105-496: The Strawberry Hill Press was established on 25 June 1757 at Strawberry Hill , by the house's owner, Horace Walpole . He called it the Officina Arbuteana , and many of the first editions of his own works were printed there. The first works printed at Strawberry Hill, on 8 August 1757, were two odes of Thomas Gray , The Progress of Poesy and The Bard . Through Walpole's influence Robert Dodsley published in 1753
210-588: A Gothic Revival villa that was built in Twickenham , London, by Horace Walpole (1717–1797) from 1749 onward. It is a typical example of the " Strawberry Hill Gothic " style of architecture, and it prefigured the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. Walpole rebuilt the existing house in stages starting in 1749, 1760, 1772 and 1776. These added Gothic features such as towers and battlements outside and elaborate decoration inside to create "gloomth" to suit Walpole's collection of antiquarian objects, contrasting with
315-520: A gibbet at Tyburn . In 1669, the abbey was visited by the diarist Samuel Pepys , who saw the body of the 15th-century queen Catherine de Valois . She had been buried in the 13th-century Lady chapel in 1437, but was exhumed during building work for the Henry VII Chapel and not reburied in the intervening 150 years. Pepys leaned into the coffin and kissed her on the mouth, writing "This was my birthday, thirty-six years old and I did first kiss
420-471: A "Committee of Taste" or "Strawberry Committee" which would modify the architecture of the building. Bentley left the group abruptly after an argument in 1761. Chute had an "eclectic but rather dry style" and was in charge of designing most of the exterior of the house and some of the interior. To Walpole, he was an "oracle of taste". Walpole often disagreed with Bentley on some of his wayward schemes, but admired his talent for illustration. William Robinson of
525-515: A Little Cloister, on the site of the monks' infirmary. The Little Cloister dates from the end of the 17th century and contains a small garden with a fountain in the centre. A passageway from the Little Cloister leads to College Garden , which has been in continuous use for 900 years, beginning as the medicine garden for the monks of the abbey and now overlooked by canons' houses and the dormitory for Westminster School . The newest part of
630-464: A bit of a nuisance to him. While Walpole gave tours to the more important visitors, he shrank from less dignified attention and "retreated to his cottage in the flower garden" while his housekeeper gave tours to the public. In a letter to George Montagu in 1763, Walpole complained: "I have but a minute's time in answering your letter, my house is full of people, and has been so from the instant I breakfasted, and more are coming – in short, I keep an inn;
735-499: A bomb that fell outside the chapel. No one was killed, and the abbey continued to hold services throughout the war. When hostilities ceased, evacuated objects were returned to the abbey, 60,000 sandbags were moved out, and a new permanent roof was built over the crossing. Two different designs for a narthex (entrance hall) for the west front were produced by architects Edwin Lutyens and Edward Maufe during World War II, but neither
840-515: A community of Benedictine monks on the site. At that time, the location was an island in the Thames called Thorney Island . This building has not survived, but archaeologists have found some pottery and foundations from this period on the abbey site. Between 1042 and 1052, Edward the Confessor began rebuilding Saint Peter's Abbey to provide himself with a royal burial church. It was built in
945-588: A form of thematised historical display which prefigured modern museums. And Strawberry Hill was the most influential building of the early Gothic revival". After a £9 million, two-year-long restoration, Strawberry Hill House reopened to the public on Saturday, 2 October 2010. In 2013, Strawberry Hill House won the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage in the Europa Nostra Awards. The Walpole Trust re-opened Strawberry Hill to
1050-412: A huge bivalve of a species not easily recognized, which generally elicited a vast amount of wonder and admiration from his visitors". This bench, a rustic cottage, and a chapel in the woods show Walpole's charmingly eccentric taste. The seat was originally placed at the corner of Walpole's estate, where Walpole and his visitors could view the river and the landscape beyond. Although only two drawings of
1155-444: A jawbone which was taken by a boy from Westminster School and kept by his family until 1906, when it was returned to the abbey. In the 1830s, the screen dividing the nave from the choir, which had been designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, was replaced by one designed by Edward Blore . The screen contains the monuments to the scientist Isaac Newton and the military general James Stanhope . Further rebuilding and restoration occurred in
