Henry at Rest
The tomb of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York
This was designed in the Renaissance style by Italian sculptor Pietro Torrigiano (Henry VIII had not liked the designs which were first put forward for the tomb by other sculptors). The black marble tomb base is adorned with six medallions in copper gilt representing the Virgin Mary and Henry's patron saints (Michael, George, Anthony, Christopher, Anne, Edward the Confessor, Vincent, Barbara, Mary Magdalene, John the Baptist and John the Evangelist). At either end are coats of arms supported by cherubs. The gilt bronze recumbent effigies can be seen through the fine grille which surrounds the monument. Seated angels balance on the carved frieze at each corner of the tomb, supporting coats of arms They once held pennants in their hands.
The grille is by Thomas Ducheman (who most likely also designed the bronze gates to the Chapel). Only six of the thirty two statues in the niches of the grille now remain (Saints George, Edward the Confessor, Bartholomew, James the Great, John the Evangelist and another). The badges of the Welsh dragon and the greyhound of Richmond are also part of its decoration. The grille was originally gilded and on special anniversaries many candles, each nine feet high, were lit on top. Four candles were to burn constantly, tended by the monks.
Around the grille (both inside and outside) is a Latin inscription which can be translated
Henry VII rests within this tomb, he who was the splendour of kings and light of the world, a wise and watchful monarch, a courteous lover of virtue, outstanding in beauty, vigorous and mighty; who brought peace to his kingdom, who waged very many wars, who always returned victorious from the enemy, who wedded both his daughters to kings, who was united to kings, indeed to all, by treaty, who built this holy temple, and erected this tomb for himself, his wife, and his children. He completed more than fifty three years, and bore the royal sceptre for twenty four. The fifteenth hundredth year of the Lord had passed, and the ninth after that was running its course, when dawned the black day, the twenty first dawn of April was shining, when this so great monarch ended his last day. No earlier ages gave thee so great a king, O England; hardly will ages to come give thee his like.
[Westminster Abbey]
Taken inside the Lady Chapel, Westminster Abbey
Henry VII lavished huge sums on his new Lady Chapel, which was begun in 1503 but not completed until 1516, nearly six years after his death. Henry’s imposing tomb at the east end of the chapel has magnificent gilt bronze effigies of the king and his wife, Elizabeth of York, made by the brilliant Florentine Renaissance sculptor, Pietro Torrigiano.
Since 1725, it has been used for installations of Knights of the Order of the Bath, and their colourful heraldic banners hang here. The Sovereign and the Great Master of the Order continue to install new knights in the chapel, usually every four years.
A Lady Chapel is a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and is common to most cathedrals and large churches.
[Westminster Abbey]
Westminster Abbey (The Collegiate Church of St Peter)
In the 1040s King Edward (later St Edward the Confessor) established his royal palace by the banks of the river Thames on land known as Thorney Island. Close by was a small Benedictine monastery founded under the patronage of King Edgar and St Dunstan around 960A.D. This monastery Edward chose to re-endow and greatly enlarge, building a large stone church in honour of St Peter the Apostle. This church became known as the "west minster" to distinguish it from St Paul's Cathedral (the east minster) in the City of London. Unfortunately, when the new church was consecrated on 28th December 1065 the King was too ill to attend and died a few days later. His mortal remains were entombed in front of the High Altar.
The only traces of Edward's monastery to be seen today are in the round arches and massive supporting columns of the undercroft and the Pyx Chamber in the cloisters. The undercroft was originally part of the domestic quarters of the monks. Among the most significant ceremonies that occurred in the Abbey at this period was the coronation of William the Conqueror on Christmas day 1066, and the "translation" or moving of King Edward's body to a new tomb a few years after his canonisation in 1161.
Edward's Abbey survived for two centuries until the middle of the 13th century when King Henry III decided to rebuild it in the new Gothic style of architecture. It was a great age for cathedrals: in France it saw the construction of Amiens, Evreux and Chartres and in England Canterbury, Winchester and Salisbury, to mention a few. Under the decree of the King of England, Westminster Abbey was designed to be not only a great monastery and place of worship, but also a place for the coronation and burial of monarchs. This church was consecrated on 13th October 1269. Unfortunately the king died before the nave could be completed so the older structure stood attached to the Gothic building for many years.
Every monarch since William the Conqueror has been crowned in the Abbey, with the exception of Edward V and Edward VIII (who abdicated) who were never crowned. The ancient Coronation Chair can still be seen in the church.
It was natural that Henry III should wish to translate the body of the saintly Edward the Confessor into a more magnificent tomb behind the High Altar in his new church. This shrine survives and around it are buried a cluster of medieval kings and their consorts including Henry III, Edward I and Eleanor of Castile, Edward III and Philippa of Hainault, Richard II and Anne of Bohemia and Henry V.
There are around 3,300 burials in the church and cloisters and many more memorials. The Abbey also contains over 600 monuments, and wall tablets – the most important collection of monumental sculpture anywhere in the country. Notable among the burials is the Unknown Warrior, whose grave, close to the west door, has become a place of pilgrimage. Heads of State who are visiting the country invariably come to lay a wreath at this grave.
