Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is

an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the
location of the coronations of 40 English and British monarchs and a burial site for 18 English,
Scottish, and British monarchs. At least 16 royal weddings have taken place at the abbey since
1100.
Although the origins of the church are obscure, an abbey housing Benedictine monks was on the
site by the mid-10th century. The church got its first large building from the 1040s, commissioned by
King Edward the Confessor, who is buried inside. Construction of the present church began in 1245
on the orders of Henry III. The monastery was dissolved in 1559, and the church was made a royal
peculiar – a Church of England church, accountable directly to the sovereign – by Elizabeth I. The
abbey, the Palace of Westminster and St. Margaret's Church became a UNESCO World Heritage
site in 1987 because of their historic and symbolic significance.
The church's Gothic architecture is chiefly inspired by 13th-century French and English styles,
although some sections of the church have earlier Romanesque styles or later Baroque and modern
styles. The Henry VII Chapel, at the east end of the church, is a typical example of Perpendicular
Gothic architecture; antiquarian John Leland called it orbis miraculum ("the wonder of the world").
The abbey is the burial site of more than 3,300 people, many prominent in British history:
monarchs, prime ministers, poets laureate, actors, scientists, military leaders, and the Unknown
Warrior. Due to the fame of the figures buried there, artist William Morris described the abbey as a
"National Valhalla".

History[edit]
Historians agree that there was a monastery dedicated to Saint Peter on the site prior to the 11th
century, though its exact origin is somewhat obscure. One legend claims that it was founded by the
Saxon king Sæberht of Essex, and another claims that its founder was the fictional 2nd-century
British king Lucius.[3] One tradition claims that a young fisherman on the River Thames had a vision
of Saint Peter near the site. This seems to have been quoted as the origin of the salmon that
Thames fishermen offered to the abbey, a custom still observed annually by the Fishmongers'
Company.[4]
The origins of the abbey are generally thought to date to about 959, when Saint Dunstan and King
Edgar installed a community of Benedictine monks on the site.[5] At that time, the location was an
island in the middle of the River Thames called Thorn Ey.[6] This building has not survived, but
archaeologists have found some pottery and foundations from this period on the abbey site. [7]
Edward the Confessor's abbey[edit]
Between 1042 and 1052, Edward the Confessor began rebuilding Saint Peter's Abbey to provide
himself with a royal burial church. It was built in the Romanesque style and was the first church in
England built on a cruciform floorplan.[8] The master stonemason for the project was Leofsi
Duddason,[9] with Godwin and Wendelburh Gretsyd (meaning "fat purse") as patrons, and Teinfrith as
"churchwright", probably meaning someone who worked on the carpentry and roofing.
[10]
Endowments from Edward supported a community that increased from a dozen monks
during Dunstan's time, to as many as 80.[11] The building was completed around 1060 and
was consecrated on 28 December 1065, about a week before Edward's death on 5 January 1066.
[12]
A week later, he was buried in the church; nine years later, his wife Edith was buried alongside
him.[13] His successor, Harold Godwinson, was probably crowned here, although the first documented
coronation is that of William the Conqueror later that year.[14]
The only extant depiction of Edward's abbey is in the Bayeux Tapestry. The foundations still survive
under the present church, and above ground, some of the lower parts of the monastic dormitory
survive in the undercroft, including a door said to come from the previous Saxon abbey. It was a little
smaller than the current church, with a central tower.[15]
In 1103, thirty-seven years after his death, Edward's tomb was re-opened by Abbot Gilbert
Crispin and Henry I, who discovered that his body was still in perfect condition. This was considered
proof of his saintliness, and he was canonised in 1161. Two years later he was moved to a new
shrine, during which time his ring was removed and placed in the abbey's collection. [16]
The abbey became more closely associated with royalty from the second half of the 12th century, as
kings increasingly used the nearby Palace of Westminster as the seat of their governments.[17] In
1222, the abbey was officially granted exemption from the Bishop of London's jurisdiction, making it
answerable only to the head of the Church itself. By this time, the abbey owned a large swath of land
around it, from modern-day Oxford Street to the Thames, plus entire parishes in the City of London,
such as St. Alban Wood Street and St. Magnus the Martyr, as well as several wharfs.[18]
Outside London, the abbey owned estates across southeast England, including
in Middlesex, Hertfordshire, Essex, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.[19] The abbot was also the lord
of the manor in Westminster, as a town of two to three thousand people grew around the abbey.
[20]
As a consumer and employer on a grand scale, the abbey helped fuel the town's economy, and
relations with the town remained unusually cordial, but no enfranchising charter was issued during
the Middle Ages.[21]

