Westminster Abbey

The Collegiate Church of St. Peter at Westminster, commonly known as Westminster Abbey, is a central focal point in downtown London, both in terms of history and architecture. Located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster (today the Houses of Parliament) the Abbey is the traditional place of the coronation and burial of English monarchs and other revered English citizens. A shrine was first established on this site in 616 (Crotchet 221). Since that time the Abbey has served as one of the many hubs of English religion and is a near perfect representation of the deep ties between state and religion found in the United Kingdom historically and today.

Though a religious shrine has stood on this ground from the year 616 onward, Westminster Abbey as it is known today was not officially founded or initially erected until the year 1045 when the King Edward, nicknamed Edward the Confessor, planted a community of Benedictine monks here. Edward the Confessor destroyed the then existing buildings on the site and began to build the Abbey itself on the desolate land which was then known as Thorney Island. Thorney Island was a dry and “insulated peninsula of dry sand and gravel, girt on one side by the Thames and on the other side by the mashes formed by the little stream Eye” which has since been completely incorporated into the scope of downtown London (Crotchet 221). The Norman building, erected by the pious Edward, was one of the first “cruciform churches” built in England and it covered nearly the whole ground which is now occupied by the Abbey (Crotchet 221). Edward, the chief patron of the building of the Abbey was a pious man, but wholly weak and incapable as a ruler. He had been educated by Norman Monks and “at heart, remained a monk all his life” (Willson 49). Although he did not entirely forfeit or neglect the duties of kingship, he disliked the affairs of state and preferred a life of contemplation. Thus, the main focus of his rule became the building of Westminster Abbey. The Abbey was officially consecrated and dedicated on December 28, 1065 and Edward died just weeks later on January 5, 1066, and was buried in the Abbey. Leaving a great legacy of piety and faithful devotion to religion, Edward was canonized in 1161 and is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church (Willson 49-50).

Although Edward the Confessor is wholly responsible for the initial building of the Abbey, Westminster as it is known today owes a great deal of its inception to the art-loving and eccentric King Henry III. Henry “showered gifts upon the Abbey—silver vessels for chrism; banners, baudekins and other hangings representing images from the Bible” (Crotchet 222). In 1241 he began to erect a new golden shrine for Edward the Confessor, also ordaining by charter that he should be buried at the side of the saint. The rebuilding and revamping of the Abbey began on July 6, 1245. The eastern part of the Abbey (except for the later-built Henry VII’s chapel) and the first four bays of the western portion were built between 1245 and 1270. The Chapter House and most of the cloisters were also erected during this short twenty five years (Crotchet 222-223). But, the Abbey was still unfinished, despite its growing size and iconography in the country of England.

King Henry VII, who came to the throne in 1485, ushering in the infamous reign of the Tudor Dynasty, would be the final great contributor to the general layout and architecture of the Abbey. Henry VIII laid the foundation stone of his chapel on January 24, 1500 (Hibbert 105-106). Amidst the architectural splendor of the Abbey, the chapel and its ceiling particularly stand out. Henry lavished immense sums of money on the building of his chapel which has become “a superb example of the late Perpendicular or Tudor Gothic Style” (Hibbert 107). Following the erection of this chapel, the Abbey’s layout has remained relatively constant with the addition of more graves of English rulers and the consecration of Poet’s Corner as the resting place of England’s greatest authors and artists. As a whole, nearly 1300 graves lie beneath the stone floor of the Abbey buried directly under the feet of the millions of visitors in the absence of a crypt.

Westminster Abbey continues today to serve as the place of royal coronations and burials. It stands just across from the Houses of Parliament serving as a reminder of the inseparable connection between the Church of England and the government of the United Kingdom. The Abbey has stood as a symbol of religion in the heart of London for nearly 1400 years and continues to link and define the great connection of English monarchs to English religion.

Works Cited

Crotchet, Dotted. "Westminster Abbey." The Musical Times 48.770 (1907): 221-7.

Hibbert, Christopher. The Story of England. London: Phaidon Press Limited, 2006.

Willson, David Harris. A History of England. 2^nd ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1972.