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#17327654779201260-410: A lantern tower was never built. The current squat pyramid dates from the 18th century; the painted wooden ceiling below it was installed during repairs to World War II bomb damage. In the early 16th century, a project began under Abbot John Islip to add two towers to the western end of the church. These had been partially built up to roof level when building work stopped due to uncertainty caused by
1365-466: A medieval cathedral often evolved over time, with no fixed plan from the beginning. Indeed, Michael Snodin argues, "the most striking external feature of Strawberry Hill was its irregular plan and broken picturesque silhouette". Walpole added new features over a thirty-year period, as he saw fit. The first stage to make, in Walpole's words, a 'little Gothic castle' began in 1749 and was complete by 1753,
1470-557: A monastic and royal treasury. The outer walls and circular piers also date to the 11th century; several capitals were enriched in the 12th century, and the stone altar was added in the 13th century. The term pyx refers to the boxwood chest in which coins were held and presented to a jury during the Trial of the Pyx , when newly minted coins were presented to ensure they conformed to the required standards. The chapter house and Pyx Chamber are in
1575-602: A precursor to the House of Commons . Henry III also commissioned the Cosmati pavement in front of the High Altar. Further work produced an additional five bays for the nave, bringing it to one bay west of the choir . Here, construction stopped in about 1269. By 1261, Henry had spent £29,345 19s 8d on the abbey, and the final sum may have been near £50,000. A consecration ceremony was held on 13 October 1269, during which
1680-423: A quarter of one's garden to be melancholy in." Here, Walpole's separation of style between his house and grounds can be seen. A friend, Horace Mann, assumed that Walpole's garden would be similarly Gothic. Walpole responded; "Gothic is merely architecture, and as one has a satisfaction in imprinting the gloomth of abbeys and cathedrals on one's house, so one's garden, on the contrary, is to be nothing but riant , and
1785-451: A queen." She has since been re-interred close to her husband, Henry V. In 1685, during preparations for the coronation of James II , a workman accidentally put a scaffolding pole through the coffin of Edward the Confessor. A chorister, Charles Taylour, pulled a cross on a chain out of the coffin and gave it to the king, who then gave it to the Pope. Its whereabouts are unknown. At the end of
1890-451: A second stage began in 1760, and there were other modifications such as work on the great north bedchamber in 1772, and the " Beauclerk Tower" of the third phase of alterations, completed to designs of a professional architect, James Essex , in 1776. The total cost came to about £20,720. Walpole's 'little Gothic castle' has significance as one of the most influential individual buildings of such Rococo "Gothick" architecture which prefigured
1995-464: A service of evening prayer with archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams . On 29 April 2011, the abbey hosted the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton . In 2018, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries were opened. Located in the medieval triforium , high up around the sanctuary, they are areas for displaying the abbey's treasures. A new Gothic access tower with a lift was designed by
2100-531: A short, square, eastern end (as was the English fashion), Westminster Abbey has a long, rounded apse , and it also has chapels radiating from the ambulatory, which is typical of a French Gothic style. However, there are also distinctively English elements, such as the use of materials of contrasting colours, as with the Purbeck marble and white stone in the crossing. The northern entrance has three porches, with
2205-459: A variety of historical records". Walpole was as meticulous in designing and developing his gardens as he was improving his house, though "his ignorance of horticulture at first embarrassed him a little". Improvements on the grounds were started even before work on the house. In an essay titled "On Modern Gardening", Walpole expresses his own ideas as reflected in his Strawberry Hill grounds. Walpole's taste in landscape and gardening moved away from
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#17327654779202310-465: A very different character ..." Finding an old lease that described his land as "Strawberry Hill Shot", Walpole adopted this new name for his soon to be "elegant villa". In stages, Walpole rebuilt the house to his own specifications, giving it a Gothic style and expanding the property to 46 acres (190,000 m ) over the years. As Rosemary Hill notes, "Strawberry Hill was the first house without any existing medieval fabric to be [re]built from scratch in
2415-677: A woman chained herself to her chair during a sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury . On 11 June 1914, a bomb planted by suffragettes of the Women's Social and Political Union exploded inside the abbey. No serious injuries were reported, but the bomb blew off a corner of the Coronation Chair. It also caused the Stone of Scone to break in half, although this was not discovered until 1950 when four Scottish nationalists broke into
