Historical Description Of Westminster Abbey, Its Monuments And Curiosities

OF ADMISSION.

The North and West doors are open to Visitors. Guides are in attendance, from nine until six every day, except Sunday , Christmas Day , and Good Friday . The Abbey is not open to Visitors after the Afternoon Service during the Winter Months. ...

15 minute read

Read Chapter

THE SERVICES.

On Sunday the entrance to the Abbey is by the North and South Transepts. Divine Service at 8 A.M. , at 10 A.M. , and at 3 P.M. ; and from Easter to the end of July, at 7 P.M. At the usual Sunday Services, and on Saint and Holy Days, at 10 A.M. , there is a Sermon. The Holy Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday in the month, at the 10 A.M. Service, and on other Sundays ( except when otherwise ordered ) at 8 A.M. The names of the several Chapels, beginning from the south cross, and so passin

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Of the Foundation of the Abbey.

O f the Founding of an Abbey on Thorney Island, where that of Westminster now stands, there are so many miraculous stories related by monkish writers, that the recital of them now would hardly be endured. Even the relations of ancient historians have been questioned by Sir Christopher Wren, who was employed to survey the present edifice, and who, upon the nicest examination, found nothing to countenance the general belief, “that it was erected on the ruins of a Pagan Temple.” No fragments of Rom

6 minute read

Read Chapter

The New Reredos.

The Reredos, which is recently put up, is chiefly of white and coloured alabaster from Staffordshire, but combined with a reddish spar from Cornwall: the latter material being adopted from its hardness to give greater strength to the more prominent parts, and from its deeper tone to give a variety of colour to some of the features of the work, which, if it had been made wholly of one material, would have appeared monotonous. It consists of a facade occupying the whole space between two main pill

6 minute read

Read Chapter

Painted Glass.

W ithin the last five years twenty-two windows have been enriched with stained glass: eight in the Lantern or Central Tower; six in the South Clerestory of the Nave; one in the Apse; seven in the North Transept. The object has been to lay the foundation of a general design illustrative of a portion of the “Te Deum.” The eight windows in the Lantern or Central Tower represent angels, and round the sustaining arches is inscribed,—“To Thee all angels cry aloud, the heavens and all the powers therei

1 minute read

Read Chapter

I.—Chapel of St. Benedict.

I n the Chapel of St. Benedict is an ancient tomb of stone, having formerly a canopy of wood, on which lies the effigy of Archbishop Langham , who, as the Latin epitaph round his tomb sets forth, “was Monk, Prior, and Abbot of this Abbey; afterwards elected Bishop of London; but Ely being then also vacant, he made choice of that see; that he was Primate and Chancellor of England; Priest-Cardinal, afterwards Bishop-Cardinal, of Preneste, and Nuncio from the Pope; and that he died on the Feast of

6 minute read

Read Chapter

II.—Chapel of St. Edmund.

Left Hand. O n the left as you enter is a monument sacred to the memory of John of Eltham , second son of Edward II., and so called from Eltham, in Kent, the place of his nativity, where our English Kings had once a palace. His statue is of alabaster, the head encircled in a coronet of large and small leaves, remarkable for its being the first of the kind. His habit is that of an armed Knight. He died in Scotland, in 1334, at the age of nineteen, unmarried, though three different matches had bee

10 minute read

Read Chapter

III.—Chapel of St. Nicholas.

Begin on your Left. O n the left, as you enter this Chapel, is a monument erected for Lady Cecil , a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth, and daughter of Lord Cobham, who having married Sir Robert Cecil, son of William Lord Burleigh, Treasurer of England, died in childbed two years after, viz. in 1591. Next is a monument on which a long inscription in English is fairly written, setting forth the descent and marriage of Lady Jane Clifford , youngest daughter of the Duke of Somerset, and w

6 minute read

Read Chapter

IV.—Chapel of Henry the Seventh.

T he ascent to this Chapel is from the east end of the Abbey, by steps of grey marble, under a stately portico, which leads to the gates opening to the body, or nave of the Chapel. Before you enter you may observe a door on each hand, opening into the side aisles, for it is composed of a nave and side aisles, every way answering to the plan of a cathedral. The gates by which you enter the nave are all well worth your observation; they are of brass, most curiously wrought, in the manner of fram

20 minute read

Read Chapter

V.—Chapel of St. Paul.

Begin on your left. O n your left hand is a monument to the memory of Sir Henry Belasyse , Knt., Lieutenant-General, some time Governor of Galway in Ireland, and afterwards of Berwick-on-Tweed, in the reign of William III. He died December 16, 1717, aged sixty-nine. Bridget, wife of his only son, W. Belasyse, Esq., died July 28, 1735, aged twenty.— Scheemakers, sculptor. Next this, one—“To the memory of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Macleod , who fell at the siege of Badajos, aged twenty-six years.

6 minute read

Read Chapter

VI.—Chapel of St. Edward.

T he first curiosity that commands your reverence is the ancient venerable shrine of St. Edward , once the glory of England, but now defaced and robbed of its beauty, by the devotees of this extreme pious man, all of whom were proud to possess some stone or dust from his tomb. This shrine was erected by Henry III. in 1269, to receive the remains of St. Edward, upon his translation from the shrine built by Henry II., upon the canonization of Edward, King of England (third of that name, and the la

10 minute read

Read Chapter

VII.—Chapel of St. John.

