Westminster Abbey

Author's note:

At the height of its wealth and power as a Benedictine monastery, Westminster Abbey, and its sprawling community, stood west of the City of London in an area that was substantially countryside. Although the monastic community itself boasted fewer then fifty monks, there were upwards of three hundred individuals directly involved in the life of the monastery. During its construction, stonemasons, carpenters and labourers swelled the ranks of servants employed both inside and outside the buildings. Westminster was a monastic school, attracting boys from far and wide. Besides the massive church where the monks assembled seven times a day for worship, there were numerous lesser buildings which combined into a complex village community totally self-supporting. At one time the Tyburn River flowed on either side, forming an island of sorts, separating Westminster proper from the fields and forests just beyond. Several bridges spanned the river while on the south side, the Thames provided easy transportation for those goods not manufactured locally.

The original medieval Palace of Westminster which stood on the river’s edge was badly damaged by fire in 1512 at which time it ceased to be a royal residence. In 1834, fire destroyed all but Westminster Hall and the Jewel Tower. The current Houses of Parliament were completed in 1870.
 



Laura and Gail's tour of Westminster Abbey would take all afternoon and even then they would only see a portion of this truly magnificant edifice. Part one of the tour begins at the Chapel of Saint Edward the Confessor. Part two is the Chapel of Henry VII.

Should you wish to concentrate on a particular historical character or place name, please click on the appropriate highlight and you're there!

Alice Perrers - mistress of Edward III
Queen Anne (1665-1714)
Anne of Bohemia - first wife of Richard II
Arabella Stuart

Beaufort - dynastic origins
Berkeley Castle
'Bloody' Mary
Catherine of France or Valois - widow of Henry V
Castle Rising
Coronation Chair
Cromwell
Edward I
Edward II
Edward III
Eleanor of Castile - first wife of Edward I
Queen Edith - wife of Edward the Confessor
Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth of York - wife of Henry VII
Fotheringhay Castle
Gloucester Cathedral
King Harold
Henry IV - Henry of Bolingbroke
Henry V
Henry VI
Henry VII - Tomb
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
Henry VIII
Isabella - the 'She-Wolf of France
James I
John of Gaunt
Margaret Beaufort

Mary Queen of Scots
Old Parr
Owen Tudor
Pontefract Castle
Samuel Pepys
Philippa of Hainault - wife of Edward III
Piers Gaveston
Richard II
Robert Hauley - Murder in the Abbey
Roger Mortimer - Earl of March
Stone of Scone
Thomas of Woodstock - Duke of Gloucester
 


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