Westminster Abbey [antikvár]

WESTMINSTER ABBEY Westminster abbey, or, to give it its official designation, the Collegiate Church of St Peter in Westminster, derives its more familiar name from being the Minster in the West in contrast to St Paul's, the Cathedral in the East. But Westminster was not a cathedral (i.e. a church where the bishop has his cathedra, or seat. As its name implies, in medieval times it was a monastery, and for over 700 years there were monks at Westminster. The monastery at Westminster owed much of its pre-eminence to the proximity of the Palace of Westminster, the principal residence of our medieval sovereigns. The Abbey Church became peculiarly a royal one, the place not only of the coronation but of the burial of kings and queens. The great llthcentury church, which replaced an earlier and more primitive edifice, was built under the personal superintendence and direction of Edward the Confessor. Yet, less than 200 years after its completion, this church was alsó pulled down on the orders of Henry III, who resolved to build a more beautiful one in its place. Henry III lavished both money and gifts on the present Abbey Church which was built by the king's masons and craftsmen between 1245 and 1269. He seems to have achieved three main ideas in the rebuilding-to promote the glory of God, by including in the fabric all that is precious and beautiful; to provide a place fit for a coronation and to provide a burying place for himself and his successors. Later when the Norman nave was in process of being rebuilt both Richárd II and Henry V contributed towards its cost. In the early days of the 16th century Henry VII replaced the earlier Lady Chapel by the splendid chapel which still bears his name. After the final dissolution of the monastery Queen Elizabeth I established the present Collegiate Church. No further additions, however, was made to the fabric until the two western towers were completed in 1745. At first, burial within the Abbey was confined to sovereigns, members of the Royal Family, abbots of the monastery, and a few royal favourites. In the 16th century, however, burials became more common and towering monuments were erected to somé of the great Elizabethans. In the succeeding centuries monuments and tablets began to crowd the walls. In the last hundred years or so, lack of space has tended to confine the honour of burial within the Abbey to those with outstanding claims. In the same period the Abbey may be said to have become a national church in a sense it never was before. Its history and associations have become better known, its architecture and sculpture have been studied afresh, great services have been held there and the beauty and solemnity of its worship and music have been broadcast throughout the world. The thousands who visit it from every quarter of the globe testify, if any testimony were needed, to the unique place which it holds among the great buildings of the world. Henry III and his master masons had built, between 1245 and 1269, the whole of the east end of the present Abbey Church together with its chapels, the transepts and the choir as far as the screen seen in the picture. But they had left the nave of the earlier church to be rebuilt at a later date. A hundred years later this work was undertaken, and the remarkable decision was then made by Henry Yevele, the master mason, to continue to build in accordance with the originál design of Henry III's time. The result is that at a casual glancé the whole church appears to have been built at the same date, whereas the nave, begun in 1365, was not finished until about 1528. The nave, which is 103 feet high to the vauiting, is one of the loftiest in England. The great Purbeck pillars, which were in place about 1400, are based upon great circular foundations simply resting on sandy soil. Recent cleaning has brought out the beauty of the vauiting, and this has been accentuated by gilding the central bosses.