Westminster Abbey

A royal church offering daily services for all and a World Heritage Site with over a thousand years of history.

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It had been prophesised that Henry IV would die in Jerusalem. But on a visit to the Abbey in 1413, he was taken ill and died in a room in the Abbot's house known as the Jerusalem Chamber.

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'Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.'
Psalm 98: 4

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This is the tomb of Ludovic Stuart, Duke of Richmond and Lennox, and his wife Frances, who are buried in the Abbey's Lady Chapel.

The tomb's domed canopy is supported by grand life-size figures of Hope (pictured below), Truth, Charity and Faith, and is topped with the figure of Fame.

#MuseumWeek #HopeMW

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Our memorial to actress Dame Peggy Ashcroft was dedicated #onthisday in 2005. Her career spanned more than six decades, and she was well-known for her Shakespearean and classical roles, as well as her Oscar-winning screen performance in A Passage to India. Her memorial can be found in Poets’ Corner, close to the grave of Sir Laurence Olivier with whom she often worked.

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'The courage of a woman'
- Antony and Cleopatra (IV, 14)

Dame Millicent Fawcett, leader of the constitutional women's suffrage movement, is remembered with this memorial in the Abbey's St George's Chapel. She is also honoured with a statue just across the road from us in Parliament Square.

#ShakespeareSunday #FormidableAndFantasticWomen

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‘She shall be, to the happiness of England, an aged princess; many days shall see her, and yet no day without a deed to crown it’
- Henry VIII (V, 5)

Elizabeth I was crowned here in the Abbey in 1559. She had succeeded her half-sister, Mary I, as queen and reigned for 45 years until her death in 1603. They are buried together in this magnificent tomb in the Abbey's Lady Chapel.

#ShakespeareSunday #FormidableAndFantasticWomen

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'Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.'
2 Corinthians 3: 17

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Our memorial to writer Edward Lear was dedicated #onthisday in 1988. Lear is well-known for his collection of nonsense poems and limericks such as The Owl and the Pussy-cat as well as his illustrations, some of which feature in books of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poems. You can find his memorial in Poets’ Corner.

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This book, the Gigantick History of Westminster Abbey, is one of a series describing the sights of London for children. Published in 1742, it's just 10cm x 12cm and includes this charming drawing of our North Front. It's on display in our museum, The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries.

#Museum Week #FunInTheMuseumMW

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'Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.'
Luke 11: 9-10

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Everyone's welcome in the Abbey at 5pm on Sunday for a recital by organist Iain Quinn, who'll be playing music by Bridge, Rachmaninoff and Franck.

Places are free and there's no need to book: https://t.co/TZHpzdfnoB

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Westminster Abbey is home to the 13th-century Westminster Retable, England's oldest altarpiece. Designed for Henry III's Abbey, the retable is made of painted and gilded wood, and decorated with metalwork, enamel and glass.

This detail shows Christ holding a globe of the world decorated with minute images of the sun and moon, a boat on water, trees, sheep and birds.

The retable is on permanent display in our museum, The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries.

#MuseumWeek #MuseumsForThePlanetMW

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The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dame Sarah Mullally, made her first formal visit to Westminster Abbey when she attended Sung Eucharist on the feast of Corpus Christi yesterday (Thursday 4th June).

The Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, welcomed the Archbishop to the Abbey, saying: ‘We rejoiced at the news of your appointment. We have heard you call us to be a church for the whole nation and the world and to have the audacity to believe in the promises of God. It is a privilege to share that ministry with you. We offer you our thanks for all that you have done and our support and our prayers in the great task you have before you. You will always be welcome here as our Archbishop and as our friend in Christ.’

You can find out more at: https://t.co/jml2X7mLA6

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'Jesus said: 'I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.''
John 6: 51

#CorpusChristi

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Glance up when you're outside the Abbey and you'll spot these grotesques and gargoyles - including the carved figures of dragons, lions and dogs - decorating the walls and looking out across the London skyline.

Together, they've witnessed centuries of history unfold around them. We wonder what stories they could tell...

#MuseumWeek #IfObjectsCouldSpeakMW

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Today is the feast of #CorpusChristi, a day of thanksgiving for the institution of Holy Communion.

Everyone is welcome to join us at our services in the Abbey today, including Eucharist sung by @WabbeyChoir at 5:00pm.

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'Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty''
John 6: 35

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This is the personal prayer book of Lady Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry VII and one of the most significant figures of the Tudor dynasty.

The prayer book is more than 500 years old, and its pages are beautifully decorated with gold leaf. On the left hand page here is an illustration of a dove, which symbolises both peace and the Holy Spirit.

You can see the prayer book when you visit our museum, The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries.

#MuseumWeek #Museums4PeaceMW

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Inside the Abbey's St Edmund's chapel is the tomb of Edward Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury (died 1618), and his wife Lady Jane.

Edward predeceased his wife, and she commissioned a large monument for him made of alabaster and marble. His effigy wears armour, with a talbot (a medieval hunting dog) at his feet. Jane was buried with him following her death in 1626 and her effigy wears an ermine-lined red mantle, with a griffin at her feet.

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'Restore us again, O God of our salvation... Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.'
Psalm 85: 4, 7

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The Queen Elizabeth Digital Memorial is building an online map of memories to celebrate the life and legacy of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

They're inviting people from the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and around the world to send in their memories of Queen Elizabeth II as a permanent record for future generations.

From watching her coronation in the Abbey on television in 1953 to celebrating the Platinum Jubilee in 2022, you can share your memories at: https://t.co/mHu3QYFYcW