Westminster Abbey

St Peter's Abbey at the time of Edward's funeral, as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry

Between 1042 and 1052, Edward the Confessor began rebuilding St Peter's Abbey to provide himself with a royal burial church. It was the first church in England built in the Romanesque style. The building was completed around 1060 and was consecrated on 28 December 1065, only a week before Edward's death on 5 January 1066.[10] A week later, he was buried in the church; nine years later, his wife Edith was buried alongside him.[11] His successor, Harold Godwinson, was probably crowned here, although the first documented coronation is that of William the Conqueror later the same year.[12]

The only extant depiction of Edward's abbey, together with the adjacent Palace of Westminster, is in the Bayeux Tapestry. Some of the lower parts of the monastic dormitory, an extension of the South Transept, survive in the Norman Undercroft of the Great School, including a door said to come from the previous Saxon abbey. Increased endowments supported a community that increased from a dozen monks during Dunstan's time, up to as many as eighty monks.[13]

Layout plan dated 1894

Released from the burdens of spiritual leadership, which passed to the reformed Cluniac movement after the mid-10th century, and occupied with the administration of great landed properties, some of which lay far from Westminster, "the Benedictines achieved a remarkable degree of identification with the secular life of their times, and particularly with upper-class life", Barbara Harvey concludes, to the extent that her depiction of daily life provides a wider view of the concerns of the English gentry in the High and Late Middle Ages.[14]

The abbot and monks, being adjacent to the Palace of Westminster (the seat of government from the late 13th century), became a powerful force in the centuries after the Norman Conquest, with the Abbot of Westminster taking his place in the House of Lords in due course. The proximity to the palace did not however extend to providing them with high royal connections; in social origin, the Benedictines of Westminster were as modest as most of the order. The abbot remained Lord of the manor of Westminster as a town of two to three thousand people grew around it: as a consumer and employer on a grand scale, the monastery helped fuel the town's economy, and relations with the town remained unusually cordial, but no enfranchising charter was issued during the Middle Ages.[15]

Westminster Abbey became the coronation site of Norman kings, but none were buried there until Henry III rebuilt it in the Anglo-French Gothic style as a shrine to venerate King Edward the Confessor and as a suitably regal setting for his own tomb, under the highest Gothic nave in England.[16] The Confessor's shrine subsequently played a great part in his canonization.[9]

Construction began in 1245.[17] The first building stage included the entire eastern end, the transepts, and the easternmost bay of the nave. The Lady chapel, built from around 1220 at the extreme eastern end, was incorporated into the chevet of the new building, but was later replaced. This work must have been largely completed by 1258–60, when the second stage began. This carried the nave on an additional five bays, bringing it to one bay beyond the ritual choir. Here, construction stopped in about 1269. A consecration ceremony being held on 13 October of that year,[18] but because of Henry's death, construction did not resume. The old Romanesque nave remained attached to the new building for over a century, until it was pulled down and rebuilt from 1376, closely following the original (and by now outdated) design.[19] Construction was largely finished by the architect Henry Yevele in the reign of Richard II.[20]

Henry III also commissioned the unique Cosmati pavement in front of the High Altar; the pavement was re-dedicated by the Dean at a service on 21 May 2010 after undergoing a major cleaning and conservation programme.[21]

Henry VII added a Perpendicular style chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1503 (known as the "Henry VII Chapel" or the "Lady Chapel"). Much of the stone came from Caen, in France (Caen stone), the Isle of Portland (Portland stone) and the Loire Valley region of France (tuffeau limestone).[22] The chapel was finished circa 1519.[19]

In 1535 during the assessment attendant on the Dissolution of the monasteries, the abbey's annual income was £3,000 (equivalent to £1,950,000 in 2021).[23][24]

Henry VIII assumed direct control in 1539 and granted the abbey the status of a cathedral by charter in 1540, simultaneously issuing letters patent establishing the Diocese of Westminster. By granting the abbey cathedral status, Henry VIII gained an excuse to spare it from the destruction or dissolution which he inflicted on most English abbeys during this period.[25] The abbot, William Benson, became dean of the cathedral, while the prior and five of the monks were among the twelve canons.[26]

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 until 1556.[27][28][29] The already-old expression "robbing Peter to pay Paul" may have been given a new lease of life when money meant for the abbey, which is dedicated to Saint Peter, was diverted to the treasury of St Paul's Cathedral.[30]

The abbey c. 1711 prior to the western towers being built

The abbey was restored to the Benedictines under the Catholic Mary I, but they were again ejected under Elizabeth I in 1559. In 1560, Elizabeth re-established Westminster as a "royal peculiar"—a church of the Church of England responsible directly to the sovereign, rather than to a diocesan bishop—and made it the Collegiate Church of St Peter (that is, a non-cathedral church with an attached chapter of canons, headed by a dean).[31]

In the early 17th century, the abbey hosted two of the six companies of churchmen, led by Lancelot Andrewes, Dean of Westminster, who translated the King James Version of the Bible.[32]

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 gibbet at Tyburn.[33]

The abbey's two western towers were built between 1722 and 1745 by Nicholas Hawksmoor, constructed from Portland stone to an early example of a Gothic Revival design. Purbeck marble was used for the walls and the floors, although the various tombstones are made of different types of marble. Images of the abbey prior to the construction of the towers are scarce, though the abbey's official website states that the building had "towers which had been left unfinished in the medieval period".[34]

After an earthquake in 1750, the top of one of the piers on the north side fell down, with the iron and lead that had fastened it. Several houses fell in, and many chimneys were damaged. Another shock had been felt during the preceding month.[35]

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. He left instructions for the sides of his and his wife's coffins to be removed so that their remains could mingle.[36]

Further rebuilding and restoration occurred in the 19th century under Sir George Gilbert Scott.[37] A narthex (a portico or entrance hall) for the west front was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens in the mid-20th century but was not built.[38]

Replica of the Stone of Scone at Scone Palace. In 1914, the historic Stone was broken in half by a suffragette bombing.