Westminster Abbey at the time of Edward the Confessor's funeral, as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, 11th
century

The Chamber of the Pyx, one of the few remaining 11th-century sections of the church

Henry III's rebuilding[edit]

Westminster Abbey continued to be used as a coronation site, but after Edward the Confessor, no
monarchs were buried there until Henry III began to rebuild it in the Gothic style. Henry III wanted it
built as a shrine to venerate Edward, to match great French churches such as Rheims
Cathedral and Sainte-Chapelle,[22] and as a burial place for himself and his family.[23] Construction
began on 6 July 1245 under Henry's master mason, Henry of Reynes.[9] The first building stage
included the entire eastern end, the transepts, and the easternmost bay of the nave. The Lady
chapel, built from around 1220 at the extreme eastern end, was incorporated into the chevet of the
new building.
Part of the new building included a rich shrine and chapel to Edward the Confessor, of which the
base only still stands. The golden shrine with its jewelled figures no longer exists. [24] 4,000 marks
(about £5,800) for this work came from the estate of David of Oxford, the husband of Licoricia of
Winchester, and a further £2,500 came from a forced contribution from Licoricia herself, by far the
biggest single donation at that time. [25]
Around 1253, Henry of Reynes was replaced by John of Gloucester, who was replaced by Robert of
Beverley around 1260.[26] During the summer, there were up to 400 workers on the site at a time,
[27]
including stonecutters, marblers, stone-layers, carpenters, painters and their assistants, marble
polishers, smiths, glaziers, plumbers, and general labourers.[28] From 1257, Henry III held assemblies
of local representatives in Westminster Abbey's chapter house; these assemblies were a precursor
to the House of Commons. Henry III also commissioned the Cosmati pavement in front of the High
Altar.[29] Further work produced an additional five bays for the nave, bringing it to one bay west of
the choir. Here, construction stopped in about 1269. By 1261, Henry had spent £29,345 19s 8d on
the abbey, and the final sum may have been near £50,000.[30] A consecration ceremony was held on
13 October 1269, during which the remains of Edward the Confessor were moved to their present
location at the shrine behind the main altar.[31] After Henry's death and burial in the abbey in 1272,
construction did not resume and Edward the Confessor's old Romanesque nave remained attached
to the new building for over a century.[26]
Plan showing relative positions of the 11th-century church (in red) and the present church (in
blue)
In 1296, Edward I captured the Scottish coronation stone, the Stone of Scone. He had a Coronation
Chair made to hold it, which he entrusted to the abbot at Westminster Abbey. [32] In 1303, the small
crypt underneath the chapter house was broken into and a great deal of the king's treasure was
stolen. It was thought that the thieves must have been helped by the abbey monks, fifty of whom
were subsequently imprisoned in the Tower of London.[33]
Completion of the Gothic church[edit]
From 1376, Abbot Nicholas Litlyngton and Richard II donated large sums to finish the church. The
remainder of the old nave was pulled down and rebuilding commenced, with his mason Henry
Yevele closely following the original design even though it was now more than 100 years out of date.
[34][35]
During the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, Richard prayed at Edward the Confessor's shrine for
"divine aid when human counsel was altogether wanting" before meeting the rebels at Smithfield. In
the modern day, the abbey holds Richard's full-length portrait, the earliest of an English king, on
display near the west door.[36]
Building work was not fully complete for many years. Henry V, disappointed with the abbey's
unfinished state, gave extra funds towards the rebuilding. In his will, he left instructions for a chantry
chapel to be built over his tomb; the chapel can be seen from ground level. [37] Between 1470 and
1471, because of fallout from the Wars of the Roses, Elizabeth Woodville, the wife of Edward IV,
took sanctuary at Westminster Abbey while her husband was deposed, and gave birth to Edward
V in the abbot's house.[38] In 1495, building work finally reached the end of the nave, finishing with the
west window.[39]
Under Henry VII, the 13th-century Lady chapel was demolished and rebuilt in a Perpendicular Gothic
style; it is known as the Henry VII Chapel. Work began in 1503 and the main structure was
completed by 1509, although decorative work continued for several years afterwards. [39] Henry's
original reason for building such a grand chapel was to have a place suitable for the burial of another
saint alongside the Confessor, as he planned on having Henry VI canonised. The Pope asked Henry
VII for a large sum of money to proclaim Henry VI a saint; Henry VII was unwilling to pay the sum,
and so instead he is buried in the centre of the chapel with his wife, Elizabeth of York,[40] rather than a
large raised shrine like the Confessor.
A view of the abbey dated 1532 shows a lantern tower above the crossing,[41] but this is not shown in
any later depiction. It is unlikely that the loss of this feature was caused by any catastrophic event:
structural failure seems more likely.[42] Other sources maintain that a lantern tower was never built.
The current squat pyramid dates from the 18th century; the painted wooden ceiling below it was
installed during repairs to World War II bomb damage.[43]
In the early 16th century, a project began under Abbot John Islip to add two towers to the western
end of the church. These had been partially built up to roof level when building work stopped due to
uncertainty caused by the English Reformation.[44]