2520-403: Is chiefly built in a Geometric Gothic style, using Reigate stone for facings. The church has an eleven-bay nave with aisles , transepts , and a chancel with ambulatory and radiating chapels . The building is supported with two tiers of flying buttresses . The western end of the nave and the west front were designed by Henry Yevele in a Perpendicular Gothic style. The Henry VII Chapel
2625-619: Is chiefly inspired by 13th-century French and English styles, although some sections of the church have earlier Romanesque styles or later Baroque and modern styles. The Henry VII Chapel , at the east end of the church, is a typical example of Perpendicular Gothic architecture; antiquarian John Leland called it orbis miraculum ("the wonder of the world"). The abbey is the burial site of more than 3,300 people , many prominent in British history: monarchs, prime ministers , poets laureate , actors, musicians, scientists, military leaders, and
2730-523: Is closed to the public, except for special events. The abbey includes side chapels radiating from the ambulatory. Many were originally included in the 13th-century rebuilding as altars dedicated to individual saints, and many of the chapels still bear saints' names (such as St Nicholas and St Paul). Saints' cults were no longer orthodox after the English Reformation, and the chapels were repurposed as places for extra burials and monuments. In
2835-532: Is in the Bayeux Tapestry . The foundations still survive under the present church, and above ground, some of the lower parts of the monastic dormitory survive in the undercroft , including a door said to come from the previous Anglo-Saxon abbey. It was a little smaller than the current church, with a central tower. In 1103, thirty-seven years after his death, Edward's tomb was re-opened by Abbot Gilbert Crispin and Henry I , who discovered that his body
2940-524: Is the only major English saint whose body still occupies his shrine. Arranged around him in a horseshoe shape are a series of tombs of medieval kings and their queens: Henry III, Eleanor of Castile , Edward I, Philippa of Hainault , Edward III , Anne of Bohemia , and Richard II. Henry V is in the centre of the horseshoe, at the eastern end. Henry III's tomb was originally covered with pieces of coloured glass and stone, since picked off by generations of tourists. Above Henry V's tomb, at mezzanine level over
3045-584: The English Reformation . In the 1530s, Henry VIII broke away from the authority of the Catholic Church in Rome and seized control of England's monasteries , including Westminster Abbey, beginning the English Reformation . In 1535, when the king's officers assessed the abbey's funds, their annual income was £3,000. Henry's agents removed many relics, saints' images, and treasures from
3150-509: The Public Record Office in 1863. It was restored by George Gilbert Scott in the 19th century. The entrance is approached from the east cloister via outer and inner vestibules , and the ceiling becomes higher as a visitor approaches the chapter house. It is an octagonal room with a central pillar, built with a small crypt below. Around the sides are benches for 80 monks, above which are large stained-glass windows depicting
3255-573: The Romanesque style and was the first church in England built on a cruciform floorplan. The master stonemason for the project was Leofsi Duddason, with Godwin and Wendelburh Gretsyd (meaning "fat purse") as patrons, and Teinfrith as "churchwright", probably meaning someone who worked on the carpentry and roofing. Endowments from Edward supported a community that increased from a dozen monks during Dunstan 's time, to as many as 80. The building
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3360-412: The ambulatory , is a chantry chapel built by mason John Thirske and decorated with many sculpted figures (including Henry V riding a horse and being crowned in the abbey). At the western end, the shrine is separated from the main church by a stone reredos which makes it a semi-private space. The reredos depicts episodes from Edward's life, including his birth and the building of the abbey. The shrine
3465-411: The refectory , and the east to the chapter house and dormitory. In the southwest corner of the cloisters is a cellarium formerly used by the monks to store food and wine; in modern times, it is the abbey café. The north cloister and northern end of the east cloister, closest to the church, are the oldest; they date to c. 1250 , whereas the rest are from 1352 to 1366. The abbey also contains
3570-482: The transepts were designed to be unusually long and the choir was placed east (rather than west) of the crossing; this is also seen in Rheims Cathedral . The 13th-century interior would have been painted in bright colours and gilded, although the piers would have been left unpainted. Although the nave was built over the course of centuries from the east to the west end, generations of builders stuck to
