WESTMINSTER ABBEY

 

See Also: THE CANNIBAL DEAN; CHURCH OF ENGLAND CHURCHES; CORONATIONS; GARDENS & PLANTS Westminster Abbey Gardens; ST PAUL's CATHEDRAL; WATER SUPPLY The Great Conduit; MENU

Thorney Island was an isolated island that was surrounded by the Thames, Tyburn Brook, and a marsh. On it, King Edward the Confessor founded Westminster Abbey as a Benedictine institution. Its building was consecrated in 1065.

During the Reformation the monastery was dissolved. However, the building's royal associations enabled it to metamorphose into the Collegiate Church of St Peter, a royal peculiar .1 As such, it operates under the jurisdiction of a Dean and Chapter and is subject only to the sovereign. Some of its revenues were transferred to St Paul's Cathedral (hence the phrase to rob Peter to pay Paul ).

The towers (c.1739) at the building's western end were late additions. They were designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor.

Location: The Sanctuary, Westminster Precincts, SW1P 3PA (orange, turquoise)

See Also: CHURCH OF ENGLAND CHURCHES St Margaret's Westminster

Website: www.westminster-abbey.org

1. During the Reformation the materials from which numerous religious buildings had been constructed were cannibalised. The Abbey could easily have disappeared through this fate.

 

Annual Services

Every October a service is held for the judiciary at the Abbey. They attend in their wigs and robes.

Website: www.westminster-abbey.org/worship-music/services-times/special-services

 

The Chapter House

During the reign of King Edward III (1312-1377) the House of Commons separated from the House of Lords. The Lower Chamber took to holding its meetings in the Abbey's Chapter House. In 1547 the body moved to St Stephen's Chapel in the Palace of Westminster. From c.1550 until 1865 the Chapter House served as a state archive.

See Also: THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Website: www.westminster-abbey.org/about-the-abbey/history/chapter-house

 

Deans

See Also: THE CANNIBAL DEAN

Website: www.westminster-abbey.org/about-the-abbey/history/abbots-deans

Francis Atterbury

Francis Atterbury was an early 18thC Dean of Westminster who embraced the Jacobite political cause. As such, the space within the Abbey that he designated for his own family's burials was at the West Door of it, as far from Kings and Kaisers, as the space will admit of .

Website: www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commenorations/francis-atterbury

 

The Lady Chapel of Henry VII

Website: www.westminster-abbey.org/about-the-abbey/history/lady-chapel

 

Memorial Services

Laurence Olivier

Initially, the Abbey authorities were reluctant to host Lord Olivier's memorial service and have his ashes interred there. The late actor's solicitor (George) Laurence Harbottle (1924-2015) of Harbottle & Lewis responded to this situation by contacting St Paul's Cathedral. He played the two institutions off against one another and thus proved to be able to induce the Abbey to comply with the Olivier family's wishes. The Prince of Wales was unable to attend the ceremony. He suggested that the actor Kenneth Branagh - who was sometimes referred to as the New Olivier - should represent him. Harbottle was concerned that the young thespian might steal the limelight and quashed the idea. Instead, Lord Attenborough filled the role.

Website: www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/laurence-olivier

David Backhouse 2024