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 Westminster Abbey                        
                          
           
     Probably, the first church built on Thorney Island was Saxon, built by a Saxon King, possibly Sebert, early in the seventh century.  As Thorney island was located just above London, the church there remained important and subsequent rulers rebuilt and improved the church and monastery lands over the centuries.  more>>                 


Westminster Abbey
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Westminster Abbey
                                      North Entrance of Westminster Abbey.  Photo by Adrian Pingstone, 2004


Chapter House, Westminster
Larger image available from F.A. Gasquet's
 English Monastic Life, Chapter Two.


Community in Chapter House, Westminster
Larger image available from F.A. Gasquet's
 English Monastic Life, Chapter Six.


Hernry VII giving charter to Monks in Westminster Hall
Larger image available from F.A. Gasquet's
 English Monastic Life, Chapter Nine.


WEstminster chapel
Edward the Confessor's Chapel at Westminster.   Thanks to fromoldbooks.org



Order:  Benedictine.

Location:  London, England. Built on what had originally been the Isle of Bramble or Thorney Island.  

Founded:   Probably, the first church built on Thorney Island was Saxon, built by a Saxon King.  possibly Sebert, early in the seventh century.  As Thorney island was located just above London, the church there remained important and subsequent rulers rebuilt and improved the church and monastery lands over the centuries.  By at least 785 CE the church was called west 'minster,' and so must have included a monastery of some type.  It is also likely that St. Dunstan, with the support of the Anglo-Saxon King Edgar, brought 12 monks from Glastonbury to Westminster in 960 CE.  With royal support, including from Edward the Confessor, serious construction of Westminster as a Norman Church began in 1011.  Edward was enshrined at the abbey after his death. Reconstruction came again in the twelfth century, this time under the rule of Henry III.  It was a time of tremendous resurgence for monastic interest and patronage, and Henry III's  masons and craftsworkers began the work that transformed Westminster to an architectual masterpiece in the Gothic style.   

Short History:  Westminster Abbey has long enjoyed royal patronage.  It is, in fact, a magnificent  crypt, housing the remains of countless Kings, Queens, Princes, Princessess, and members of the peerage.  Henry III's reconstruction begun in the twelfth century took many centuries to complete.  Hampering construction efforts was the havoc caused by the Black Death, funds shortages, and a disastrous fire.  The Abbey did not attain its western towers until the eighteenth century, and a central tower is still lacking.  At the Dissolution, the remaining monks at Westminster were dismissed and replaced with twelve members of the Anglican clergy. These clerics received a stipend from the revenue of the church, called a prebend.  The last Abbot, known as William Boston, became the first Dean and thereafter he became known as William Benson. Westminster continues as a vibrant center of English worship, and royal pomp and patronage.  Every English monarch since Harold has been coronated at Westminster.          

Of Interest:  Though magnificent, Westminster Abbey operated as a normal church and monastery in its day.  The charter for the monastic life included the strict admonition that monastics provide works and services of charity and uplift the word of God.  As such, and as any other Abbey at the time, Westminster was the site of pilgrimage, provided sanctuary, provided for the poor, shepherded the masterless, and had a hospital that housed the sick, including lepers.

Famous for:  Westminster is famous for its long association with the British royalty.  It is also famous for the special "stone of scone" which has been associated with royal rank and entitlement.  Supposedly, this stone is exactly alike to the stone on which Jacob rested his head at Bethel.  Edward I took the stone from the Scottish Kings, who themselves had taken it from the Sacred Hill of Tara in Ireland.  The stone came to Ireland from the Kings of Spain who had received it received it from the sons of Jacob who brought it into Egypt.

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Copyright (c) Richenda Fairhurst and historyfish.net, 2007
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