The Washington herald., 1913-08-23


Special Correspondents Of The Washington Herald.
OF all the churches in London, there Il
none so Interesting as Westminster Alb
hey. II is distinctly the national church
national in every sense OF the word Ev-
cry coronation of King, for example
since William the Conqueror's time, has
taken place within its walls It is indeed
a very wonderful building. Away back
IN $50 on its site was an ancient Abbey,
rebuilt by King Edward the ConfessoT
in 1850 to 1O65. 1t then began practically
its present existence. The choir and
Transcripts were built by King Henry III,
and there is a splendid chapel, built in
l50S-l2. called the Chapel of King Henry
VII Henry VIII, the son of Henry VII.
dissolved the monastery in 1874, and set
up in its place a bishOpric. Under Ed
ward the bishopric was dissolved in 1850,
and again the monastery came into eX-
Stence. The western towers were the
last parts of the present building to be
completed. They were built in 1I45.
One has to stand at the west end of
the church to appreciate its height-1O2
feet-for the extent and the grace of the
building. 1t rises in three stages-the
great arches. the triforiUm (or passage
above the aisles) and the clear story,
through which the light comes in. Walk
ing eastward, one comes presently to
the grave of Livingstone in the very CEN
ter of the church. His body was brought
from Africa, it having been previously
carried from the very center of the con-
tinent-from Ilala, where he died-to the
seashore, whence it was taken direct TO
England. Here is the pulpit from which
Cranmer is said to have preached. In
the south side are memorials of Wesley
and Watts; also the shields of the no.
blemen, among whom was Simon de
Montfort, who were eminent at the time
Of the building Of the Abbey.
Henry III was not a great King, but
he had a sensitive nature, and he felt
the spirit of the time. He looked out
from his palace at Westminster on the
great Norman Abbey which Edward the
Confessor had built in 1O5O-65 and had
dedicated to st. Peter. What he saw
was a great, gloomy, massive structure
the only remains of which are seen about
the dark cloister-and the spirit of the
time moved within him. 1t was an age
of hope, of liberty, of aspiration, and the
great, massive structure seemed to speak
Of an age of conquest and control. So
he pulled down all except the nave, and
built in its place the present church,
after the fashion of the great French
cathedrals of Amiens, Beauvais, and
Rheims. He raised money by taxation,
and employed the best workmen. The
pavement of the pEesbytery was wrought
by Italian workmen. 1t is here that one
sees most clearly thai just as the strong,
constraining, semicircular arch of the
NOrmans expressed their conquering,
dominating spirit, so the aspiring, up
reaching arch of the early English pc
riod. like uplifted hands expresses the
spirit of liberty and hope.
When Henry III had finished this part
Of the Abbey, and while the Norman
nave was still standing, the King brought
in again the body of Edward the Con-
fessor. a saint equally reverenced by
English and NOrmans. and therefore rep
resenting the new national sense. The
body was put in a shrine behind the al
tar. covered with gold, and raised on
jeweled columns. There was no screen
then to conceal it: SO that every visitor,
on entering the choir by its west door,
was caught at once by the glory of the
shrine standing above the altar For it
was brilliantly colored in red and blue.
Edward the Confessor's Chapel, which
Is considerably raised. as it is sometimes
said "Cn earth brought from the Holy
land" has chapels grouped around it. st.
Edwards shrine was for centuries the
object of pilgrimage, and the stones un
der the inches are worn by the knees of
countless suppliants. Colored in blue
and red, it was also rich in jewels,
mosaic. ana marble, and adorned with
gold. There are other tombs here of
Rings and Queens-Henry III, Edward
!, Queen Eleanor. Edward III, Ed
ward HTS = n. Richard II and Anne,
his wife: also Al y V, who has a chan
try in his me. ,at the end of the
chapel. Here is Lne Coronation Chair,
with the stone brought from Scone by
Edward I, which has been used at every
coronation since his time, and was taken