MIDDLESEX
WESTMINSTER (Mitred Benedictine)

c. 184, Lucius, King of Britain, consecrates Westminster (then Thorny Island) to God, and builds the first church there—At the time of Diocletian’s persecution, the church converted into a heathen temple and dedicated to Apollo—604, Sebert, King of the East Saxons, converted and baptized into the Christian faith by Mellitus—He destroys the temple and builds a church in honour of St Peter—This suffers greatly from the ravages of the Danes—785, Offa, King of Mercia, grants the manor of Aldenham to the monastery and restores the church—1050, Edward the Confessor, the actual founder of the present abbey, builds the church—1065, The church completed and consecrated a few days previously to the royal founder’s death—1066, Edward buried with great ceremonial—King Harold crowned—William the Conqueror offers a thanksgiving for his victory at Hastings before the Confessor’s tomb, and is crowned in the abbey on Christmas day—1160, Becomes a mitred abbey—1250, Henry III. pulls down the choir and transepts of Edward’s Norman church and begins the present structure—1253, The chapter house completed—1269, The choir opened—1272-1500, The nave begun, gradually attaining its present length—During these years Richard I. builds the north porch, and Henry V. his beautiful chantry—1503, Henry VII. builds the chapel which bears his name—153—, Dissolution of the monastery. Annual revenue, ￡3471, 0s. 2d.—1540, The church converted into a cathedral church and a new bishopric created—1550, Bishopric suppressed—1643, The Westminster Assembly meets—1663, The See of Rochester joined to the Deanery of Westminster—1673, Treaty of Westminster signed—1720, Some restorations performed by Wren on north transept, front and west towers—1740, Hawkesmoor completes the towers—1802, Separation of Rochester bishopric from Deanery of Westminster—1866, Sir G. Scott restores the north transept front and chapter house.

HOW utterly incapable the most experienced writer must feel when called upon to describe worthily the{152} abbey of Westminster! Apart from all the legendary matter connected with the noble pile, and the glamour which surrounds the ancient Benedictine church, the abbey stands out as the receptacle of all that is best and grandest in the history of England. The tombs of the kings and queens, the monuments erected since the Reformation in memory of notable men and women in literature, music, and all other arts, make history a nearer and more living thing. To pass beneath the noble west front into the sacred building, teaming with memories of the past, is to enter another world, so different is the peaceful and mysterious atmosphere within the abbey from the bustle and hum of London without. Looking eastwards from the west door, the aspect is truly inspiring and beautiful. From the graceful pointed arches, dividing the nave from the aisles, and surmounted by the triforium and clerestory, the eye falls on the choir, with its magnificent stone screen, and beyond this again to the dim and apsidal east end. The loftiness of the building, the fine triforium, the harmony of work in the nave (which took over 200 years to build), will deeply impress the beholder.

Though the plan of the church is French, the whole actual structure is an example of English Gothic work, of which the nation has every right to be proud. The abbey possesses side aisles to the nave, transepts, and choir. This is a very rare formation. Leaving the nave, filled with memorials of the illustrious dead, and passing up the south choir aisle, the south transept comes in view. The magnificent rose window is one of the largest, if not the largest, in England. On the south wall are some worn stone steps. These, no doubt, led to the domestic apartments of the monks, which were situated on the south side of the church. In this transept is the well-known “Poets’ Corner,” which contains memorials inscribed with the magic names of Shakespeare, Dickens, Tennyson, Goldsmith, Burns, Sir Walter Scott, Longfellow,{153} Browning, Milton, and many others. Beyond this is the small chapel dedicated to St Faith. Passing on into the south ambulatory the many interesting chapels can be inspected. Here indeed the visitor treads on holy ground, for he approaches the tombs of England’s divinely-appointed rulers, and of the last resting-place of the greatest of her sons. Leaving the chapels of St Benedict, St Edmund and St Nicholas, so full of historical memory, the visitor may pass into the chantry built by the illustrious Henry V. for the repose of his soul. This chantry lies in a direct line eastwards from the high altar and beyond Edward the Confessor’s chapel, which is immediately behind the altar. The figure of the warrior King reposes on the top of his tomb. It was carved from the heart of an oak, and once possessed a head and regalia of silver. These, however, have unfortunately been removed, probably by the rapacious Oliver Cromwell. The chantry itself is in the form of a screen or small room, which is reached by a stairway enclosed in a turret, and left by another on the opposite side. The screen is covered with images of saints, and also incidents of Henry’s coronation, besides many heraldic emblems. On either side are two octagonal towers, rich in sculpture. It is indeed one of the most beautiful monuments in the building. Below are iron gates and the tomb of Henry V., and above are displayed a saddle tree stripped of its elaborate housings, a small shield, and a helmet upon which can be seen the prodigious dent caused by D’Alen?on’s battle axe. These remains of Henry’s armour, worn at the battle of Agincourt, were offered by the King in thanksgiving for his great victory. It is quite fitting that the burial place of this royal hero should be near the remains of the saintly ruler and founder of the abbey, Edward the Confessor.