The north transept, completed in the 13th century during the reign of Henry III

The west end of the nave, designed by Henry Yevele and completed in 1495
The vault of the nave, looking west from the crossing

Coronation portrait of Richard II, on display in the abbey

Dissolution and Reformation[edit]

In the 1530s, Henry VIII broke away from the authority of the Catholic Church in Rome and seized
control of England's monasteries, including Westminster Abbey, beginning the English Reformation.
[45]
In 1535, when the king's officers assessed the abbey's funds, their annual income was £3,000.
[46]
Henry's agents removed many relics, saints' images, and treasures from the abbey. The
golden feretory that housed the coffin of Edward the Confessor was melted down, and monks hid his
bones to save them from destruction.[47] The monastery was dissolved and the building became the
cathedral for the newly created Diocese of Westminster.[48] The abbot, William Benson,
became dean of the cathedral, while the prior and five of the monks were among the twelve newly
created canons.[49]
The Westminster diocese was dissolved in 1550, but the abbey was recognised (in 1552,
retroactively to 1550) as a second cathedral of the Diocese of London until 1556.[48] Money meant for
the abbey, which is dedicated to Saint Peter, was diverted to the treasury of St. Paul's Cathedral;
this led to an association with the already-old saying "robbing Peter to pay Paul".[50]
The abbey saw the return of Benedictine monks under the Catholic Mary I, but they were again
ejected under Elizabeth I in 1559.[51] In 1560, Elizabeth re-established Westminster as a "royal
peculiar" – a church of the Church of England responsible directly to the sovereign, rather than to a
diocesan bishop – and made it the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter, a non-cathedral church with an
attached chapter of canons, headed by a dean.[31][52] From that date onwards, the building was simply
a church, though it was still called an abbey. Elizabeth also re-founded Westminster School,
providing for 40 students (the King's (or Queen's) Scholars) and their schoolmasters. The King's
Scholars have the duty of shouting Vivat Rex or Vivat Regina ("Long live the King/Queen") during
the coronation of a new monarch. In the modern day, the dean of Westminster Abbey remains the
chair of the school governors.[31]
In the early 17th century, the abbey hosted two of the six companies of churchmen who produced
the King James Version of the Bible. They used the Jerusalem Chamber in the abbey for their
meetings. The First Company was headed by the dean of the abbey, Lancelot Andrewes.[53]
In 1642, the English Civil War broke out between Charles I and his own parliament. The Dean and
Chapter fled the abbey at the outbreak of war, and were replaced by priests loyal to Parliament.
[54]
The abbey itself suffered damage during the war; altars, stained glass, the organ, and the Crown
Jewels were damaged or destroyed.[55] Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell was given an elaborate
funeral there in 1658, only for a body thought to be Cromwell's to be disinterred in January 1661 and
posthumously hanged from a gibbet at Tyburn.[56] In 1669, the abbey was visited by the
diarist Samuel Pepys, who saw the body of the 15th-century queen Catherine de Valois. She had
been buried in the 13th-century Lady chapel in 1437, but was exhumed during building work for the
Henry VII Chapel and not reburied in the intervening 150 years. Pepys leaned into the coffin and
kissed her on the mouth, writing "This was my birthday, thirty-six years old and I did first kiss a
queen." She has since been re-interred close to her husband, Henry V.[57] In 1685, during
preparations for the coronation of James II, a workman accidentally put a scaffolding pole through
the coffin of Edward the Confessor. A chorister, Charles Taylour, pulled a cross on a chain out of the
coffin and gave it to the king, who then gave it to the Pope. Its whereabouts are unknown. [58]
18th and 19th centuries[edit]
The west front, before and after the construction of the western towers. Painting at right by Canaletto.