A remarkable new addition to the Abbey was the glorious Lady chapel built by King Henry VII, first of the Tudor monarchs, which now bears his name. This has a spectacular fan-vaulted roof and the craftsmanship of Italian sculptor Pietro Torrigiano can be seen in Henry's fine tomb. The chapel was consecrated on 19th February 1516. Since 1725 it has been associated with the Most Honourable Order of the Bath and the banners of the current Knights Grand Cross surround the walls. The Battle of Britain memorial window by Hugh Easton can be seen at the east end in the Royal Air Force chapel. A new stained glass window above this, by Alan Younger, and two flanking windows with a design in blue by Hughie O'Donoghue, give colour to this chapel.
Two centuries later a further addition was made to the Abbey when the western towers (left unfinished from medieval times) were completed in 1745, to a design by Nicholas Hawksmoor.
Little remains of the original medieval stained glass, once one of the Abbey's chief glories. Some 13th century panels can be seen in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries. The great west window and the rose window in the north transept date from the early 18th century but the remainder of the glass is from the 19th century onwards. The newest stained glass is in The Queen Elizabeth II window, designed by David Hockney.
History did not cease with the dissolution of the medieval monastery on 16th January 1540. The same year Henry VIII erected Westminster into a cathedral church with a bishop (Thomas Thirlby), a dean and twelve prebendaries (now known as Canons). The bishopric was surrendered on 29th March 1550 and the diocese was re-united with London, Westminster being made by Act of Parliament a cathedral church in the diocese of London. Mary I restored the Benedictine monastery in 1556 under Abbot John Feckenham.
But on the accession of Elizabeth I the religious houses revived by Mary were given by Parliament to the Crown and the Abbot and monks were removed in July 1559. Queen Elizabeth I, buried in the north aisle of Henry VII's chapel, refounded the Abbey by a charter dated 21 May 1560 as a Collegiate Church exempt from the jurisdiction of archbishops and bishops and with the Sovereign as its Visitor. Its Royal Peculiar status from 1534 was re-affirmed by the Queen and In place of the monastic community a collegiate body of a dean and prebendaries, minor canons and a lay staff was established and charged with the task of continuing the tradition of daily worship (for which a musical foundation of choristers, singing men and organist was provided) and with the education of forty Scholars who formed the nucleus of what is now Westminster School (one of the country's leading independent schools). In addition the Dean and Chapter were responsible for much of the civil government of Westminster, a role which was only fully relinquished in the early 20th century.
[Westminster Abbey]
Henry at Rest
The tomb of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York
This was designed in the Renaissance style by Italian sculptor Pietro Torrigiano (Henry VIII had not liked the designs which were first put forward for the tomb by other sculptors). The black marble tomb base is adorned with six medallions in copper gilt representing the Virgin Mary and Henry's patron saints (Michael, George, Anthony, Christopher, Anne, Edward the Confessor, Vincent, Barbara, Mary Magdalene, John the Baptist and John the Evangelist). At either end are coats of arms supported by cherubs. The gilt bronze recumbent effigies can be seen through the fine grille which surrounds the monument. Seated angels balance on the carved frieze at each corner of the tomb, supporting coats of arms They once held pennants in their hands.
The grille is by Thomas Ducheman (who most likely also designed the bronze gates to the Chapel). Only six of the thirty two statues in the niches of the grille now remain (Saints George, Edward the Confessor, Bartholomew, James the Great, John the Evangelist and another). The badges of the Welsh dragon and the greyhound of Richmond are also part of its decoration. The grille was originally gilded and on special anniversaries many candles, each nine feet high, were lit on top. Four candles were to burn constantly, tended by the monks.
Around the grille (both inside and outside) is a Latin inscription which can be translated
Henry VII rests within this tomb, he who was the splendour of kings and light of the world, a wise and watchful monarch, a courteous lover of virtue, outstanding in beauty, vigorous and mighty; who brought peace to his kingdom, who waged very many wars, who always returned victorious from the enemy, who wedded both his daughters to kings, who was united to kings, indeed to all, by treaty, who built this holy temple, and erected this tomb for himself, his wife, and his children. He completed more than fifty three years, and bore the royal sceptre for twenty four. The fifteenth hundredth year of the Lord had passed, and the ninth after that was running its course, when dawned the black day, the twenty first dawn of April was shining, when this so great monarch ended his last day. No earlier ages gave thee so great a king, O England; hardly will ages to come give thee his like.
[Westminster Abbey]
Taken inside the Lady Chapel, Westminster Abbey
Henry VII lavished huge sums on his new Lady Chapel, which was begun in 1503 but not completed until 1516, nearly six years after his death. Henry’s imposing tomb at the east end of the chapel has magnificent gilt bronze effigies of the king and his wife, Elizabeth of York, made by the brilliant Florentine Renaissance sculptor, Pietro Torrigiano.
Since 1725, it has been used for installations of Knights of the Order of the Bath, and their colourful heraldic banners hang here. The Sovereign and the Great Master of the Order continue to install new knights in the chapel, usually every four years.
