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Approved For Release 2001/03/07
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Approved For Release 2001/03/07
: CIA-RDP96-00789R001 30021 0002-3
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Site
759
Westminister Abbey
Officially
the
Collegiate
Church
of
St.
Peter
in
Westminister,
it
is
the
most
famous
church
in
the Commonwealth.
It
is
located
in
London,
England.
Legend
relates
that
the
first
church
was
erected
about
605
by
Serbert,
king
of
the
East
Saxons,
but
the
recorded
history
of
the
Benedictine
abbey
begins
with
Edward
the
Confessor
who
started construction
of
a new church about
1050.
Built
in
the
Norman
style,
it was consecrated
in
1065
and
was
the
scene
of
the
coronation
of
William
the
Conqueror
(1066)
.
The
entire
east
end
was
torn
down
by
Henry
III
who,
in
1245,
began
to
build
the present church.
A cruciform
structure
in
the Gothlic
style,
it
is
531
ft
long
and almost
102
ft
high,
while
the nave
itself
is
feet
inches
wide.
Its
principal
architectural
features
are
the
transepts
with
aisles;
the
nave
with
aisles
finished
in
the
late
15th
century;
the
choir
with
six
chapels
opening
north
and
south
of
it;
Henry VII
Chapel,
built
in
1503
to
c.
1519,
famous
both
for
its exquisite
fan-vaulted
roof
and
for
its
its
carved
oaken
stalls,
above
which
hang
the
banners
of
the
Knights
of
the Bath;
and magestic west
towers,
designed
by Christopher Wren but
not completed until 1740.
Steeped
in
history,
Westminister
Abbey
is
a
veritable
national
shrine.
In
the
center
nave,
near
the
west
entrance,
is
the
grave
of
the
Unknown
soldier
of WWI
.
At
the east
end
of
Henry VII
Chapefc
is
the
Royal
Air
Force
Memorial
Chapel
which
contains
a
superb
stained-glass window commemorating
the
squadrons
that
fought
in
the
Battle
of
Britain
in
1940,
and
embodying
all
their
badges.
Many of Britains most distinguished
sons
are
buried
in
the
abbey
including
Geoffrey
Chaucer,
Edmund
Spenser,
Alfred
Tennyson,
Robert
Browning,
Ben
Johnson,
Isaac
Newton,
Charles
Robert
Darwin
and
David
Livingston.
There
are
monum,ents
to
outstanding
statesmen
such
as
William
Pitt,
Robert
Peel,
Benjamin
Disraeli,
and
William
Gladstone.
Many
of
England's
monarchs from Edward
the Confessor
to George
II
are
also
buried
here.
Their
tombs
are
in
the
chapels
of
Edward
the
Confessor
and
Henry
VII.
In
the
chapel
of Edward
the
Confessor
is
the
coronation
throne,
enclosing
the
stone
of Scone
upon which
the
Celtic
kings
were
crowned.
On
this
throne,
in
front
of
the
High
Altar,
every monarch
of England
from William
I
has
been
crowned,
with
the
exception
of Edward V
and
Edward
VII.
Thus
the
abbey
enshrines
many
of
the
traditions
and
commemorates
many achievements of
the English people.
Approved For Release 2001/03/07
: CIA-RDP96-00789R001 30021 0002-3