Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

As one of the most recognized buildings in Europe, and one of the most recognized religious buildings in the world, (BBC) Westminster Abbey sees great amounts of attention. However, to the country of England, and to its peoples, it is far more than a finely crafted building – even more than a house of worship. For the United Kingdom, Westminster Abbey is a landmark that symbolizes nearly one thousand years of royal history, great human achievement and a testimony to the lasting presence of the British crown. Westminster Abbey is the home of:

[…] the shrine of St Edward the Confessor, the tombs of kings and queens, and countless memorials to the famous and the great. It has been the setting for every Coronation since 1066 and for numerous other royal occasions. Today it is still a church dedicated to regular worship and to the celebration of great events in the life of the nation. Neither a cathedral nor a parish church, Westminster Abbey is a “Royal Peculiar” under the jurisdiction of a Dean and Chapter, subject only to the Sovereign. (Dean and Chapter of Westminster)

The religious history of the area that is now home to the Westminster Abbey predates the abbey itself. Before the abbey was built, the site was home to one of the first Christian churches in England. According to the New Advent, the Catholic encyclopedia, as early as 616 AD, there was a church on the same grounds as the current abbey. Previous to the building of the abbey, the sit was home to a Benedictine monastery for several hundred years. Even though Christianity itself, only landed on England’s shores in 596 AD, there has been some religious service performed on the land which would become Westminster since 604. (Britain Express)

The first historical mention of Westminster came during the reign of King Ofa, in 785 AD (Alston) and was “miraculously consecrated by St. Peter”. (Encyclopedia Britannica) However it would be nearly three hundred years later that the abbey would finally begin construction. In 1055, King Edward the Confessor called for the building of an official monastery. Meant to house seventy monks, the order never grew over fifty. (Alston) Up to and beyond the death of Edward the Confessor, there were several additions made to his early monastery. A choir hall and lady’s chapel were added between 1110 and 1220, to meet the growing needs of the community.

The changes that the abbey saw continued over the centuries. In the thirteenth century, King Henry III demolished most of the original monastery in favor of rebuilding it is a more contemporary style – Gothic. One of his successors, King Henry VII further improved upon the abbey by building the addition of a new Lady Chapel – which still bears his name.

In 1539, the monastery “was suppressed”. (Alston) The monks who had been living there were forced to disperse. The monastery then took the role of a cathedral church, the following year. In 1560, Queen Elizabeth I reformed the monastery as a collegiate church.

A Royal Peculiar exempt from the jurisdiction of bishops and with the Sovereign as its Visitor. In place of the monastic community a collegiate body of a dean and prebendaries, minor canons and a lay staff was established and charged with the task of continuing the tradition of daily worship (for which a musical foundation of choristers, singing men and organist was provided) and with the education of forty Scholars who formed the nucleus of what is now Westminster School. (Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey)

This changed also, the local government of Westminster. Queen Elizabeth’s decree was that the Abbey maintain jurisdiction over local civil affairs. Also, the Dean of Westminster then, and is still true today, answered directly to the monarch – effectively making Westminster Abbey the monarch’s own church. (Cross)

The current physical Abbey was built in 1840, in a neo-Gothic style. However it is not necessarily the style of the building that encapsulates the importance of the Abbey to the people of Britain – it is its secondary purpose. Since 1066 and the coronation of King William the Conqueror on Christmas day of that year, the hall of Westminster Abbey has been the location of every successive coronation. (Alston)

It is because of this strong tie to the history of England that Westminster Abbey is so important to its people. Culturally, the Abbey serves as a reminder to the populous of the country. The religious symbol is identifiable with not only religion, but in the course history that the country has labored through over the centuries.

Within the Abbey itself, there are many people interred who, through their actions, beliefs or memories, shaped England, Europe and the world. Because of its location near the center of England’s seat of power, Westminster Abbey has been the burial place of many members of English royalty. Of the English monarchs, there are many who have been laid to rest there: “Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, Richard II, Henry V, and six queens, whose tombs are in St. Edward's Chapel, and Henry VII, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth, and Mary Tudor, and Margaret, the widow of Henry V, who lie buried in Henry VII's Chapel”. (Dean and Chapter of Westminster)

The Abbey contains some 600 monuments and wall tablets – the most importantcollection of monumental sculpture anywhere in the country - and over three thousand people are buried here. Notable among these is the Unknown Warrior, whose grave, close to the west door, has become a place of pilgrimage. (Dean and Chapter of Westminster)

Sir Isaac Newton is one of the most famous persons found within the Abbey. Because of his work in mathematics and physics, Newton has been heralded as one of the most important figures in modern human history. It was for that reason; he was chosen to be interred within the halls of Westminster.

