sickwere cared for and where the elderly monks lived. They were exempted from the ordinary

regulations of the Abbey, and the Infirmary had its own chapel dedicated to St Catherine.

The cloisters were the centre of monastic life where the monks spent most of their timewhen not at prayer or taking part in the daily services. In the west cloister the novices were

taught and for relaxation they played a popular game of marbles called "nine holes". The monksworked in the north cloister, where they were sheltered from cold winds and got most of the sun.

At first only the upper sections of the windows were glazed and it was very cold in winter.Later, rushes were strewn on the stone floor and wooden partitions were erected to form

individual "carrells" where the monks could read and study. The scriptorium, for those engagedin copying and illuminating manuscripts, was set up elsewhere. In the south cloister was the

entrance to the refectory and towels hung in the four (restored) niches which can still be seen bywhat is now the entrance to the Abbey Song School. The washing place was in the first bay of

the west cloister. The monks ate lots of fish (herrings, oysters, sturgeon, whelks, cod etc.) andhad beef, mutton, pork and some chicken and duck, with bread, beer, cheese and eggs but very

few vegetables. There was a bath house (with hot water) and a shaving house in the precincts butthe monks only took about four baths a year. The latrines were at the end of the dark cloister (acontinuation of the eastern walk). In the east cloister the community met each day in the Chapter

House to have a chapter of the Rule of St Benedict read to them and to have any punishmentsmeted out. Next door were the day stairs to the dormitory (now the entrance to the Library).

This was a very large room and by the 14th century was divided into cubicles, with curtains toensure privacy. Only some of the monks actually slept here, as many had private quarters. No

fire was allowed and in the early Middle Ages they slept in their day clothes. By the 15thcentury they had special night coats over their underwear. In this cloister on the Thursday before

Easter the Abbot used to wash the feet of thirteen elderly men (although someone else hadwashed them first to make sure they were clean!), kissed their feet and distributed the Maundy

alms in memory of Christ's last supper with his disciples.


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The daily round of services usually commenced with Matins at midnight, Lauds atdaybreak, and Prime at about 6am. Terce, Sext, and None were said before dinner and Vespersat 6pm. The monks retired to bed at about 8pm in winter and 9pm in summer. The Abbots of

Westminster were important and powerful men and were often employed by the king on statebusiness. William of Colchester was so involved in politics that in 1400 he was sent to the Tower

of London for a time for his part in a plot to restore Richard II to the throne. John Islip used toentertain Henry VII, serving the king with his favourite marrowbone puddings. Westminster

Abbey owned much property in London, such as Hampstead, Paddington and Knightsbridge, andin many parts of England. Windsor was part of Edward the Confessor's endowment but William

the Conqueror decided he wanted this for hunting and the Abbey exchanged it for Battersea andWandsworth and lands in Essex. Henry VIII also swapped property with the Abbey - to the

Abbey's disadvantage. In return for the lands of the Priory of Hurley, which he dissolved in l536and which was already a daughter-house of Westminster, the king received Covent (Convent)

Garden (the monks' vegetable garden), Hyde Park and a good deal of property in Westminster.

On 16 January 1540 monastic life at Westminster came to an end when Henry VIIIdissolved the monastery and the deed of surrender was signed. Many of the monks retired or

went into "civilian" life. However, the Abbot became the first Dean of the new Cathedral

Church founded by Henry and the Prior and several monks became clergy in the new church. Abishop was appointed to the new see of Westminster but after ten short years the bishopric wassurrendered and the Church became a Cathedral within the diocese of London.

The monks, however, were destined to return just for a short time when Queen Mary I, a

Roman Catholic, restored the Benedictine Abbey under Abbot Feckenham in 1556. Monks werebrought together from former establishments and at least two monks from the previous

Westminster community returned. But Mary died in November 1558 and her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth I became Queen and the monks were removed. Elizabeth established the present

Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster (the Abbey's correct title) in 1560.

Jerusalem Chamber

(this room is not open to the public)

The medieval house of the Abbots of Westminster was known

as Cheyneygates. The principal room, the Jerusalem Chamber, wasadded by Nicholas Litlyngton (Abbot of Westminster 1362-86). The origin of the name is

uncertain but it was not uncommon in the Middle Ages to assign names to rooms, as here at theAbbey there are Jerusalem, Jericho and Samaria. The Jerusalem Chamber is now entered

from the smaller room known as the Jericho Parlour. This latter room was built by John Islipwho was Abbot from 1500 to 1532. The linenfold panelling here is original. In the window of

the Parlour are some quarries of glass bearing Abbot Islips rebus, or pun on his name, I slipwith an eye and a slip (or branch).

The roof of the Jerusalem Chamber is original, although it was restored in the 1950s due

to death-watch beetle damage. On the timbers are Abbot Litlyngtons initials under a mitre and acrowned letter R for Richard II in whose reign the room was built. The panelling, copied from

that in the Jericho Parlour, was added in the late 19th century by Dean Stanley and is made of


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Mentmore. These included the 13th century Retable (altarpiece), tapestries, gilt bronze and oaktomb effigies, manuscripts, misericords, and statues and gates from the Lady Chapel. The bronzegrille from Henry VIIs tomb was also removed. The small numbers stamped on the grille to

enable it to be rebuilt afterwards can still be seen. Some of the stained glass windows wereboarded over but quite a lot of glass was blown out by blast, especially in 1940.

About 60,000 sandbags were used to protect immoveable royal and medieval tombs. The

Coronation Chair was sent for safety to Gloucester Cathedral and the Coronation Stone wasburied secretly within the Abbey. The collection of wax funeral effigies was stored in Piccadilly

tube station. The Pyx Chamber was used as the Abbey ARP [Air Raid Precautions] headquarters,College Hall was used by the firewatchers and the Museum was made ready as a dressing station

and dispensary. An air raid shelter was available for the Abbey clergy in College Garden. Thechoirboys were evacuated but later on in the war a Sunday choir was formed with local boys and

men.

The worst air raid at the Abbey was on the night of 10/11 May 1941. Clusters ofincendiaries (fire bombs rather than high explosives) fell on the roof of the Abbey and in the

precincts. Most were quickly put out by the firewatchers and volunteers but one on the lantern

roof, in the centre part of the Abbey, burned through the lead and lodged in a beam and could noteasily be reached. By this time water supplies were very low. Flames leapt 40 feet into the sky.Luckily the burning timbers and molten lead fell into the mostly open area below (where

monarchs are enthroned at a coronation) and the fire was more easily extinguished. The medievalCosmati pavement and tombs in this area had been boarded over earlier in the war so were

undamaged. Lead splattered on the pulpit and choir stalls.

On this night the Deanery and Cheyneygates was gutted by fire but the Jerusalem

Chamber, Jericho Parlour and College Hall escaped. Westminster School Hall and the SchoolDormitory, and numbers 3, 6 and 7 Little Cloister [clergy houses] were also destroyed. Other

houses and the Library roof sustained damage. Services continued throughout the war with the

nave altar being used after the May raid.

On VE (Victory in Europe) Day, 8th May 1945, short services of thanksgiving were held

every hour in the Abbey from 9am to 10pm. An estimated 25,000 people attended during theday, with the Lord Chancellor and House of Lords attending at 3pm (the House of Commons

went to St Margarets Westminster). A service was also held on the following Sunday, 13th May,when the standards of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa were laid on the High

Altar to symbolise the loyalty of the whole Empire during the war. Services to celebrate VJ(Victory over Japan) Day were held on 15th and 16th August 1945 with great crowds attending.

west minster abbey is in the heart of london

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