Please read and enjoy our article and watch your FREE LONDON MUSIC VIDEO at the end Ask a Londoner (out of interest, try a London cabbie) where to find the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster and you'll probably get a shrug of the shoulders and a "Sorry mate, no idea".
Ask for Westminster Abbey and the response will likely be along the lines of "Oh, yeh, it's just by the Houses of Parliament".
Well, interestingly enough, it's one and the same place , Westminster Abbey being the informal name of the church. | | The Abbey's glorious architecture |
| Westminster Abbey is a large, mainly Gothic church just to the west of the Palace of Westminster . It is the traditional place of the coronation and burial site for British monarchs.
There has been an Abbey on the existing site since the 7th century . In the 10th century a community of Benedictine monks occupied the site.
In the 11th century , a stone Abbey was built by King Edward the Confessor as part of his palace. The Abbey was consecrated just a week before the Edward the Confessor died (very convenient for The Confessor's funeral and burial!).
Westminster Abbey held the last coronation prior to the Norman Invasion of England, that of Edward's successor, King Harold . The Abbey was later rebuilt by Henry III from 1245 , who had selected the site for his burial (no ego there, then!) .
A picture of the original Westminster Abbey can be found in the Bayeux Tapestry . At that time, Westminster Abbey continued to support a community of monks .
The Abbot and learned monks, being located next to the Royal Palace of Westminster , the seat of government from the later part of the twelfth century , became a powerful force in the centuries after the Norman Conquest . The Abbot of Westminster Abbey was often employed on royal service and in due course took his place in the House of Lords .
Westminster Abbey became the coronation site of Norman kings , but none were buried there until Henry III . Henry, to whom Edward the Confessor was something of a hero, rebuilt the Abbey in Anglo-French Gothic style as a shrine to honour The Confessor . Westminster Abbey was also a suitably regal setting for Henry's own tomb, under the highest Gothic nave in England .
Building work on Westminster Abbey continued between 1245-1517 and was largely finished in the reign of King Richard II . King Henry VII added a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1503 . This became known as the Henry VII Chapel .
Westminster Abbey's wealth was significant . In 1539 , Henry VIII had assumed direct royal control and granted Westminster Abbey cathedral status . In doing so Westminster Abbey was spared from the destruction or dissolution which Henry inflicted on most English abbeys during this period. |
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|  | | The Abbey's Gothic frontage | Westminster Abbey was a cathedral only until 1550 . The expression "robbing Peter to pay Paul" may arise from this period when money meant for Westminster Abbey, which was dedicated to St Peter , was diverted to the coffers of St Paul's Cathedral .
Westminster Abbey was restored to the monks under the Catholic Queen Mary , but the monks were again ejected under Queen Elizabeth I in 1559 . In 1579 , Elizabeth re-established Westminster Abbey as a "Royal Peculiar" , a church responsible directly to the sovereign, rather than to a diocesan bishop.
Hence the name the Collegiate Church of St Peter and the last Abbot became the first Dean .
Westminster Abbey was damaged during the turbulent 1640s , when it was attacked by Puritans , but was again protected by its close ties to the state during this period.
Oliver Cromwell was given an elaborate funeral in Westminster Abbey in 1658 , only to be disinterred in January 1661 and posthumously hanged from a nearby gibbet ("What did I DO?"). | | The Abbey Choir, an 1848 print |
| Speaking of hanging, that's where we will call a halt to this rather long-winded article on Westminster Abbey, a place offering a combination of spirituality, extensive history and wonderful architecture.
If you are looking to find Westminster Abbey on your next London visit, you know what to ask the London cabbie for!
Meanwhile treat yourself to a cup of coffee and take a look at Part 2 when you are ready! |
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