Places to visit - Churches - Westminster Abbey, LondonThe site of Westminster Abbey was founded in 9

Places to visit - Churches - Westminster Abbey, LondonThe site of Westminster Abbey was founded in 960 AD and was first used by Benedictine Monks as a monastery. It was greatly enlarged by King Edward, later known as St Edward the Confessor, in 1040s. The church was finally consecrated on 28th December 1065, however Edward was already ill and died a few days later. He was the first King to be buried in the church. The Abbey became much more important shortly after this, when it was used for the coronation of William I in 1066. It has been used for every coronation since then. Very little of King Edward’s church remains today, largely due to Henry III, who decided to rebuild it in a more modern Gothic style in 1245. The new church was consecrated on 13th October 1269. St Edward the Confessors tomb was moved to a more central spot, behind the high alter by Henry III. It is here that many of the medieval kings and queens are buried, including Henry III himself, Edward I, Eleanor of Castille, Edward III, Philippa of Hainault, Richard II, Anne of Bohemia and Henry V. Henry VII added to the church with the Lady Chapel, which has a beautiful vaulted ceiling, in which Henry VII and Elizabeth of York are now entombed. The medieval monastery on the site was dissolved during Henry VIII’s reign, on 16th January 1540. At the same time Henry turned the Abbey into a Cathedral, appointing a bishop and several other clerics. The bishopric lasted only 10 years and the diocese was reattached to London, an act of Parliament made the Abbey part of the London diocese. Mary I restored the Benedictine monks but their stay was not a long one, as Elizabeth I removed them again after her accession. It was Elizabeth who made Westminster Abbey a Royal Peculiar, meaning it is exempt from the jurisdiction of bishops and is headed by the sovereign. Elizabeth and Mary were both buried near their grandfather, in his chapel in the Abbey. Around 3,000 people are buried at the Abbey, including Sir Winston Churchill, Charles Dickens, Horatio Nelson. George II was the last monarch to be buried in the Abbey, due to a lack of space for monuments and the requests of many kings and queens to have their funerals at the abbey and then be buried elsewhere, such as Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, formerly Queen, and Diana, Princess of Wales. Another famous burial in the Abbey is the grave of the Unknown Warrior, which has become a shrine for many and is often visited by foreign dignitaries to show respect. The body in the grave was brought over from France and buried on 20th November 1920. During the Second World War, 60,000 sandbags were used to protect the Abbey, however one incendiary bomb landed on the roof and caused part of the ceiling to burn down. This damage was thankfully easily repaired and most of the valuable artefacts from the Abbey had been evacuated prior to the bombings. In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI became the first Pope to ever visit the Abbey. Today the Abbey is still in use, last used for a coronation with Elizabeth II and last used for a royal wedding with the wedding of Prince William in 2011. The chapel is still in use for services on a daily basis.  -- source link

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