3675-445: The "most gothic" painting exhibited was by Walpole's contemporary, William Hogarth : his 1733 portrait of the triple murderer Sarah Malcolm in prison. The Strawberry Hill Gothic architectural style became briefly popular, though the researcher Peter Lindfield has argued that the term is not satisfactory for "any Georgian Gothic output" as the houses it has been applied to are varied in style and "have almost nothing in common with
3780-460: The 17th century, the architect Christopher Wren was appointed the abbey's first Surveyor of the Fabric . He began a project to restore the exterior of the church, which was continued by his successor, William Dickinson . After over two hundred years, the abbey's two western towers were built in the 1740s in a Gothic– Baroque style by Nicholas Hawksmoor and John James . On 11 November 1760,
3885-531: The 19th century under the architect George Gilbert Scott , who rebuilt sections of the chapter house and north porches, and designed a new altar and reredos for the crossing. His successor, J. L. Pearson , finished the work on the north porches and also reconstructed the northern rose window. The abbey saw "Prayers For Prisoners" suffragette protests in 1913 and 1914. Protesters attended services and interrupted proceedings by chanting "God Save Mrs Pankhurst " and praying for suffragette prisoners. In one protest,
3990-612: The 19th century, two successive owners, brothers John and George Waldegrave , spent most of their family fortune, followed by a "Great Sale" lasting twenty-four days held in the grounds in 1842 which left the house stripped of virtually all its contents. From 1883 to 1887 the property was owned by Baron Hermann de Stern (1815–1887), a German-born British banker. In 1923, it was bought by the Roman Catholic St Mary's University College, renamed St Mary's University, Twickenham in 2014. In 2004, Strawberry Hill featured in
4095-598: The Catholic Mary I , but they were again ejected under Elizabeth I in 1559. In 1560, Elizabeth re-established Westminster as a " royal peculiar " – a church of the Church of England responsible directly to the sovereign, rather than to a diocesan bishop – and made it the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter, a non-cathedral church with an attached chapter of canons, headed by a dean. From that date onwards,
4200-539: The Confessor , who is buried inside. Construction of the present church began in 1245 on the orders of Henry III . The monastery was dissolved in 1559, and the church was made a royal peculiar – a Church of England church, accountable directly to the sovereign – by Elizabeth I . The abbey, the Palace of Westminster and St Margaret's Church became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987 because of their historic and symbolic significance. The church's Gothic architecture
4305-456: The Dean and Chapter announced that, "after a considerable amount of preliminary and exploratory work", efforts toward the construction of a corona would not be continued. The Cosmati pavement underwent a major cleaning and restoration programme for two years, beginning in 2008. On 17 September 2010, Pope Benedict XVI became the first pope to set foot in the abbey when he participated in
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4410-466: The English Gothic style favours large and elaborate towers, while Westminster Abbey did not have any towers until the 18th century. It is also more similar to French churches than English ones in terms of its ratio of height to width: Westminster Abbey has the highest nave of any Gothic church in England, and the nave is much narrower than any medieval English church of a similar height. Instead of
4515-527: The Gothic style and the first to be based on actual historic examples, rather than an extrapolation of the Gothic vocabulary first developed by William Kent . As such it has a claim to be the starting point of the Gothic Revival." Walpole and two friends, including the connoisseur and amateur architect John Chute (1701–1776), and draughtsman and designer Richard Bentley (1708–1782), called themselves
4620-563: The Roses , Elizabeth Woodville , the wife of Edward IV , took sanctuary at Westminster Abbey while her husband was deposed, and gave birth to Edward V in the abbot's house. In 1495, building work finally reached the end of the nave, finishing with the west window. Under Henry VII , the 13th-century Lady chapel was demolished and rebuilt in a Perpendicular Gothic style ; it is known as the Henry VII Chapel . Work began in 1503 and
4725-510: The Round Tower added in 1771, the chimney-piece was based on the tomb of Edward the Confessor "improved by Mr. Adam ". He incorporated many of the exterior details of cathedrals into the interior of the house. Externally there seemed to be two predominant styles 'mixed'; a style based on castles with turrets and battlements, and a style based on Gothic cathedrals with arched windows and stained glass. The building evolved similarly to how
