Monuments & Cultural Research & Developments 2015

Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey architectural masterpiece of the 13th to 16th centuries Construction of the present church began in 1245, on the orders of Henry III, It has been the setting for every Coronation since 1066 when Harold Godwinson and William the Conqueror were crowned, Since 1100, there have been at least 16 royal weddings at the abbey. before 1919 there had been none for some 500 years. In the 1040s King Edward (later St Edward the Confessor) established his royal palace by the banks of the river Thames on land known as Thorney Island. This church became known as the “Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret’s Church Listed Building – Grade I Official name: Westminster Abbey (The Collegiate Church of St Peter)” to distinguish it from St Paul’s Cathedral (the east minster) in the City of London.

Today Westminster Abbey is still a church devoted to regular worship and to the celebration of great events. The process of its development across the centuries enriched the place of daily worship with a burial place of kings, poets, scientists, warriors and musicians, deploying the resources of high musical expertise and countless memorials to the famous and the great.

The under-croft now houses the Abbey Museum but was originally part of the domestic quarters of the monks.

The Abbey is outside the jurisdiction and responsibility of the Church of England and the Government. Westminster Abbey was established as a ‘Royal Peculiar’ in 1560 by Queen Elizabeth I.Westminster Abbey receives no regular funding from the Crown, the government the Church of England this means the abbey must seek its own financial support to contribute to the Abbey click here

We will be visiting the abbey for the first in a series of three Westminster Lectures: Idealism and Compromise in Public Service ‘When the eye sees further than the hand can reach’.
Speaker: Canon Professor Vernon White, Canon Theologian Booking (free) is essential for all events. Priority will be given to public servants.

To join us click here