Charles Darwin is another famous icon of science who was interred within Westminster. His treatise on evolution, though still controversial today, within many religious circles, changed the manner in which man looked at the world, and at himself.

There are also several important literary persons within Westminster. Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Edmund Spencer, Rudyard Kipling, among others have been honored by being buried there. (Jenkins 75) Much like the cemetery Pere Lachaise, in Paris, France, Westminster Abbey has become the iconic home of some of literature’s most famous contributors.

England itself has been seen as the birthplace of modern literature. Because of this, it is not surprising to see many literary historical landmarks within England’s borders. Shakespeare, Spencer, and Chaucer are among the many writers and poets who, over their lifetimes, produced works of such great importance, they have been seen as changing the world of literature. Westminster Abbey, in turn has been the eternal home of these great members of the literary world for many centuries. Because of its conglomeration of history’s great English writers, Westminster Abbey has been seen as part of the art itself. Although not a typical landmark of literary importance – as Shakespeare’s theatre is – Westminster Abbey has because a point of pilgrimage of many writers and literary historians over the years.

Samuel Johnson made this pilgrimage during his lifetime. The English writer, poet and biographer toured the Abbey in the 18th century. This visitation would be an important memory for the writer, as he chronicled the trip several times during his life. As Phillip Connell recounted in his article on the importance of Westminster Abbey to the literary world:

Samuel Johnson liked to recall a visit to Westminster Abbey he once made in thecompany of Oliver Goldsmith. As the two men of letters passed the monuments to Chaucer, Shakespeare, Spenser, and Milton, in what Addison called the “poetical corner” of the Abbey, Johnson quoted Ovid: “perhaps out names also be mingled with these”. (Connell 558)

This quote turned indeed prophetic, as following his death in 1784, Johnson was in fact interred within the “poetic corner” of Westminster Abbey. The correlation between the abbey and the literary world has been moving closer as the decades go on. For many contemporary scholars, and literary historians, the Abbey has become the means through which the present literary world meets the past.

Though not all of the names found within the Abbey walls have been actually interred there. Another honor bestowed on certain people is the act of Commemoration. Westminster Abbey commemorates, and acknowledges the deeds of several important figures of history. Among these chosen few is Martin Luther King Jr. The American Civil Rights leader and pastor, King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968. Because of his important work in the American Civil rights Movement, and the meaning that movement carried throughout the world, King was acknowledged in Westminster Abbey following his death. (Jenkyns 79)

There is another tomb located on the grounds of Westminster – that of Britain’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Much like that of the tomb of the same name in WashingtonD.C., this tomb is meant to signify the remembrance of the thousands of soldiers who lost their lives in World War I. Also, the “Roll of Honour of the Civilian War Dead 1939-45”, a list containing over 66,000 names in seven volumes, is displayed near the west door of the Abbey. (Dean and Chapter of Westminster)

The Abbey is not without its controversy, however. During the reign of the EnglishRepublic, in the mid 17th century, Oliver Cromwell was briefly interred following his death. During his life, Cromwell led a successful revolution to over through the Stuart king, Charles I, and have him beheaded. However, following the re-establishment of the Stuart dynasty a decade later, King Charles II had Cromwell and his men exhumed and moved.

Oliver Cromwell had an elaborate funeral followed by burial in Henry VII's chapel. When King Charles II was restored to the English throne he decided that Cromwell and his followers, who had executed his father Charles I, should be exhumed from the Abbey and by Royal Warrant dated September 9th l661 the bodies were dug up. Cromwell, Henry Ireton (his son-in-law) and John Bradshaw (president of the tribunal which condemned Charles I to death) were hanged and decapitated at Tyburn gallows (where Marble Arch stands today). The heads were set up on poles outside Westminster Hall. Other followers of Cromwell, and also his mother Elizabeth, were re-buried in a common grave outside the Abbey, on the north side. (Dean and Chapter of Westminster)

The Abbey has also been the site of many royal weddings. Within recent memory, the wedding between Prince Charles, and Princess Diana Spencer took place at Westminster in 1981. This event, captured on live television, would be seen by an estimated 750 million viewers (BBC) making it the most watched program ever broadcast up to that time. While this event was seen with optimism, it was only sixteen years later that Westminster housed the funeral of Princess Diana. With over one million people in attendance, and an estimated total of 2.5 billion more who viewed on television, Diana, and Westminster became two icons of international prominence.