4830-572: The Royal Office of Works contributed professional experience in overseeing construction. They looked at many examples of architecture in England and in other countries, adapting such works as the chapel at Westminster Abbey built by Henry VII for inspiration for the fan vaulting of the gallery, without any pretence at scholarship. Chimney-pieces were improvised from engravings of tombs at Westminster and Canterbury and Gothic stone fretwork blind details were reproduced by painted wallpapers, while in
4935-634: The TV series Restoration . In 2007, it was leased to the Strawberry Hill Trust for restoration and eventual opening to the public. The collection at Horace Walpole's Strawberry Hill was featured at the Victoria & Albert Museum from March to July 2010 to prepare for the opening of the house to the public that October. Curator of the exhibition Michael Snodin saw Walpole as an influential figure in both collection and architecture: "He created
5040-526: The Unknown Warrior . Due to the fame of the figures buried there, artist William Morris described the abbey as a "National Valhalla ". Historians agree that there was a monastery dedicated to Saint Peter on the site prior to the 11th century, though its exact origin is somewhat obscure. One legend claims that it was founded by the Saxon king Sæberht of Essex , and another claims that its founder
5145-601: The abbey architect and Surveyor of the Fabric, Ptolemy Dean . In 2020, a 13th-century sacristy was uncovered in the grounds of the abbey as part of an archaeological excavation. The sacristy was used by the monks of the abbey to store objects used in Mass , such as vestments and chalices . Also on the site were hundreds of buried bodies, mostly of abbey monks. On 10 March 2021, a vaccination centre opened in Poets' Corner to administer doses of COVID-19 vaccines . The building
5250-516: The abbey at the outbreak of war, and were replaced by priests loyal to Parliament. The abbey itself suffered damage during the war; altars, stained glass, the organ, and the Crown Jewels were damaged or destroyed. Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell was given an elaborate funeral there in 1658, only for a body thought to be Cromwell's to be disinterred in January 1661 and posthumously hanged from
5355-494: The abbey is the Weston Tower, finished in 2018 and designed by Ptolemy Dean . It sits between the chapter house and the Henry VII Chapel, and contains a lift shaft and spiral staircase to allow public access to the triforium, which contains the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries. The tower has a star-shaped floorplan and leaded windows with an elaborate crown rooftop. The lift shaft inside is faced with 16 kinds of stone from
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#17327654779205460-552: The abbey owned estates across southeast England, including in Middlesex , Hertfordshire , Essex , Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire . The abbot was also the lord of the manor in Westminster, as a town of two to three thousand people grew around the abbey. As a consumer and employer on a grand scale, the abbey helped fuel the town's economy, and relations with the town remained unusually cordial, but no enfranchising charter
5565-616: The abbey was officially granted exemption from the Bishop of London 's jurisdiction, making it answerable only to the head of the Church itself. By this time, the abbey owned a large swath of land around it, from modern-day Oxford Street to the Thames, plus entire parishes in the City of London , such as St Alban, Wood Street and St Magnus the Martyr , as well as several wharfs. Outside London,
5670-470: The abbey's history, including Purbeck marble, Reigate stone, and Portland stone . The project took five years and cost £22.9 million. The galleries were designed by McInnes Usher McKnight. The church's interior has Purbeck marble piers and shafting. The roof vaulting is quadripartite, with ridge ribs and bosses and, at 102 feet (31 m), it is one of Britain's highest church vaults. To accommodate as many guests as possible during coronations,
5775-467: The abbey's own fire-watchers were able to stop the fire spreading to the whole of the church, the deanery and three residences of abbey clergy and staff were badly damaged, and the lantern tower above the crossing collapsed, leaving the abbey open to the sky. The cost of the damage was estimated at £135,000. Some damage can still be seen in the RAF Chapel , where a small hole in the wall was created by
5880-439: The abbey. The golden feretory that housed the coffin of Edward the Confessor was melted down, and monks hid his bones to save them from destruction. The monastery was dissolved and the building became the cathedral for the newly created Diocese of Westminster . The abbot, William Benson, became dean of the cathedral, while the prior and five of the monks were among the twelve newly created canons . The Westminster diocese
5985-463: The abbot at Westminster Abbey. In 1303, the small crypt underneath the chapter house was broken into and a great deal of the king's treasure was stolen. It was thought that the thieves must have been helped by the abbey monks, fifty of whom were subsequently imprisoned in the Tower of London . From 1376, Abbot Nicholas Litlyngton and Richard II donated large sums to finish the church. The remainder of