St Edward’s chapel is perhaps the most interesting part of the noble structure, for though comparatively{154} small, events of the highest historical importance in our history have been enacted therein. The shrine has been visited by thousands of pilgrims, including many crowned heads, and has also been the scene of many miracles. Vigils were spent beside it by knights before setting out for the borders, or starting upon the crusades. Spoils of war were brought and laid before the tomb, and thanksgivings offered by victorious kings and warriors. Edward I., all stained as he was by the blood of the battlefield, offered the regalia of Scotland before the royal tomb, and many other mighty men came to seek consolation and encouragement in those days of dreadful warfare. Henry III. erected the present magnificent shrine in 1269. This now, alas, is shorn of the many and costly jewels that once enriched it, and which it is said amounted in value to ￡2500. The present oak canopy was added in the 16th century. The floor of the chapel is of tesselated blue marble and was laid by Henry III. The site of the Confessor’s altar is marked by a square of red tiles. The old coronation chair stands to the west of the chapel, near the enormous sword and shield of Edward III., and beneath it is the stone credited with being Jacob’s pillow, and which, after going through many vicissitudes in its long career, was at last brought from Scone to Edward the Confessor’s shrine by Edward I. The chair was first used at the coronation of Edward I., and lastly at that of our beloved King Edward VII. Every English monarch has been crowned at the abbey with the exception of Edward V. On all sides of the chapel are royal tombs, including those of Edward III., Henry III., and Edward I. The latter is of enormous length, and bears the inscription, “Scotorum malleus” and “Serva pactum.” This monarch—nicknamed “Longshanks”—was over 6 feet when alive. After many years, his body for some reason was disinterred for a short space, and it was found to be in an{155} excellent state of preservation. That noble lady, Anne of Bohemia, who gained notoriety by the introduction of the side saddle, also lies buried near here.

Leaving this chapel and progressing eastwards, the visitor will pass under St Mary’s beautiful porch into the wonderful chapel built by Henry VII. This is one of the best examples of Early Tudor or debased Gothic style, and, consisting as it does of a nave with two aisles, is indeed a masterpiece of the builder’s art. On either side of the nave are the stalls of the Knights of the Garter, above which hang their respective banners. The tomb of Henry VII., the first monarch of the royal house of Tudor, is the work of Torregiano. The ornamental vaulting of the chapel is among the finest in the country—its massive pendants being 7 feet long. Little of the original glass is left, but what remains is in the windows at the west end. The Duke of Cumberland, known as the Butcher of Culloden, and George II. and his wife lie in the nave. George III. discontinued the practice begun by Henry VII. of using this chapel as a royal mausoleum, having a preference for Windsor. Those two antagonistic sisters, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth lie in the north aisle, side by side under a magnificent stone canopy, while at the extreme east end of the aisle, appropriately called “Innocents’ Corner,” are buried the remains of the young princes so foully murdered in the Tower. The tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots, is in the south aisle, together with that of Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII. Many other interesting monuments can be seen, including that of Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, Dean of Westminster, in the south-east chapel, and those bel............