Westminster Abbey

§ 1 Westminster Abbey is both the oldest and the most important of London’s great churches. It is the official church of the king or queen of the UK, under the direct patronage of the British monarchy. Coronations take place within the abbey, and many sovereigns are also burried here. Because of its importance to the royalty, Westminster Abbey has become a site rich in the culture and traditions of Great Britain. It is one of the most beautiful churches in the nation, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. Like most of medieval cathedrals, the floor plan of Westminster Abbey is shaped like a cross.

§ 2 A portrait of Richard II (1367 – 1400) hangs on the southwest pier of the nave. This painting is believed to be the oldest portrait of the monarch. Richard’s reign was undistinguished, and he was forced to abdicate in 1399. He is nonetheless remembered as a major benefactor of the abbey, supervising much of the building of the nave in the 14th century. The portrait was a gift to the abbey from the king himself. For many years the portrait hung against the back wall in the choir, in a place reserved for eminent people.

The British Empire suffered more than 3 million casualites during World War I (1914 – 1918). The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior commemorates those who died during this conflict and is one of the most honored graves in the abbey. Surrounded by Flanders poppies, emblems of World War I, the tomb of the Unknown Warrior is the only flor-level monument in the abbey. Soil from various French battlefields enclosed in the tomb.

§ 3 Some of the English people memorialized in Westminster Abbey are famous for their assosiations with the abbey during their lifetimes. Henry Purcell (1659 – 1695) was organist at the abbey and is burried under the nearby organ. In addition to his masterpiece he composed instrumental and vocal music for court masques during the Restauration, religious hymns and anthems for royal events.

Another prominent person was William Caxton (1422 – 1491), the first English printer, set up his press on the grounds of the Abbey in 1476. There he printed works by such authors as Geoffrey chauser, John Gower and Thomas Malory.

§ 4 British monarchs have been crowned and buried in Westminster Abbey since William the Conqueror. The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II took place in Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953. For this elaborate ceremony, a special platform was constructed in the sanctuary. The Queen, crowned, sceptered and wearing the Robe Royal, passed from the Coronation chair to the Throne, symbolyzing taking posession of the kingdom. There were 7 500 guests, looking on as the ceremony followed traditional rituals performed during the previous coronations since the Norman Conquest. This was the first coronation to be broadcast on television.

§ 5 The south transept contains a section of the abbey known as the Poet’s Corner. The tradition of commemorating famous writers within the abbey began with the burial of Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400), one of the greatest of English poets. His masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, is still read and was among the first English. Not all writers commemorated in Poet’s corner are buried there. William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616), the greatest English play writer and poet, is buried in the town of his birth, Stratford-on-Avon. The monument to him was placed in the abbey in 1740. Shakespeare’s monument is surrounded by memorials to other greats of English literature: Robert Southey, Robert Burns, Jane Austen, Samuel Jonson, John Keats, the Bronte sisters.

§ 6 Westminster Abbey was built on a site that may have been occupied by a church since 616 ad. King Edward the Confessor (1002 – 10066) began construction of a church in the Norman style in this location in 1050 and died just after the church was consecrated. His successor, William the Conqueror, chose the church for his coronation. Under the patronage of the Norman kings, the abbey became an important church.

§ 7 The Chapel of Henry VII represents a shift in devotional purpose as well as in decorative style. Located at the eastern end of the abbey, a place traditionally occupied in medieval cathedrals by a chapel to the Virgin Mary, the Chapel of Henry VII instead honors the British monarchy.

During his reign, Henry VIII broke with the Catholic Church and established the protestant Church of England. Upon his death in 1547, England was wracked by religious conflicts. Henry’s daughters, Elizabeth I and Mary I, took opposing stands during these conflicts, and their burial together symbolizes the resolution of these religious controversies.

§ 8 Princess Mary, daughter of James I, died in 1607 at the age of two. She lies in a side chapel called the Innocents’ Corner, since many other royal offspring are also buried there.

This side chapel at the eastern end of the building was dedicated in 1947 to the memory of the Royal Air Force who died during the summer of 1940 in the Battle of Britain. The most striking part of the memorial is a stained-glass window, containing the emblems of the 63 Fighter Squadrons that participated in the battle.