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Bargain Travel Europe guide to Europe on a budget for unusual destinations,
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WESTMINSTER ABBEY – LONDON
Crypts, Coronations and Royal Weddings

Westminster Abbey LondonWestminster Abbey has been the focal point of English cultural history for a thousand years and one of the most visited tourist sites in London. Almost a million visitors a year trundle across the poets buried under its floor and ogle at the effigies of dead kings underneath. Westminster Abbey should not be confused with Westminster Cathedral, the red and cream parti-colored brick Victorian era church near Victoria Station

Wetminster Abbey NaveWestminster Abbey was a cathedral for a brief time of only ten years when Henry VIII dissolved the Catholic Church in England. He had many of the monastic abbeys destroyed, but Westminster as the historic seat of kings was granted cathedral status to save it from destruction. It went back to Catholicism under Queen Mary, but Elizabeth I returned it to the Anglican fold, now officially known as the Collegiate Church of St Peter and a Royal Peculiar, meaning it is under the direct control of the sovereign.

Westminster Abbey EfigyWestinster Abbey is located in the very heart of the city, across the street from Big Ben and Parliament. First stone abbey was built in the early Norman age,on the site of an early chruch erected where legend said a fisherman had a vision of St Peter on the bank of the Thames River. The heavy Norman architecture was much replaced by the arches of the Gothic style when it was rebuilt by Henry III, who thought it might be a good place to be bured. Westminster Abbey is not known for its scale, far outdone by the great early Gothic and Norman cathedrals of York (see York Minster), Durham (see Durham Cathedral) and Salisbury, though it can boast the highest of naves of its brethren in England.

The tall elaborate bell towers at the front of the abbey's west face were actually added in the 18th Century, an early example of the Gothic Revival. Following the third King Henry, the abbey became the burial site of kings and queens from the Plantaganets to the Tudors. Oliver Cromwell was even buried there, though for only a short time before he was dug up and hung posthumously on a gibbit outside the front door, his poll approval numbers having dropped sharply after the return of the monarchy. Cromwell’s severed decaying head was sold as a collector’s item a couple of times before before finding its way to Sussex. His death mask can be seen at Warwick Castle (see Warwick Castle and the Tudors).

Coronation Throne

Westminster Abbey Coronation ThroneWestminster Abbey is the traditional site of the coronations of the sovereigns of England since 1308. The cornation chair, first used by Edward I and called King Edward’s Chair or St Edward’s Chair, though neither the Scots nor the Welsh whom he subjegated (see Conwy Castle North Wales) to the English crown would likely consider him a saint. The magnificently formal and uncomfortable looking wooden throne is now the model symbol of monachy, though as viewed today, something is missing. The Stone of Scone, the ancient symbol of Scottish rule was held under the chair seat for 700 years for the English kings to symbolically sit upon, now an empty cubby hole. The stone is back in Scotland until it is to be returned, temporarily, for the next coronation. At least they’ve promised to return it.

The Museum and Crypt Effigies

Queen Effigy photoThe kings and queens effigies can be found below in the undercroft, the oldest part of the church, crowded with the stone efigies of the greats of England’s royal past, Edward III and Queen Philippa in stone lying next to each other like a romantic love nest (see Woodstock and Mortimer's Hole) surrounded by weepers in stone relief, King Henry VII, Queen Elizabeth I, and King Charles II, who came after Cromwell and dealt the Roundhead the returned favor of his father’s ignominious end. The last monarch buried in the undercroft is Queen Anne. Along with the elegantly detailed sculpted tomb effigies, other artifacts on display include Henry V’s helmet and shield, panels of medieval stained glass, Mary II’s coronation chair and replicas of the English Coronation regalia.

The Poets Corner

Westminster Abbey Poets CornersPerhaps the most noted and fascinating attraction of Westminster Abbey is its place as ceremonial cemetery. Not only kings and queens, but aristocrats and great figures of British cultural life, began to be buried in the abbey. Geoffrey Chaucer, the first great writer of the English language was buried at the abbey where he lived in the late years of his life. He was followed in 1599 by Edward Spenser, Elizabethan era author of “The Faerie Queen” (see Lismore Castle Ireland) and a relative of Prince William on his mother's side. The area with stone markers in the floor came to be known as Poets Corner, with the graves of Dr Samuel Johnson, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Robert Browning and Rudyard Kipling. The most famous of the dead poet’s society, though not a poet, is Charles Dickens (see Charles Dickens Museum). And not buried, but with memorial plaques are honored, William Wordsworth (see Lake District Touring), Sir Walter Scott, Lord Byron (see Byron's Newstead Abbey), Percy Bysshe Shelley, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters and Henry James. Most notably missing, is England’s greatest literary figure, William Shakespeare, which may or may not be due to his not being an actual real person – but that they say is another story (see Shakespeare’s Birthplace). Speaking of literary mystery conspiracies - Westminster Abbey played a part in the “Da Vinci Code”, with its elaborate tomb of Sir Isaac Newton providing clues.

Visiting Westminster Abbey London

Westminster Abbey Doorway Relief sculptures photoThe abbey is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9.30am to 4.30pm (last admission 3.30pm), Wednesday 9.30am to 7.00pm (last admission 6.00pm) and Saturday 9.30am to 2.30pm (last admission 1.30pm). It is only open for worship on Sundays with not for tourists. The public can go to services, but you don't get to wander around oggling and the crypt is closed. It is best to get and advance timed ticket as daily walk-up entries are limited. A number of guided tours are offered at Westminster Abbey in addition to the entrance charge. If you want to explore on your own an audio guide is free with admission. The nearest Underground tube stations are Westminster and St James Park.

The most recent royal wedding to be held at Westminster Abbey of Prince William and the Duchess Catherine, now Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, was nearly as lavish as Charles and Diana, but with some modern touches. Kate arrived in car rather than the traditional royal princess Glass Coach (see Royal Mews Coaches), presumably a nod that she was a commoner, but still Royal Coachmen and Footmen had jobs for the ride home to the palace. © Bargain Travel Europe

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See Also:

TOWER OF LONDON - CROWN JEWELS AND EXECUTIONS


MARY SHELLEY TOURING SIGHTS IN LONDON

LONDON'S TOWER BRIDGE EXHIBITION

LONDON PASS ROYAL SIGHTSEEING

VISITING PARLIAMENT AND BIG BEN

APSLEY HOUSE - DUKE OF WELLINGTON - LONDON