Westminster Abbey

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This most famous of allEnglishabbeys is situated within the precincts of the Royal Palace of Westminster, likeHolyrood inScotland and theEscurial inSpain. Its site, on the northern side of the River Thames, a mile or two above the ancient City ofLondon, was formerly known as Thorney or the Isle of Thorns. The date of the foundation of theabbey is quite uncertain. TheVenerable Bede (d. 736) does not mention it, but an early and long-received tradition ascribes it to Sebert, King of the East Saxons, who likewise founded St. Paul's, London. The given is 616 and the church is said to have beenmiraculouslyconsecrated by St. Peter himself. But though this is mere legend, invented probably in the thirteenth century, it is tolerably certain that themonastery existed as early as the eighth century, for it is in a charter of King Ofa,dated 785, that it is first called Westminster, to distinguish it apparently from the minster of St. Paul's to the east. There is also extant a tenth century charter of King Edgar in which the boundaries of theabbeyproperty are defined, and according toWilliam of Malmesbury, St. Dunsan brought twelveBenedictinemonks from Glastonbury to Westminster about 960, though the authenticity of this statement has beendoubted.

At any rate, whatever the beginnings may have been, it is quite certain that there was an important church standing, and a community ofBenedictines in existence atWestminster, when Edward the Confessor began to build in 1055. Of this first Saxon church andmonastery no traces remain, and even its plan and site are for the most part conjectural. During his exile in Normandy Edward had vowed to make apilgrimage toRome if he should regain his throne. Thepope absolved him from thisvow on condition that he built or restored anabbey inhonour of St. Peter, and this condition Edward fulfilled atWestminster, his friend Edwin beingabbot at the time. The earlier buildings were demolished to make way for the new choir andtransepts, which were finished andconsecrated in 1065, a few days before the king's death. Themonastery was planned for seventymonks, but the actual number seems never to have been more than about fifty. Thenave of the church was begun in 1110 and completed about 1163 when the Confessor'srelics were translated, on hiscanonization, to a stately shrine in the middle of the choir. Early in the thirteenth century a large eastern lady-chapel was substituted for the small semi-circular one behind Edward'shigh altar, and this wasconsecrated in 1220. The growing needs of the community and the constant stream ofpilgrims to thetomb of themiracle-working Confessor soon necessitated further changes, and, aided by the munificence of Henry III, a period of great building activity set in. The demolition of the Norman church began in 1245, and during the next thirty years the whole of the eastern part of the church, together with about half thenave, were rebuilt, and the shrine of St. Edward was moved to its present position in theapse behind thehigh altar. Theabbots during this period were Richard Crokesley and Richard Ware. The death, however, of Henry in 1272, a disastrous fire in 1298 which consumed the whole of the monastic buildings, and the "Black Death" in 1349, which carried off Abbot Byrcheston and twenty-six of hismonks, so drained the resources of theabbey that all building operations ceased for nearly a century. Under Abbot Litlyngton (1362-86) the conventual parts were rebuilt, after which the western bays of thenave were taken in hand. Progress was slow, however, and thenave was not finally completed until 1517, whilst the western towers were not added until the eighteenth century. In 1502 Henry VII commenced the beautiful eastern lady-chapel which bears his name and was intended by him to enshrine the remains of his uncle Henry VI. Robert Vertue was the architect and his work is far in advance of any other contemporary building. Its wonderful fanvault has never been surpassed either in beauty of design or in the daring skill displayed in its actual construction. In thischapel stands thetomb of itspious founder who died in 1509.

As regards the internal history of Westminster, it must have been much like any other large and importantmonastery of the same period and apparently full of life and vigour. The "Customary", drawn up by Abbot Ware (1258-84), supplies us with the details of the daily life of themonks, but, apart from this, the close proximity of theabbey to the royal palace, the fact of its being under direct royal patronage, as well as its possessing a noted shrine much visited bypilgrims, combined to bring it prominently into the religious and civil life of the nation. Theabbots were important personages with seats in the House of Lords. Their position enabled them to foster learning and the arts. The first printing-press inEngland was set up within the monastic precincts by Caxton in 1477 under the patronage of Abbot Esteney.Simon Langham (1349-62) deserves mention because of his being the onlyAbbot of Westminster to become acardinal. He was successivelyBishop ofEly,Archbishop ofCanterbury, Lord High Treasurer, and Lord Chancellor, and finallyCardinal-Bishop ofPalestrina. For many years he devoted large annual sums of money towards the building expenses of his oldabbey, and, at his death in 1376, he bequeathed the greater part of his fortune for the same purpose. He wasburied atWestminster, in St. Benedict's Chapel, where histomb may still be seen.

