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You are here: Home / Culture / Buildings / London Icons: 10 Interesting Facts About Westminster Abbey You May Not Have Known

London Icons: 10 Interesting Facts About Westminster Abbey You May Not Have Known

Jul 22, 2014 By John Rabon

London 2004 - Day 2 - 54

One of the most notable religious buildings in London, the site for Westminster Abbey has been around since the 7th Century. Its location near Westminster Palace makes it a place of royal importance, a place of coronations, weddings, and funerals. Throughout its long history, it has accumulated many interesting stories, facts, and persons.

Here are a just a few of them:

Best Wax Gallery Outside of Madame Tussaud’s

Westminster Abbey’s museum holds the wax figures of many previous monarchs, with nearly all of them in traditional full costume. They were often used during funerals, either displayed on top of royal tombs or paraded before the casket. Many were made from death masks, a plaster cast made of the deceased’s face shortly after death.

From Its Consecration, an Important Piece of History

Edward the Confessor began construction on the church between 1042 and 1052 to provide himself with a burial church. No sooner had it been consecrated in 1066 that he died. Possessing no biological heir, his death kicked off a war of succession between Harold of Wessex and William the Conqueror, both of whom were crowned in the Abbey. Their coronations began the tradition of it being the coronation site for future kings and queens of England.

Standing Room Only

The Chapel of Our Lady of the Pew is carved out of the north wall and the space is so small that there is no room to sit in it. It was dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the year 1300. It is said that Richard II prayed here before riding out to quash the Peasants Revolt in 1381.

Royal Weddings

The first royal wedding in the Abbey took place in 1100 when King Henry I married Matilda of Scotland. Richard II’s wedding in 1382 to Anne of Bohemia was the last one for nearly 500 years until 1919, when Princess Patricia of Connaught married to then-Captain (later Admiral) the Honorable Alexander Ramsay. This kicked off a new tradition of royal weddings at the Abbey, including: Princess Mary, King George VI (then Prince Albert) to the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II to Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Maragaret, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and most recently, Prince William to Kate Middleton (now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge).

Posthumous Execution

Posthumous Execution of Cromwell
Posthumous Execution of Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector (and Dictator) of England was buried in the Abbey after his death in 1658. When the monarchy was restored under Charles II, Cromwell’s body was dug up from the Abbey and given a ceremonial execution. His head was then placed on a pike in the yard. A stone in the pavement of Lady Chapel of Henry VII records where his burial spot was.

Henry the Builder?

The current Abbey was built by Henry III after he demolished the previous church. Known as Henry the Builder, no major wars occurred during his reign, allowing him to focus on many construction projects such as the new Abbey and several other churches.

Poets Corner

Memorials_in_Poets_Corner_(2013)

Found in the South Transept of the Abbey, it is perhaps the most famous part of the church, where many of Britain’s famous writers are buried or have memorial plaques. It was not originally meant to be a burying place for these luminaries, and the first poet buried there, Geoffrey Chaucer, was interned for his service as Clerk of Works at the Palace of Westminster—not for his writing. It wasn’t until Edmund Spencer was buried there in the 16th Century that it began to serve as a place of rest for the nation’s poets, playwrights, and authors. Some monuments took ages to be placed in Poets’ Corner. William Shakespeare died in 1616 and didn’t receive a monument until 1740. Lord Byron, who died in Greece in 1824, led such a scandalous lifestyle that the request for a plaque for him was denied until 1969. Thomas Hardy’s ashes are buried in Poet’s Corner as well, but his heart was buried in his beloved Dorset.

The Bearded Lady

A statue of Saint Wilgefortis stands in the Lady Chapel of Henry VII and is notable for being the only statue in the Abbey of a bearded woman. Legend has it that Saint Wilgefortis prayed to be made repulsive in order to escape a forced marriage. Her prayers were answered and she was given a beard. Now she is the patron saint of women who wish to be liberated from abusive husbands.

Notable Graffiti

Visitors+Look+Coronation+Chair+Westminster+5Pt_OHae3qBl

King Edward’s Chair, or the Coronation Chair, is the throne that every British monarch sits on during the coronation since 1308. At a time when the chair was not so securely guarded and kept away from tourists, visitors, pilgrims, and choir boys would carve their names into it. The Stone of Scone, another significant part of the coronation, sat under the chair after being taken to the Abbey by Edward I. It was subsequently stolen by Scottish students in 1950, then returned back to the Abbey. In 1996, the British government formally returned the Stone to Scotland with permission to use it for future coronations.

