Westminster Abbey is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British monarchs and a burial site for 18 English, Scottish, and British monarchs. At least 16 royal weddings have taken place at the abbey since 1100.
Although the origins of the church are obscure, an abbey housing Benedictine monks was on the site by the mid-10th century. The church got its first large building in the 1040s, commissioned by King Edward the Confessor, who is buried inside. Construction of the present church began in 1245 on the orders of Henry III. The monastery was dissolved in 1559, and the church was made a royal peculiar – a Church of England church, accountable directly to the sovereign – by Elizabeth I. The abbey, the Palace of Westminster and St. Margaret's Church became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987 because of their historic and symbolic significance.
Thanks to Google Earth Studio for this amazing aerial view.
Although the origins of the church are obscure, an abbey housing Benedictine monks was on the site by the mid-10th century. The church got its first large building in the 1040s, commissioned by King Edward the Confessor, who is buried inside. Construction of the present church began in 1245 on the orders of Henry III. The monastery was dissolved in 1559, and the church was made a royal peculiar – a Church of England church, accountable directly to the sovereign – by Elizabeth I. The abbey, the Palace of Westminster and St. Margaret's Church became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987 because of their historic and symbolic significance.
Thanks to Google Earth Studio for this amazing aerial view.
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00:00Westminster Abbey, formerly titled the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican
00:16church in the city of Westminster, London, England.
00:20Since 1066.
00:21It has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British monarchs and a burial
00:26site for 18 English, Scottish, and British monarchs.
00:30At least 16 royal weddings have taken place at the abbey since 1100.
00:35Although the origins of the church are obscure, an abbey housing Benedictine monks was on
00:39the site by the mid-10th century.
00:42The church got its first large building in the 1040s, commissioned by King Edward the
00:46Confessor, who is buried inside.
00:49Construction of the present church began in 1245 on the orders of Henry III.
00:54The monastery was dissolved in 1559, and the church was made a Royal Peculiar, a Church
01:00of England church, accountable directly to the Sovereign, by Elizabeth I.
01:05The abbey, the Palace of Westminster, and St Margaret's Church became a UNESCO World
01:10Heritage Site in 1987 because of their historic and symbolic significance.
01:15The church's Gothic architecture is chiefly inspired by 13th-century French and English
01:20styles, although some sections of the church have earlier Romanesque styles or later Baroque
01:25and modern styles.
01:27The Henry VII Chapel, at the east end of the church, is a typical example of perpendicular
01:32Gothic architecture.
01:33Antiquarian John Leland called it Orbis Miraculum, the Wonder of the World.
01:38The abbey is the burial site of more than 3,300 people, many prominent in British history.
01:44Monarchs, prime ministers, poets laureate, actors, musicians, scientists, military leaders,
01:51and the unknown warrior.
01:53Due to the fame of the figures buried there, artist William Morris described the abbey
01:57as a «national Valhalla».
02:00Historians agree that there was a monastery dedicated to Saint Peter on the site before
02:04the 11th century, though its exact origin is somewhat obscure.
02:08One legend claims that it was founded by the Saxon king Seybert of Essex, and another claims
02:13that its founder was the fictional 2nd-century British king Lucius.
02:18One tradition claims that a young fisherman on the river Thames had a vision of Saint
02:21Peter near the site.
02:23This seems to have been quoted as the origin of the salmon that Thames fishermen offered
02:27to the abbey, a custom still observed annually by the fishmongers' company.
02:32The origins of the abbey are generally thought to date to about 959 when Saint Dunstan and
02:37King Edgar installed a community of Benedictine monks on the site.
02:41At that time, the location was an island in the middle of the river Thames called Thorney
02:46Y.
02:47This building has not survived, but archaeologists have found some pottery and foundations from
02:52this period on the abbey site.
02:54Edward the Confessor's Abbey Between 1042 and 1052
02:59Edward the Confessor began rebuilding Saint Peter's Abbey to provide himself with a royal
03:03burial church.
03:05It was built in the Romanesque style and was the first church in England built on a cruciform
03:10floor plan.
03:12The master stonemason for the project was Leof C. Duddeson, with Godwin and Wendelberg
03:16Retsud, meaning ''fat purse'' as patrons, and Tanfrith as ''church rite'' probably meaning
03:21someone who worked on the carpentry and roofing.
03:25Endowments from Edward supported a community that increased from a dozen monks during Dunstan's
03:29time to as many as 80.
03:32The building was completed around 1060 and was consecrated on 28 December 1065.
03:38About a week before Edward's death on 5 January 1066.
03:42A week later, he was buried in the church, nine years later, his wife Edith was buried
03:47alongside him.
03:49His successor, Harold Godwinson, was probably crowned here, although the first documented
03:54coronation is that of William the Conqueror later that year.
03:58That is all.
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