Begin on your Left. O n the left, in this Chapel, is an ancient monument to the memory of Sir Thomas Vaughan , Knight, Chamberlain to Edward, Prince of Wales, and Treasurer of Edward IV. On the top are the mutilated remains of a brass plate of the Knight. In the recess of this tomb is a bust to the memory of Frederick Denison Maurice . Born August 29th, 1805; died April 1st, 1872; buried at Highgate. “God is Light.” “He was sent to bear witness of that Light.”— T. Woolner, R.A. Next to this, pro

3 minute read

Read Chapter

VIII.—Chapel of Islip, otherwise Saint John the Baptist.

I n the middle of this Chapel formerly stood the monument of Abbot Islip ; it consisted of a ground plinth, or basement, on which was an alabaster statue of the Abbot, who was represented as a skeleton in a shroud or winding sheet. Over this was a canopy, on which was anciently a fine painting of our Saviour on the Cross, destroyed by the Puritans in Cromwell’s time, who were enemies to everything that favoured Popish idolatry, though ever so masterly. Islip was a great favourite with Henry VII.

6 minute read

Read Chapter

IX.—Chapels of St. John the Evangelist, St. Andrew, and St. Michael.

T urning round on your right is an unique monument to the memory of Sir Francis Vere , a gentleman of the first reputation, both for learning and arms, “one of the most accomplished soldiers of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, having the command of the auxiliary troops in the Dutch service, nearly twenty years.” He died August 28, 1608, in the fifty-fourth year of his age. Loose armour is represented being supported by four armed knights. On the back of General Wolfe’s monument is a tablet to the memo

10 minute read

Read Chapter

NORTH TRANSEPT.

P assing through the gate, immediately on your right is a pedestal of rich grey marble, on which is placed a statue of the late Right Honourable Sir Robert Peel , Bart., represented in the costume of a Roman Orator, in the act of addressing the Commons House of Parliament, where he had so greatly distinguished himself for a period of more than thirty years; and although past the middle age of life, the death of this great statesman may be considered as premature, he having been thrown from his h

38 minute read

Read Chapter

North Aisle.

L ooking back on your left is a new monument to the memory of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton , Bart., born April 1, 1786; died Feb. 19, 1845. Endowed with a vigorous mind, of dauntless courage and untiring energy, he was early led by the love of God to devote his powers to the good of man. In Parliament he laboured for the improvement of prison discipline; for the amendment of the criminal code, for the suppression of Suttees in India, for the liberation of the Hottentots in Southern Africa; and, abov

31 minute read

Read Chapter

North-West Tower.

T he Right Honourable Charles James Fox is represented on a mattress, falling into the arms of Liberty. Peace (with the olive branch and dove) is reclining on his knee. An African thanking him for the part he took in the cause of Freedom. Born Jan. 24, 1749; died Sept. 13, 1806, aged fifty-seven.— Sir Richard Westmacott, sculptor. In the North-west Tower is a monument to Captain Montague . He fell with Captains Hervey and Hutt in Earl Howe’s engagement, on the 1st of June, 1794, when a signal an

15 minute read

Read Chapter

South Aisle.

A t the back of Cornewall’s, is the monument to the Right Honourable James Craggs , who was made Secretary at War in April, 1717, and one of his Majesty’s Privy Council and Secretary of State, in March, 1718. The statue of this gentleman, large as the life, is finely represented as leaning on an urn, which has upon it in golden characters, an inscription, showing that he was principal Secretary of State, and a man universally beloved , which is there particularly marked, because, as he was of lo

38 minute read

Read Chapter

South Transept; or, Poets’ Corner.

A bust of George Grote , Historian of Greece. Born 17th November, 1794; died 18th June, 1871. “To the memory of David Garrick , who died in the year 1779, at the age of sixty-three. “To paint fair Nature, by Divine command— Her magic pencil in his glowing hand— A Shakspeare rose; then, to expand his fame, Wide o’er this ‘breathing world,’ a Garrick came. Though sunk in death the forms the Poet drew, The Actor’s genius bade them breathe anew; Though, like the bard himself, in night they lay, Immo

46 minute read

Read Chapter

Henry Seventh’s Chapel.

T his wonder of the world , as it well may be styled, is adorned without with sixteen Gothic towers, beautifully ornamented with admirable ingenuity, and jutting from the building in different angles. It is situated on the east of the Abbey to which it is so neatly joined, that at a superficial view it appears to be one and the same building. It is enlightened by a double range of windows, that throw the light into such a happy disposition, as at once to please the eye and inspire reverence. An

2 minute read

Read Chapter

Of the Monuments in the Cloisters.

T here are many persons of distinction buried in the Cloisters, as will appear from the number of inscriptions, many of which are almost obliterated from wear or time; we shall therefore only notice a few of the most particular. The most ancient are in the South Walk of the Cloisters, towards the east end, where you will see the remains of four Abbots, marked in the pavement by four stones. The first is inscribed to the Abbot Vitalis , who died in 1082; and was formerly covered with plates of br

13 minute read

Read Chapter

The Chapter House and Ancient House of Commons.

O n the left as you enter the Chapter House is a stone coffin which was found on the removal of the accumulated earth and rubbish which for many years had hidden the lower parts of the buttresses of the north side of the building; some ancient walls of considerable extent were discovered, and about five or six feet below the surface an ancient stone coffin was brought to light. It possesses great interest from its being the only Roman remains yet discovered. One side of it is beautifully wrought

5 minute read

Read Chapter