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By Wikimedia

Top 10 Facts about Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey has over 1,000 years of history and attracts over 1 million visitors every year.

This is one of the most famous religious buildings in Britain and the world at large.

It has played an important role in the British political, social and cultural affairs for centuries.

Although it goes by the name abbey, the building is no longer one, at least since 1539. However, it still hosts important religious events.

The royal coronation has been taking place in this building since 1066.

A tour of Westminster Abbey will introduce you to country’s history, monarchs, writers, scientists and politicians from more than 1,000 years ago

Here are the top 10 facts about Westminster Abbey.

1. It’s Peculiar, but not in the real sense of the word

By Bernard Gagnon -Wikimedia

The Westminster Abbey is known as a Royal Peculiar.

It was given this award in 1560, before then it served as a cathedral between 1540 and 1556.

This means that Westminster Abbey does not fall under the jurisdiction of a bishop and neither is it part of a diocese.

The concept of the Abbey was planned during the Anglo-Saxon times.

This way, the church showed their allegiance to the monarch and not the local bishop.

It remains to be the royal peculiar for traditions and organizational purposes.

King Henry VIII dissolved the Benedictine monastic church. The Abbey belongs to the monarch of the country.

2. It has the oldest door in Britain

Westminster Abbey has the only remaining Anglo Saxon door in the country dating back to 1050.

A recent tree-dating analysis discovered that the boards of the door were cut from a single tree.

The tree is believed to be growing between 924 to 1030. They also discovered remains of hiding covering the door.

Legend has it that this was a human skin from a botched robbery in 1303. The skin nailed on the door was used as a warning to others.

Historians on the other hand believe that cowhide was added on the door for decorative purposes.

3. The Abbey was built by Edward the Confessor

Edward The Confessor rebuilt the abbey at around 1042, he intended it to be a burial place for English kings.

The original abbey stood strong for about two centuries. King Henry III rebuilt it again in a Gothic style which was popular during his time.

He did not do away with Edward I designs such as the round arches and the supporting columns of the undercroft.

King Henry shared the same vision with Edward I in building a church that was fit for coronation and burial of monarchs.

The completely renovated cathedral was dedicated in 1269.

4. Its Gothic features are impressive

By Herry Lawford – Wikimedia

The style of Westminster Abbey is beyond remarkable.

One of the most splendid parts of the Abbey is the Henry VII Chapel popularly known as the Lady chapel.  

It has a pendant fan vault ceiling which is beyond beautiful and a must be seen in person.

The building was built by King Henry III. He built it to honour St Edward the Confessor in a new Gothic style.

During the era of King Henry III, cathedrals were famous such as those in Amiens, Evreux and Chartres in France, and Canterbury, Winchester and Salisbury in England.

The Gothic vault in the abbey is the highest in England, it reaches 102 feet.

This design follows the continental geometric proportions.

It also incorporates English features such as single rather than double aisles, and wide projecting transepts projecting from the long nave.

5. The floor of the Abbey is symbolic

The entire Abbey is covered by a Cosmati pavement made up of thousands of cut pieces of mosaic and porphyry.

Brass letters on it tell the date, the King and its origin, which is 1268, Henry III and Rome.

There are missing letters that explain the symbolic meaning of how long the universe would last (which is 19,683 years).

6. There are several tombs in Westminster Abbey

By Wikimedia

The main purpose of the abbey was to serve as a tomb for England’s Kings.

There are royal tombs as well as poets’ corner in the cathedral.

The tombs are about 450 and several other monuments.

Anyone who could afford the fees could be buried there, this happened for hundreds of years.

Over 3,500 people were buried in the abbey during that time.

It was later reserved for public figures and the monarch.

Ben Jonson, a celebrated 17th-century poet, could only afford two square feet of space and was buried standing up in 1637. His grave is in the north aisle of the Nave.

7. It has been the official coronation place since the 11^th century

By Wikimedia

Westminster Abbey has been the coronation church for the British Monarch since 1066. 

A total of 39 coronations have taken place in the abbey with the most recent one being in1953. 

That was the coronation of the current Queen Elizabeth II. The chair used in all royal coronations since 1308 is at the Abbey too.

The chair was damaged by visitors in the 1700s and 1800s, it is therefore now under high-level security.

The Archbishop of Canterbury leads the ceremony.

8. The stone of destiny was stolen

In 1950, four students from Glasgow broke into the abbey and stole the stone of scones.

The stone had been brought from Scotland in 1296 by Edward I and was kept under the coronation chair where monarchs were crowned for more than 700 years.

They buried the stone in a field in Kent, the stone was later found and returned in 1996.

9. More than 16 weddings have been held at Westminster Abbey

Other than royal coronations, the abbey has also hosted 17 royal weddings.

The most recent royal wedding was that of Prince William and Catherine Middleton the Duchess of Cambridge.

Other royal weddings are that of King Henry I married Matilda of Scotland here in 1100. Queen Elizabeth got married to Prince Phillip in 1947.

10. There is a bearded lady at the chapel

By Gugganij – Wikimedia

The Lady Chapel in the abbey was built by Henry VII between 1503 and 1519.

Its architecture is a total contrast to the rest of the abbey and displays many Tudor emblems such as the rose and portcullis.

This chapel houses a statue of a female saint with a beard. The statue is of Saint Wilgefortis.

She prayed to God to grow beards that would turn off her would-be pagan husband.

Many women who were against abusive husbands looked up to her.