Westminster Abbey

This was my second tour of Westminster Abbey. There was much I did not remember from the 2005 visit. Sharing the visit with Hubby & OFD brought about the question: is Westminster Abbey Catholic or Protestant? I had to research to get the answer. It is neither. Officially it is "Royal Peculiar" - a church of the Church of England responsible directly to the sovereign, rather than a diocesan bishop.

It started as an Benedictine Abbey in 960. Parts of that original abbey are still visible. Edward the Confessor dedicated the abbey in 1065. On Christmas Day 1066 William the Conqueror had his coronation in the abbey starting a long tradition that is carried out today. (Elizabeth II had her Coronation in Westminster Abbey in 1953.) But it is Henry III in 1245 who is responsible for the church building we toured this week. The Monastery was dissolved in 1540 by Henry VIII. Elizabeth I in 1560 gave the abbey the title of Royal Peculiar and renamed it Collegiate Church of St. Peter at Westminster.

"In the 16th Century the Reformation brought about many changes in the organization and worship of churches throughout Europe. The Church of England became independent of Rome. However, it kept much of its traditions while developing its own distinctive forms of worship conducting its services in English instead of Latin and taking scripture and tradition as its authority."

Other than its rich history, it is the tombs and monuments within the abbey that make it the extra special place it is. Geoffrey Chaucer had an apartment within the abbey and was employed as Master of the King's Works. He is buried in Westminster Abbey in the Poet's Corner. Many monarchs and their spouses are entombed at the abbey, some above ground and others below the stone floor.

Photography is not allowed in Westminster Abbey, but it allowed in the cloisters and gardens. My photos are from the allowed areas.

1 of 4 cloisters

cloister being a covered walkway forming a quadrangle

often part of an abbey

Cloister Garth

green space within the cloister quadrangle

of Westminster Abbey

a vestibule door to the Chapter House

believed to be the oldest door in England

dating back to 1050

some of the stained glass windows in the Chapter House

wall paintings dating back to 1400s

the original 13th century tiled floor

tympanum in the Chapter House

which was originally used for daily meetings 

by the monks in the 13th century

fountain in the Little Cloister of the abbey

tomb of Gilbert Crispin, Abbot 1085-1117

buried in the east cloister

William Dehvmcz, Abbot 1214-1222

Philip Clark, Plumber to Collegiate Church

died 1707

monument to Captain James Cook

looking from one cloister walk to another

seeing the flying buttresses of the abbey

the two towers were added to the church in 1722-1745

Westminster Abbey has two schools: 

Westminster School and Westminster Abbey Choir School

choir school trains boys for the abbey choir

we did see girls in uniform walking with another group of boys

both schools used to be for boys only

dishes in the Cellurium Cafe

lemon pound cake

ladies next to us had tea

we enjoyed coffee and hot chocolate

Diana, Princess of Wales funeral was in Westminster Abbey in 1997. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, also had her funeral in the abbey in 2002. Pope Benedict XVI was the first and only pope to attend a service in this church. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were married in the church in 2011. A building very rich in history.

Big Ben is the first thing we saw when we

climbed out of the Tube station

the London Eye is what we saw when we got around

the corner of the abbey after our tour and before

we went back into the Tube station for our next

tourist attraction