At the end of the 17th century, the architect Christopher Wren was appointed the abbey's
first Surveyor of the Fabric. He began a project to restore the exterior of the church,[44] which was
continued by his successor, William Dickinson.[55] After over two hundred years, the abbey's two
western towers were built in the 1740s in a Gothic–Baroque style by Nicholas Hawksmoor and John
James.[44][2]
On 11 November 1760, the funeral of George II was held at the abbey, and the king was interred
next to his late wife, Caroline of Ansbach. He left instructions for the sides of his and his wife's
coffins to be removed so that their remains could mingle.[59] He was the last monarch to be buried in
the abbey.[60] Around the same time, the tomb of Richard II developed a hole through which visitors
could put their hands. Several of his bones went missing, including a jawbone which was taken by a
boy from Westminster School and kept by his family until 1906, when it was returned to the abbey. [61]
In the 1830s, the screen dividing the nave from the choir, which had been designed by Nicholas
Hawksmoor, was replaced by one designed by Edward Blore. The screen contains the monuments
to the scientist Isaac Newton and the military general James Stanhope.[62] Further rebuilding and
restoration occurred in the 19th century under the architect George Gilbert Scott, who rebuilt
sections of the chapter house and north porches, and designed a new altar and reredos for the
crossing. His successor, J. L. Pearson, finished the work on the north porches and also
reconstructed the northern rose window.[63]
20th century[edit]

Replica of the Stone of Scone at Scone Palace in Scotland

The abbey saw "Prayers For Prisoners" suffragette protests in 1913 and 1914. Protesters attended
services and interrupted proceedings by chanting "God Save Mrs. Pankhurst" and praying for
suffragette prisoners. In one protest, a woman chained herself to her chair during a sermon by
the Archbishop of Canterbury.[2] On 11 June 1914, a bomb planted by suffragettes of the Women's
Social and Political Union exploded inside the abbey.[64] No serious injuries were reported,[65] but the
bomb blew off a corner of the Coronation Chair.[64] It also caused the Stone of Scone to break in half,
although this was not discovered until 1950 when four Scottish nationalists broke into the church to
steal the stone and return it to Scotland.[64]
In preparation for bombing raids during World War II, the Coronation Chair and many of the abbey's
records were moved out of the city, and the Stone of Scone was buried. [66] In 1941, on the night of
10 May and the early morning of 11 May, the Westminster Abbey precincts and roof were hit by
incendiary bombs.[67] Although the Auxiliary Fire Service and the abbey's own fire-watchers were able
to stop the fire spreading to the whole of the church, the deanery and three residences of abbey
clergy an