Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is a large Anglican church in the City of Westminster in London, England. The current church was built in the sixteenth century, but a church has stood on that location since the tenth century. The church has been the site of the coronation of nearly every British monarch for more than a thousand years, and many royals were married there as well. The church also includes a burial ground where a number of British kings and notable citizens are buried or commemorated. Westminster Abbey is not the same as Westminster Cathedral, which is a newer building and part of the Roman Catholic Church.

Background

Westminster Abbey, formally known as the Collegiate Church of St. Peter at Westminster, stands on a site with a long history of worship in England. The church was called Westminster to distinguish it from St. Paul's Cathedral, which is the east minister. The word minster is used to refer to a large or important church. It was founded by Benedictine monks and became a church in 960 CE, though there are indications that there was a monastery and possibly a church on the site two centuries before that.

The Benedictine monks began a tradition of daily worship at the location that continues into the twenty-first century. This history is reflected in the church's name. The abbey in the name Westminster Abbey means that the church is part of a complex of buildings used by a religious order. During the reign of Edward the Confessor, the king fulfilled a promise to the pope to build a church in England honoring St. Peter, and another Westminster Abbey was constructed between 1042 and 1052 at the site of the Benedictine monastery.

The church was completed and consecrated in December 1065. Just days after this, Edward died, and he was buried at the church. That version of Westminster Abbey was demolished in favor of a new church in the middle of the thirteenth century, and the only known representation of Edward's church is seen on a piece of art called the Bayeux Tapestry. The current church was built by King Henry III on the same site in 1245.

At the time it was constructed, Westminster Abbey was a Roman Catholic Church. After the Church of England replaced the Catholic Church as the official state religion in 1534, Westminster Abbey became an Anglican church. This created animosity with some Catholics, who considered the church to have been "stolen" by the Anglicans of the Church of England. Centuries later, some people still feel the church should be returned to the Roman Catholic Church.

Around the year 1560, Westminster was given the status of Church of England Royal Peculiar, a title signifying it as a state church that is under the control of the monarchy, not church authorities. This also meant it was no longer an abbey, though that remained part of its name. The large towers on the western side of the church were constructed in the first half of the eighteenth century.

Overview

Westminster Abbey has played a key role in the religious and political life of England. Since 1066, when it was the site of the coronation of William the Conqueror, the church has seen the coronation of at least thirty-nine monarchs. It is also possible that the king who preceded William, Harold II, may have been crowned there, but there are no records to confirm this.

In addition, the church has been the venue of at least sixteen royal weddings. At least eighteen royals are among the 3,300 people who are buried or commemorated within the structure. Also buried in Westminster Abbey are notable citizens such as authors Geoffrey Chaucer and Charles Dickens and scientist Sir Isaac Newton. William Shakespeare, though buried near his home in Stratford-upon-Avon, is commemorated in the abbey.

Special occasions—such as saints' days, royal anniversaries, and church festivals—are often marked by the tolling of ten large bells within the church. Bells have been part of the church since it was consecrated in 1065. At the time, the church had three towers and likely had a bell in each. Records from 1255 indicate that there were five bells by that time, which increased to six by the fifteenth century. The total remained at six until the twentieth century when two new bells and two recast bells were hung to bring the total to eight. In 1971, a ring of ten bells was dedicated at the church. The bells vary in size, and many of the current bells were made in the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.

During World War II (1939–1945), officials took steps to protect the historic abbey from damage. More than sixty thousand sandbags were placed around tombs and fixtures that could not be moved, though most of the abbey's most precious items were relocated. The special chair used for coronations was sent to Gloucester Cathedral, while the Coronation Stone, also used for crowning ceremonies, was hidden in a secret location within the abbey. Part of the abbey caught fire during severe bombing on the night of May 10–11, 1941, but the church survived the attack. When the war was over on May 8, 1945, the church was the site of thanksgiving services every hour, on the hour, from nine in the morning until ten at night.

In addition to its known contributions to history, the abbey may be part of the source of the famous saying, "Robbing Peter to pay Paul." It is thought that this saying might refer to the abbey under its official name, the Collegiate Church of St. Peter and St. Paul's Cathedral. The expression has been traced back to a seventeenth-century reference to taking money from taxes that should have been paid to St. Peter's, or Westminster Abbey, to pay taxes that were due to St. Paul's Cathedral.

In 1987, Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret's Church became United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites. In 2012, construction was undertaken on Westminster Abbey's fourteenth-century food store, which was remodeled into a restaurant. In 2018, the abbey opened the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries.

Westminster Abbey has been visited by a number of foreign dignitaries, including Pope Benedict XVI, who became the first pope to visit the abbey in 2010. On September 19, 2022, the abbey hosted the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. In 2023, the abbey hosted the coronation of her son as King Charles III. Although the church is the site of the coronations, weddings, and funerals of the leaders of the country, Westminster Abbey remains a public church. Four services are held daily. Five services are scheduled each Sunday.

Bibliography

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Cavendish, Richard. "The Consecration of Westminster Abbey." History Today, 12 Dec. 2015, www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/consecration-westminster-abbey. Accessed 3 Jan. 2025.

“Charles III.” Westminster Abbey, www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/royals/charles-iii. Accessed 3 Jan. 2025.

Haydon, Colin. Anti-Catholicism in Eighteenth-Century England, c. 1714–80: A Political and Social Study. Manchester University Press, 1993, pp. 70–75.

"History of Westminster Abbey." Westminster Abbey, www.westminster-abbey.org/history/history-of-westminster-abbey. Accessed 3 Jan. 2025.

Jenkyns, Richard. Westminster Abbey: A Thousand Years of National Pageantry. Profile Books, 2006.

"Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey including Saint Margaret's Church." United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, whc.unesco.org/en/list/426. Accessed 3 Jan. 2025.