In 1539 themonastery was suppressed and themonks, then less than thirty in number, were dispersed, being replaced by a dean and twelveprebendaries, who acknowledged the royal supremacy. William,Boston, or Benson, the lastabbot, became the first dean. In 1540 theabbey was made thecathedral church of a new see, Thomas Thirlby being the first and onlyProtestantBishop ofWestminster. Ten years later thisbishopric was suppressed. In 1556Queen Mary restored Westminster to theBenedictines andDr. John Feckenham, who had been professed atEvesham before the dissolution, was madeabbot. He was the last mitredabbot to sit in the House of Lords. On the accession of Queen Elizabeth in 1559, themonks were again ejected from Westminster and superseded by aProtestant dean and chapter, which arrangement has continued down to the present day. Westminster Abbey is designated a "Royal peculiar", its officials are appointed by the Crown, and theabbey itself is extra-diocesan, that is, exempt from thejurisdiction of theBishop ofLondon in whose diocese it was situated. This exemption from episcopaljurisdiction was first obtained by Abbot Crokesley (1246-58) and has been perpetuated under theProtestant regime. The right of sanctuary was enjoyed by Westminster from Norman times, and even after theReformation it lingered on in a modified form until finally abolished by King James I. The greater part of the old monastic buildings are now used as a publicschool. As was usual in all the largermonasteries, there had always been aschool in the monasticcloister, the minute regulations for which may be found carefully detailed in Abbot Ware's "Customary". To replace this, at theReformation,Henry VIII founded a newschool, which was afterwards given collegiate rank by Elizabeth and it now ranks as one of the leading English publicschools. The scholars of Westminster still have certainrights and privileges within theabbey itself, such as greeting the sovereign with acclamation, on behalf of the English people, at the moment of hiscoronation. From its earliest days Westminster has witnessed thecoronations of almost all the English sovereigns and their consorts, commencing with Harold, the successor of Edward the Confessor, and William the Conqueror, in 1066. There are twocoronation chairs. The first, which stands in St. Edward's Chapel against the back of thehigh altar screen, contains the stone on which the Scottish kings had formerly beencrowned. This stone, according to legend, is supposed to have been the identical one on which Jacob rested his head at Bethel, and to have been taken thence toEgypt and then throughSpain toIreland, about 700 B.C., where it stood upon the sacred Hill of Tara, and it is said to have been removed thence to Scone inScotland, in 330 B.C., by Fergus, the founder of the Scottish monarchy. But whatever its origin may have been, Edward I in 1297 brought it to Westminster and on it every sovereign ofEngland since Edward II has beencrowned, excepting only Edward V. The other chair, the queen's, which now stands in Henry VII's Chapel, was made for Mary, the wife of William III, who wascrowned with him in 1689. Besides being the scene of theircoronations, Westminster is also the burial-place of many English sovereigns and their consorts, e.g. Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, Richard II, Henry V, and six queens, whosetombs are in St. Edward's Chapel, and Henry VII,Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth, andMary Tudor, and Margaret, thewidow of Henry V, who lie buried in Henry VII's Chapel. Numerous other celebrities, poets, statesmen, warriors, etc., illustrious in English history, have likewise been buried within theabbey, so that it has become a nationalhonour to be given a resting place there, though unfortunately it cannot be said that theirtombs do anything but mar the beauty of the building. The pre-Reformationtombs accord with themedieval architecture of theabbey, but those of later date, though many of them good work in themselves, are completely out of harmony with their surroundings.

The extreme length of theabbey, including Henry VII's Chapel, is 511 ft.; the width of thenave andaisles 79 ft.; and the height to the vaulting 102 ft., which is unusually lofty for an English church. Exteriorly, the want of a central tower detracts somewhat from the general effect, and the eighteenth century western towers are poor compared with the rest of the building, but the grace and beauty of the interior, in spite of the incongruoustombs and monuments, are surpassed by few otherGothicchurches in the world. Much judicious restoration of the fabric has been successfully carried out in recent years. Apart from the immediate monastic precincts, theabbey domains were very extensive, comprising numerous manors and other endowments, but most of these have now passed into other hands. The revenues of theabbey at the time of the dissolution amounted to £3471 (equivalent to about £35,000 or $154,000 at the present day), but though shorn of so many of its ancient possessions, the Chapter of Westminster is still a very wealthy collegiate body.

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