On 11 June 1914, a bomb planted by suffragettes of the Women's Social and Political Union exploded inside the abbey.[39][40] The abbey was busy with visitors, with around 80–100 people in the building at the time of the explosion.[41][42] Some were as close as 20 yards (18 m) from the bomb and the explosion caused a panic for the exits, but no serious injuries were reported.[42] The bomb had been packed with nuts and bolts to act as shrapnel.[42]

The event was part of a campaign of bombing and arson attacks carried out by suffragettes nationwide between 1912 and 1914.[39] Churches were a particular target, as it was believed that the Church of England was complicit in reinforcing opposition to women's suffrage – 32 churches were attacked nationwide between 1913 and 1914.[43][44]

Coincidentally, at the time of the explosion, the House of Commons only 100 yards (90 m) away was debating how to deal with the violent tactics of the suffragettes.[42] Many in the Commons heard the explosion and rushed to the scene.[42] Two days after the Westminster Abbey bombing, a second suffragette bomb was discovered before it could explode in St Paul's Cathedral.[39]

The bomb blew off a corner of the Coronation Chair.[39][40] 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.[40]

Westminster suffered minor damage during the Blitz on 15 November 1940. Then on 10/11 May 1941, the Westminster Abbey precincts and roof were hit by incendiary bombs. All the bombs were extinguished by ARP wardens, except for one bomb which ignited out of reach among the wooden beams and plaster vault of the lantern roof (of 1802) over the North Transept. Flames rapidly spread and burning beams and molten lead began to fall on the wooden stalls, pews and other ecclesiastical fixtures 130 feet (40 m) below. Despite the falling debris, the staff dragged away as much furniture as possible before withdrawing. Finally the Lantern roof crashed down into the crossing, preventing the fires from spreading further.[45]

The exterior of the church in 2010

The Joint Committee responsible for assembling the New English Bible met twice a year at Westminster Abbey in the 1950s and 1960s.[46]

In the 1990s, two icons by the Russian icon painter Sergei Fyodorov were added[47] In 1997, the abbey, which was then receiving approximately 1.75 million visitors each year, began charging admission fees to visitors.[48]

On 6 September 1997, the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, was held.[49]

In June 2009 the first major building work in 250 years was proposed. A corona—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 £23m development of the abbey completed in 2013.[50][51]

On 4 August 2010, the Dean and Chapter announced that, "[a]fter a considerable amount of preliminary and exploratory work", efforts toward the construction of a corona would not be continued.[52] In 2012, architects Panter Hudspith completed refurbishment of the 14th-century food-store originally used by the abbey's monks, converting it into a restaurant with English oak furniture by Covent Garden-based furniture makers Luke Hughes and Company. This is now the Cellarium Café and Terrace.[53]

On 17 September 2010, Pope Benedict XVI became the first pope to set foot in the abbey,[54] and on 29 April 2011, the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place.[55]

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries were created in the medieval triforium. This is a display area for the abbey's treasures in the galleries high up around the nave. A new Gothic access tower with lift was designed by the abbey architect and Surveyor of the Fabric, Ptolemy Dean. The new galleries opened in June 2018.[56][57]

On 10 March 2021, a vaccination centre opened in Poets' Corner to administer doses of COVID-19 vaccines.[58]

On 19 September 2022, the state funeral of Elizabeth II took place at the abbey.[59]

• 
  Coat of arms of Westminster Abbey, featuring the Tudor arms between Tudor roses above the attributed arms of Edward the Confessor
• 
  A 1749 painting of Westminster Abbey by Canaletto, created shortly after the completion of the western towers
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  Flag of Westminster Abbey
• 
  Floorplan
• 
  The illuminated façade at night
• 
  The 19th-century choir screen divides the nave from the chancel
• 
  The Coronation Chair which was damaged by a suffragette bombing in 1914

The organ was built by Harrison & Harrison in 1937, then with four manuals and 84 speaking stops, and was used for the first time at the coronation of George VI. Some pipework from the previous Hill organ of 1848 was revoiced and incorporated in the new scheme. The two organ cases, designed and built in the late 19th century by John Loughborough Pearson, were re-instated and coloured in 1959.[86]

In 1982 and 1987, Harrison & Harrison enlarged the organ under the direction of the then abbey organist Simon Preston to include an additional Lower Choir Organ and a Bombarde Organ: the current instrument now has five manuals and 109 speaking stops. In 2006, the console of the organ was refurbished by Harrison & Harrison, and space was prepared for two additional 16 ft stops on the Lower Choir Organ and the Bombarde Organ.[86]

The current Organist and Master of the choristers, James O'Donnell, has been in post since 2000.[87]