Exactly 55 years ago today the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was beamed to the homes of millions via the modern marvel of television. The Queen was crowned (and sceptred and orbed) in front of the high altar at Westminster Abbey, in the same spot as a millennium of her predecessors. The abbey is one of London's oldest and most historic buildings, founded in the 10th century and so often at the heart of national commemoration. But few Londoners ever choose to venture inside, forsaking their mother church to a steady stream of tourists and a handful of regular worshippers. I hadn't been since I was a child, so I thought it was about time for another visit. And you know, I'd forgotten what I was missing.
£10 at the North Door gets you inside the Abbey (or else the phrase "I'm coming to a service" gets you in for free). It's worth paying the extra £4 for an audio guide, otherwise you'll just wander round going "ooh, isn't that old" without really knowing what you're looking at. Put your camera away because photography is banned (today's excellent exterior shots are by Richard R, by the way). Mind where you're walking, because you may suddenly discover that you're standing on top of a famous dead person. And don't forget to look up, because the lofty vaulted ceiling is far more fabulous than any Artex you might have at home.
First stop is the space between the high altar and the quire, deliberately on the large side to act as a coronation "theatre". Here you can pretend to be the Archbishop of Canterbury, plonking down millions of pounds of gold and diamonds upon the sovereign's head. In the chancel is a stonkingly old medieval tiled pavement, currently de-carpeted to allow restoration work to proceed. And then follow the procession of pushchairs, rucksacks and French schoolkids eastward, round the back of Edward the Confessor's shrine, to explore the various chapels at the far end of the Abbey. Blimey, what a lot of otherwise-unknown lords and nobles managed to get their tombs crammed in back here. Some chapels look like a jumble sale for statuary and shiny chunks of marble. Rather more imposing are the twin tombs of Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots, balanced on either side of the abbey in separate narrow chapels. And between them the stunning lady chapel, built for King Henry VII, with the most wonderfully intricate fan-vaulted ceiling. Oi, nophotos!
Returning to the main body of the church you pass the coronationchair, commissioned by Edward I, with a gaping hole beneath the seat where the stolen Stone of Scone used to rest. The seat's a bit of a mess, having been knocked about and graffitied by generations of pilgrims, tourists and choristers, but it'll no doubt look lovely on the telly by the time Prince Charles plonks his kingly backside on it. And then to Poet's Corner, where (I was disappointed to discover) scores of literary giants are commemorated but only a few are buried. Geoffrey Chaucer's really here, he was the first, and Rudyard Kipling and Charles Dickens too (even though he'd asked to be buried in Rochester Cathedral instead). Exit here for the museum, coffee shop and toilets.
Despite the tourists everywhere, this is very much a functional place of worship. Every hour a tannoy announcement invites visitors to pause for a minute in prayer/reflection (most do, some bumble on). Red-robed ministers wander around the great building, keeping an eye on visitors and occasionally vanishing through small wooden doorways. And the verger running the £5 guided tour might well reappear shortly afterwards wielding the chalice at Holy Communion in the nave. The centuries-old cycle of daily praise and prayer continues amidst the sightseeing, as well it should. And one day (maybe next year, maybe in two decades time) the world's Heads of State will be back inside Westminster Abbey to witness Britain's next coronation. But why wait until then to see for yourself.
Exactly 55 years ago today the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was beamed to the homes of millions via the modern marvel of television. The Queen was crowned (and sceptred and orbed) in front of the high altar at Westminster Abbey, in the same spot as a millennium of her predecessors. The abbey is one of London's oldest and most historic buildings, founded in the 10th century and so often at the heart of national commemoration. But few Londoners ever choose to venture inside, forsaking their mother church to a steady stream of tourists and a handful of regular worshippers. I hadn't been since I was a child, so I thought it was about time for another visit. And you know, I'd forgotten what I was missing.
First stop is the space between the high altar and the quire, deliberately on the large side to act as a coronation "theatre". Here you can pretend to be the Archbishop of Canterbury, plonking down millions of pounds of gold and diamonds upon the sovereign's head. In the chancel is a stonkingly old medieval tiled pavement, currently de-carpeted to allow restoration work to proceed. And then follow the procession of pushchairs, rucksacks and French schoolkids eastward, round the back of Edward the Confessor's shrine, to explore the various chapels at the far end of the Abbey. Blimey, what a lot of otherwise-unknown lords and nobles managed to get their tombs crammed in back here. Some chapels look like a jumble sale for statuary and shiny chunks of marble. Rather more imposing are the twin tombs of Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots, balanced on either side of the abbey in separate narrow chapels. And between them the stunning lady chapel, built for King Henry VII, with the most wonderfully intricate fan-vaulted ceiling. Oi, no photos!
