Westminster Abbey– Part One

In one sense walking into Westminster Abbey is like walking down the Hollywood walk of fame, although these folks are far more important than movie stars in Hollywood. Not only are Kings like Edward buried here, but so are famous writers, poets, politicians, or at least there memory is preserved in a floor plaque, and they are all over this Abbey. What a different place this is than the Abbey in Bath which we will see later. This Abbey is more like an ancient necropolis of the Roman Empire, than like a house of worship. There is far too much honoring of the human and too little honoring of the Lord is one impression one gets immediately. It is interesting that Shakespeare gets a whole statue in Westminster Abbey, whereas he spent his life making others immortal in his remarkable prose and verses. Edward the Confessor (1040s-65) who had the first major building built here, died just in time to avoid the Norman take over, and the crowning of William of Normandy king. The building was redone by King Henry III (1245-72) tearing down most of Edward’s building and erected much of the Gothic structure we see today. Later, Henry VII added the famous Lady Chapel. First a few pictures of the...