Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
passing through
“Scientists' Corner,”
with memorials to Isaac Newton (left of altar), Mi-
chael Faraday, Charles Darwin (on the floor), and others. Enter the spacious...
Nave
Look down the long and narrow center aisle of the church. Lined with the praying hands
of the Gothic arches, glowing with light from the stained glass, it's clear that this is more
than a museum. With saints in stained glass, heroes in carved stone, and the bodies of Eng-
land's greatest citizens under the floor stones, Westminster Abbey is the religious heart of
England.
The Abbey was built in 1065. Its name, Westminster, means Church in the West (west
of St. Paul's Cathedral). The king who built the Abbey was Edward the Confessor. Find
him in the stained glass windows on the left side of the nave (“left” as you face the altar).
He's in the third bay from the end (marked
S: Edwardus rex...
), with his crown, scepter,
and ring. Take some time to thank him for this Abbey.
For the next 250 years, the Abbey was redone and remodeled to become essentially
the church you see today, notwithstanding an extensive resurfacing in the 19th century.
Thankfully, later architects—ignoring building trends of their generation—honored the
vision of the original planner, and the building was completed in one relatively harmoni-
ous style.
The Abbey's 10-story nave is the tallest in England. The chandeliers, 10 feet tall, look
small in comparison (16 were given to the Abbey by the Guinness family).