Britain and the world have said farewell to Diana, Princess of Wales, at the end of an unprecedented week of mourning. A four mile procession brought her coffin to Westminster Abbey, where politicians and celebrities joined the Royal Family in a subdued congregation. Over a million people lined the route of the funeral cortege to the abbey and along her final journey to the Spencer family home in Northamptonshire. (BBC)

Because of the television age, Westminster Abbey has seen a popularity that has stretched world wide. Events, such as the wedding and funeral of Princess Diana allowed the world to feel the power that people and places can offer. Westminster Abbey has also been immortalized most recently, by a very popular work of fiction – The Da Vinci Code.

Within this novel, and the subsequent movie of the same name, Westminster Abbey was again positioned prominently in the view of the world stage. Within the context of the story, an ancient sect of Christians held on to the secret that Jesus Christ married, and fathered a son with Mary Magdalene. This secret union and the child that followed were hidden from history by the organization called the “Priory of Scion”. The Priory of Scion, through the act of maintaining this secret, hid clues the location of the sarcophagus of Mary Magdalene. One of these clues was hidden within the Westminster Abbey.

Whether any part of the story of The Da Vinci Code is true, is of little consequence to the Abbey. However, as the international popularity of the book contends, events surrounding places such as Westminster Abbey hold a fascination throughout the world. It is the long standing history of the Abbey, and its influence on popular culture that allowed for such fiction to become so widely accepted.

The people of London have felt the impact of Westminster Abbey their entire lives. For many, especially the younger generation, the Abbey has come to symbolize the most important and deeply effective events of their lives. Sean Downs is a twenty-seven year old man who was born and raised in London. His life time has seen some of the most important events of recent British history take place – allowing him to witness them first hand.

I have felt a strong attraction to Westminster. I have lived in North London all my life, and have been around Westminster regularly. I also now work near the Abbey and see it daily on my commute to the office. (Downs)

In an e-mail interview, Mr. Downs was asked how he felt the people of London were affected by Westminster Abbey:

Landmarks like Westminster become symbols for society. Westminster, and Parliament as well, have become the primary signifiers of London in the eyes of many people around the world. Like the view of America’s White House, the Taj Mahal, and other locations, these buildings become the first visual representation that most people have in their minds for certain locations. (Downs)

Along with many people who live in London, Mr. Downs feels that the Abbey itself has become more than just a building, or even a very nice example of early modern architecture, the Abbey has come to symbolize England itself.

The Abbey also served as a popular meeting place during the London shelling of World War II. (BBC) As a place for refuge and for prayer, Westminster Abbey became a symbol of perseverance during the war.

War broke out, and there we were in the heart of Westminster. My father was Canon and sub-Dean of the Abbey and Rector of St John's, Smith Square. The domestic staff departed, those that could leave for the country and Westminster was quiet. The iron railings were taken down from the parks to help with armaments; but daily life went on. (BBC)

The functionality of Westminster Abbey has not ceased since its reformation under Queen Elizabeth I. The daily pattern or worship has been maintained throughout the past four hundred years – and continues today.

There are many aspects of Westminster Abbey that give the building such a high place in the world stage. The Abbey itself has been the site of more than one thousand years of religious history, tumult and change. Its ties to the spread of Christianity throughout the British Isles cannot be underplayed. However, the Abbey has grown to serve many other purposes throughout its long history. It has been the site of political upheaval, and restoration. It has seen the birth of one of the most power nations on Earth, and it’s near collapse. The Westminster Abbey has served as the location for the crowning of kings and queens for over nine hundred years. The British monarchy is the longest surviving society of its time in the modern age – and Westminster Abbey has stood through nearly all of it.

Perhaps even more so that the houses of Parliament and the palace of Windsor, Westminster Abbey have stood in reverence and importance. While the families which rule over England have changed and the strength of the nation itself has risen and tapered off, Westminster Abbey has remained a strong and important visage of the English culture.

Annotated Bibliography

Barry, Rosemary. “Pre-war and Wartime Westminster”. BBC Archive. BBC News. 2006. Date of Access: June 1, 2006. URL: l

This story is a first hand account from a civilian who lived during the First World War. From a series of articles accumulated by the BBC, the article concentrated on the peopleof London who lived in Westminster, and near the Abbey.

"Westminster Abbey." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopedia Britannica Premium Service. 1 June 2006