A Lady Chapel is a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and is common to most cathedrals and large churches.
[Westminster Abbey]
Westminster Abbey (The Collegiate Church of St Peter)
In the 1040s King Edward (later St Edward the Confessor) established his royal palace by the banks of the river Thames on land known as Thorney Island. Close by was a small Benedictine monastery founded under the patronage of King Edgar and St Dunstan around 960A.D. This monastery Edward chose to re-endow and greatly enlarge, building a large stone church in honour of St Peter the Apostle. This church became known as the "west minster" to distinguish it from St Paul's Cathedral (the east minster) in the City of London. Unfortunately, when the new church was consecrated on 28th December 1065 the King was too ill to attend and died a few days later. His mortal remains were entombed in front of the High Altar.
The only traces of Edward's monastery to be seen today are in the round arches and massive supporting columns of the undercroft and the Pyx Chamber in the cloisters. The undercroft was originally part of the domestic quarters of the monks. Among the most significant ceremonies that occurred in the Abbey at this period was the coronation of William the Conqueror on Christmas day 1066, and the "translation" or moving of King Edward's body to a new tomb a few years after his canonisation in 1161.
Edward's Abbey survived for two centuries until the middle of the 13th century when King Henry III decided to rebuild it in the new Gothic style of architecture. It was a great age for cathedrals: in France it saw the construction of Amiens, Evreux and Chartres and in England Canterbury, Winchester and Salisbury, to mention a few. Under the decree of the King of England, Westminster Abbey was designed to be not only a great monastery and place of worship, but also a place for the coronation and burial of monarchs. This church was consecrated on 13th October 1269. Unfortunately the king died before the nave could be completed so the older structure stood attached to the Gothic building for many years.
Every monarch since William the Conqueror has been crowned in the Abbey, with the exception of Edward V and Edward VIII (who abdicated) who were never crowned. The ancient Coronation Chair can still be seen in the church.
It was natural that Henry III should wish to translate the body of the saintly Edward the Confessor into a more magnificent tomb behind the High Altar in his new church. This shrine survives and around it are buried a cluster of medieval kings and their consorts including Henry III, Edward I and Eleanor of Castile, Edward III and Philippa of Hainault, Richard II and Anne of Bohemia and Henry V.
There are around 3,300 burials in the church and cloisters and many more memorials. The Abbey also contains over 600 monuments, and wall tablets – the most important collection of monumental sculpture anywhere in the country. Notable among the burials is the Unknown Warrior, whose grave, close to the west door, has become a place of pilgrimage. Heads of State who are visiting the country invariably come to lay a wreath at this grave.
A remarkable new addition to the Abbey was the glorious Lady chapel built by King Henry VII, first of the Tudor monarchs, which now bears his name. This has a spectacular fan-vaulted roof and the craftsmanship of Italian sculptor Pietro Torrigiano can be seen in Henry's fine tomb. The chapel was consecrated on 19th February 1516. Since 1725 it has been associated with the Most Honourable Order of the Bath and the banners of the current Knights Grand Cross surround the walls. The Battle of Britain memorial window by Hugh Easton can be seen at the east end in the Royal Air Force chapel. A new stained glass window above this, by Alan Younger, and two flanking windows with a design in blue by Hughie O'Donoghue, give colour to this chapel.
Two centuries later a further addition was made to the Abbey when the western towers (left unfinished from medieval times) were completed in 1745, to a design by Nicholas Hawksmoor.
Little remains of the original medieval stained glass, once one of the Abbey's chief glories. Some 13th century panels can be seen in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries. The great west window and the rose window in the north transept date from the early 18th century but the remainder of the glass is from the 19th century onwards. The newest stained glass is in The Queen Elizabeth II window, designed by David Hockney.
History did not cease with the dissolution of the medieval monastery on 16th January 1540. The same year Henry VIII erected Westminster into a cathedral church with a bishop (Thomas Thirlby), a dean and twelve prebendaries (now known as Canons). The bishopric was surrendered on 29th March 1550 and the diocese was re-united with London, Westminster being made by Act of Parliament a cathedral church in the diocese of London. Mary I restored the Benedictine monastery in 1556 under Abbot John Feckenham.
But on the accession of Elizabeth I the religious houses revived by Mary were given by Parliament to the Crown and the Abbot and monks were removed in July 1559. Queen Elizabeth I, buried in the north aisle of Henry VII's chapel, refounded the Abbey by a charter dated 21 May 1560 as a Collegiate Church exempt from the jurisdiction of archbishops and bishops and with the Sovereign as its Visitor. Its Royal Peculiar status from 1534 was re-affirmed by the Queen and In place of the monastic community a collegiate body of a dean and prebendaries, minor canons and a lay staff was established and charged with the task of continuing the tradition of daily worship (for which a musical foundation of choristers, singing men and organist was provided) and with the education of forty Scholars who formed the nucleus of what is now Westminster School (one of the country's leading independent schools). In addition the Dean and Chapter were responsible for much of the civil government of Westminster, a role which was only fully relinquished in the early 20th century.
[Westminster Abbey]