Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey
Author: David Cannadine
Publisher: Paul Mellon Centre
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2024-09-10
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9781913107475

A comprehensive and authoritative history that explores the significance of one of the most famous buildings and institutions in England Westminster Abbey was one of the most powerful churches in Catholic Christendom before transforming into a Protestant icon of British national and imperial identity. Celebrating the 750th anniversary of the consecration of the current Abbey church building, this book features engaging essays by a group of distinguished scholars that focus on different, yet often overlapping, aspects of the Abbey's history: its architecture and monuments; its Catholic monks and Protestant clergy; its place in religious and political revolutions; its relationship to the monarchy and royal court; its estates and educational endeavours; its congregations; and its tourists. Clearly written and wide-ranging in scope, this generously illustrated volume is a fascinating exploration of Westminster Abbey's thousand-year history and its meaning, significance, and impact within society both in Britain and beyond.

Treasures of Westminster Abbey

Treasures of Westminster Abbey
Author: Tony Trowles
Publisher: Scala Arts Publishers Incorporated
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2018
Genre:
ISBN: 9781857596496

- New edition of this exploration of one of Britain's greatest buildings - A comprehensive, beautifully illustrated survey of Westminster Abbey's art treasures Westminster Abbey has a history stretching back over a thousand years. Founded as a Benedictine monastery in the mid-tenth century, it is the coronation church where monarchs have been crowned amid great splendor since 1066. The present church, begun by Henry III in 1245, is a treasure house of architectural and artistic achievement on which each succeeding century has left its mark. The medieval and Renaissance tombs within the Abbey, though among the most important in Europe, form only a small part of the extraordinary collection of gravestones, memorials and monumental sculpture for which it has long been famous. Ranging from the thirteenth-century shrine of St Edward and the Renaissance splendor of Henry VII's Lady Chapel, to the literary memorials of Poets' Corner and the statues of twentieth-century martyrs on the Abbey's west front, this book describes the stained glass, furniture, sculpture, textiles, wall paintings and many other historic artefacts found within this remarkable church. Contents: Introduction; Edward the Confessor's Chapel; Sacrarium and High Altar; Quire and Crossing; North Transept and Ambulatory; South Ambulatory and Transept; Nave; Lady Chapel; Cloisters; Abbey Precincts.

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey
Author: Richard Jenkyns
Publisher: Profile Books
Total Pages: 112
Release: 2011-03-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 1847650821

Westminster Abbey is the most complex church in the world in terms of its history, functions and memories - perhaps the most complex building of any kind. It has been an abbey and a cathedral and is now a collegiate church and a royal peculiar. It is the coronation church, a royal mausoleum, a Valhalla for the tombs of the great, a 'national cathedral' and the 'Tomb of the Unknown Warrior'. This new edition recounts the story of this iconic building and the role it plays in our national psyche.

The Royal Wedding

The Royal Wedding
Author: James Wilkinson
Publisher: Scala Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2011
Genre: Royal weddings
ISBN: 9781857597240

This stunning book is Westminster Abbey's official publication on this Royal Wedding and is a unique and unrivalled souvenir to the momentous occasion, taking place on the 29th April 2011 in one of the most famous buildings in the world. It showcases photographs of the wedding exclusive to the Abbey, plus a selection of the best press photography; gives an authoritative account of William and Catherine's friendship and subsequent engagement; and includes an overview of other Royal Weddings held at the Abbey The occasion of HRH Prince William's marriage to Catherine Middleton is a Royal Wedding steeped in history. The couple chose Westminster Abbey because of its "staggering beauty, its 1000 years of royal history and its relative intimacy despite its size". In the last 100 years, Westminster Abbey has played host to ten royal weddings, including those of The Duke of York to Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (who became George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother) and The Queen, then Princess Elizabeth, to Lieutenant Phillip Mountbatten. The coronation of every crowned monarch has taken place in the Abbey since it was built by Edward the Confessor on the site of a former monastery in the 11th century - the first that of William the Conqueror in 1066 and the most recent that of William's grandmother Elizabeth II in 1953. AUTHOR: James Wilkinson has been associated with the Abbey since he was a chorister there in the early 1950s; in 1953 he sang at the Queen's coronation. During a career in journalism he was the BBC s science correspondent for twenty-five years. He is now one of the Abbey's Honorary Stewards and the author of many publications about the Abbey. SELLING POINTS: *Westminster Abbey's official book on the Royal Wedding *Over 20 stunning pictures of this momentous occasion *Authoritative account of their seven year friendship and subsequent engagement *Includes a fascinating presentation of other Royal Weddings at the Abbey 38 colour & 4 b/w illustrations

The Funeral Effigies of Westminster Abbey

The Funeral Effigies of Westminster Abbey
Author: Anthony Harvey
Publisher: Boydell Press
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2003
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9780851158792

Westminster Abbey contains a unique and important group of effigies, some familiar, many little-known, including kings, queens, statesmen and national heroes, ranging in time from the middle ages to the early nineteenth century. They derive from a time when an effigy of the dead monarch, statesman or national hero played an important part in funeral ritual, offering a visible likeness as a focus to the ceremonial of the funeral. This richly illustrated book, which is the first substantial publication on the effigies since 1936, is both a history of the collection and of the origins and development of the funeral effigy, and a full descriptive catalogue of the twenty-one examples in the Abbey. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey
Author: T. W. T. Tatton-Brown
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2003
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 184383037X

An account of the history, architecture and monuments of the chapel, the final, exquisite flowering of the gothic style.

Westminster Abbey Chapter House

Westminster Abbey Chapter House
Author: Warwick Rodwell
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2010
Genre: Abbeys
ISBN: 9780854312955

This volume tells the complete story of the Westminster Abbey Chapter House, which ranks as one of the spectacular achievements of European Gothic art & architecture as its builder, King Henry III, intended. Begun in the mid-1240s, & completed within a decade, its pre-eminence was recognized in its own day.