Oldest Door in the Realm

An oak door by the Chapter House that connects a cloister that the Cannons of Westminster live behind to the Abbey itself has been carbon dated to approximately the year 1050. The oak wood used to make it originally came from Hainault. For years, a legend grew that hide found on the door was that of a flayed thief but has since been proven to be cow’s hide.

Visiting the Abbey

Westminster Abbey is open to tourists Monday through Saturday from 9.30 AM to 3.30 PM (there is an admission charge). The Chapter House and the Pyx Chamber are open until 4.00 PM, while the Cloister is open until 6.00 PM. The Abbey is open Sundays for worship only. The closest tube stops can be found at St. James Park (District and Circle Lines) and Westminster (Jubilee, District, and Circle Lines).

John Rabon
Author: John Rabon

John is a regular writer for Anglotopia and its sister websites. He is currently engaged in finding a way to move books slightly to the left without the embarrassment of being walked in on by Eddie Izzard. For any comments, questions, or complaints, please contact the Lord Mayor of London, Boris Johnson's haircut.

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Filed Under: Buildings, Exploring London, Featured, History

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About John Rabon

John is a regular writer for Anglotopia and its sister websites. He is currently engaged in finding a way to move books slightly to the left without the embarrassment of being walked in on by Eddie Izzard. For any comments, questions, or complaints, please contact the Lord Mayor of London, Boris Johnson's haircut.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dan trunk says

    Jul 22, 2014 at 11:34 am

    The Abby is the only Abbey not destroy in the in Henry viii /Cromwell dissolution because Henry’s father was buried there.
    S

  2. cygnus7 says

    Jul 22, 2014 at 8:40 pm

    And NO photography(found that out real quick!!)

  3. Maureen says

    Jul 23, 2014 at 11:27 am

    You can enter the most sacred part of the Abbey for a daily prayer service , the Chapel of Edward the Confessor when prayers are said for him and the world. It is a short service and moving. You climb the short set of steps to the left of the chapel. I did this during a self guided tour. The guided tour I took years ago was a great disappointment as the guide wanted to talk only about the 1952 coronation & spent most of our two hour tour giving endless tiny details about that event! Too much history to just harp on one event so I promised myself I would go back and spend hours and hours exploring every part and I am so glad I did. It is a magnificent site.

  4. Debbie S. Clark says

    Jul 23, 2014 at 4:08 pm

    I was very interested to see that the first royal wedding in Westminster Abbey took place in 1100 when King Henry I married Matilda of Scotland, Malcolm and Margaret’s daughter. They are my 31st great-grandparents!

    • natalietanner says

      May 28, 2015 at 1:58 pm

      Extra special spot for you! Princess Debbie!

  5. natalietanner says

    May 28, 2015 at 1:59 pm

    What interesting information! There is so much to see here!
    Natalie, The Educational Tourist
    http://www.theeducationaltourist.com

  6. Nick Griffin Miller says

    Dec 28, 2015 at 10:31 am

    Things have changed much at the Abbey since I was first a visitor there in 1997. At that time, photography was allowed one day a week. Now it is not. At that time the Coronation Chair was in an area where you could actually walk up to it; mind you that at the time of our visit a docent-a wonderful older woman full of stories-was in attendance making certain you were not photographing it, and especially making sure no one came close enough to touch it. We were shocked at the amount of incised graffiti on it, and her explanation was that for a time it was housed in an area of the Abbey that was used for “naughty boys” 🙂 (I still smile at her wording) who were the worst offenders in the graffiti-this being sometime in the 17th Century, I believe she offered. We were there in April 97-a far cry from our most recent visit in August of 2015-it was crowded and we didn’t appreciate the distracted tourists with their “guided tour” handsets pressed against their ears…It caused them to be totally unaware of others…several times I was nearly knocked off my cane by their jostling-this made the visit less than desireable, but I still love the Abbey, and recommend everyone visit, even tho the pressing crowds make it more a cattle call environment in today’s society.

    • Mary Anne Helms says

      Sep 14, 2017 at 11:24 am

      My earlier. Visits were in 1966 and 1985′. No entry fees then. I made another visit after 1985 when you could buy coffee in the Cloisters, but don’t remember the year. I have never paid to get in. You can go to Evensong which is a wonderful way to enjoy the peace of the Abbey.

  7. Chris Nauen says

    Dec 28, 2015 at 11:46 am

    Under ‘Oldest door in the realm’ …. You must mean the CANONS of Westmunster Abbey (priests, not large guns, ie cannons)!

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