Ryan Moore

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is considered to be the most famous church in Great Britain. Nine hundred years ago the church was a Benedictine monastery.  It offered the traditional Benedictine hospitality to the church’s visitors, and today is seeking new ways to welcome the 3.5 million visitors who come every year.

Westminster Abbey is located in London and is officially called the Collegiate Church of St. Peter in Westminster.  This magnificent church was built in stages between the 11th and 19th</sup> centuries.  The Abbey is made up of the main church plus the chapels, cloister, chapter house, and towers.  The English King Edward the Confessor began construction of Westminster Abbey in 1050.  The church is believed to be located on a site of an old church dating back to the time of Serbert king of the East Saxons, who died in AD616.

By the 12th century Westminster Abbey was flourishing. It is believed that the church held between 30 and 60 monks with at least 300 other people being involved in someway or another.  By this time Edward the Confessor had died and was now a Saint. His tomb was put inside the Abbey, and soon was bringing in large numbers of pilgrims.  The monks that worked at the Abbey lived a tough life.  They attended services during the day and night, with reading and writing in between.  They also attended to the garden, which is probably England’s oldest, and has been looked after for 900 plus years.  Westminster Abbey  also was becoming responsible for holding court, and hearing trials for local criminals.  The Abbey also sent travelers to represent the king on diplomatic missions.

By the time King Henry III came into power, the future of Westminster Abbey seemed secure.  Henry III was very determined to make the Abbey as good as possible, and was known for putting a lot of money into it.  The church was slowly rebuilt from the east end and nothing of Edward the Confessors church remained except for some of the Monastic building located around the cloister.  The Abbey now was taller and more spacious.  Henry de Reyns was chosen to work on the rebuilding of the Abbey, and the Gothic style that he chooses is credited to many of the French cathedrals. From 1245 till his death in 1272, Henry III focuses a lot of his time to the rebuilding of the Abbey.  He added many personal touches to the building, one of them being a shrine to Edward the Confessor.  The completion of the church came to a halt due to Henry’s death, and it would take 250 years for it to finally be done.

Westminster Abbey’s chapter house is by far the most important in the country.  It was completed in 1253 and until 1547 it was the meeting place for parliament.  Even though the Abbey suffered the death of Henry III the work still continued at a rapid pace until the Black Death again halted it.  Many of the monks at Westminter suffered greatly.  The 100 years war also contributed to the delay in the rebuilding process.  A lot of the money was now being put toward military matters rather than toward the church.  Then in 1556 Queen Mary was crowned and the Abbey saw the re-establishment of the monks.  This did not last long, and by 1560 they were disbanded by Elizabeth I’s charter, which stated that Westminster Abbey was a collegiate church with a Dean and Chapter of twelve cannons.  For the next 200 years the Abbey kept it’s unfinished looks, until 1745 when the building we have come to know was completed.  In England today the Abbey still plays an important role not just to the people but also as a piece of worship.  To this day many Kings and Queens continue to be crowned at the Abbey even though they are now buried at St. Georges Chapel in Windsor. A recent introduction to the Abbey is the royal weddings.  When Princess Mary was wed to Viscount Lascellesin in 1922, it paved the way for the entire wedding that later took place.  Queen Mother began a tradition of putting the bridal bouquet on the tomb of the unknown warrior, and every bride today that gets married at the Abbey follows in the tradition.  Today the Abbey is closely associated with the Order of the Bath which uses Henry VIII’s chapel as it’s own.  Inside the chapel hang the banners of the Prince of Wales and the Queen.  The Queens is the only embroidered banner.