6090-462: The author of The Castle of Otranto ", though Michael Snodin has observed: "it is an interesting comment on 18th-century sensibility that the melancholy interiors of The Castle of Otranto were suggested by the light, elegant, even whimsical rooms at Strawberry Hill". The interiors of Walpole's "little play-thing house" were intended to be "settings of Gothic 'gloomth' for Walpole's collection". His collection of curious, singular, antiquarian objects
6195-519: The building was simply a church, though it was still called an abbey. Elizabeth also re-founded Westminster School , providing for 40 students (the King's (or Queen's) Scholars ) and their schoolmasters. The King's Scholars have the duty of shouting Vivat Rex or Vivat Regina ("Long live the King/Queen") during the coronation of a new monarch. In the modern day, the dean of Westminster Abbey remains
6300-498: The central one featuring an elaborately-carved tympanum , leading it to acquire the nickname " Solomon 's porch" as a reference to the legendary temple in Jerusalem . The abbey retains its 13th- and 14th-century cloisters , which would have been one of the busiest parts of the church when it was part of a monastery. The west cloister was used for the teaching of novice monks, the north for private study. The south cloister led to
6405-686: The chair of the school governors. In the early 17th century, the abbey hosted two of the six companies of churchmen who produced the King James Version of the Bible. They used the Jerusalem Chamber in the abbey for their meetings. The First Company was headed by the dean of the abbey, Lancelot Andrewes . In 1642, the English Civil War broke out between Charles I and his own parliament . The Dean and Chapter fled
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#17327654779206510-401: The church had existed prior to 1600). In June 2009, the first major building work in 250 years was proposed. A corona – a crown-like architectural feature – was suggested to be built around the lantern over the central crossing, replacing an existing pyramidal structure dating from the 1950s. This was part of a wider £23-million development of the abbey completed in 2013. On 4 August 2010,
6615-572: The church to steal the stone and return it to Scotland. In preparation for bombing raids during World War II , the Coronation Chair and many of the abbey's records were moved out of the city, and the Stone of Scone was buried. In 1941, on the night of 10 May and the early morning of 11 May, the Westminster Abbey precincts and roof were hit by incendiary bombs. Although the Auxiliary Fire Service and
6720-549: The coats of arms of several monarchs and the abbey's patrons and abbots. The exterior includes flying buttresses (added in the 14th century) and a leaded roof designed by Scott. The interior walls of the chapter house are decorated with 14th- and 15th-century paintings of the Apocalypse , the Last Judgement , and birds and animals. The chapter house also has an original, mid-13th-century tiled floor. A wooden door in
6825-412: The collection present, the house "retains a fairy-tale quality". Horace Walpole's Strawberry Hill Collection of several thousand items can still be viewed today. The Lewis Walpole Library of Yale University now has a database which "encompasses the entire range of art and artifacts from Walpole's collections, including all items whose location is currently known and those as yet untraced but known through
6930-541: The conclusion that all he has done is for the benefit of others rather than for himself". A list of important dates in Horace Walpole's life surrounding Strawberry Hill: After Walpole's death, the house passed first to his cousin Anne Seymour Damer , then in 1797 to John Waldegrave , a grandson of Maria Walpole , the out-of-wedlock daughter of Walpole's older brother Edward. In the first half of
7035-533: The designs of Richard Bentley for the poems of Gray. Among the reprints were the Life of Lord Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury , Antoine Hamilton 's Mémoires of Philibert de Gramont , Hentzner's Journey into England , and Lord Whitworth 's Account of Russia . This publishing -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Strawberry Hill House Strawberry Hill House —often called simply Strawberry Hill —is
7140-456: The earliest of an English king, on display near the west door. Building work was not fully complete for many years. Henry V , disappointed with the abbey's unfinished state, gave extra funds towards the rebuilding. In his will, he left instructions for a chantry chapel to be built over his tomb; the chapel can be seen from ground level. Between 1470 and 1471, because of fallout from the Wars of
7245-465: The eastern aisle of the north transept are named after (from south to north) St John the Evangelist, St Michael, and St Andrew. The chapels of St Nicholas, St Edmund, and St Benedict are in the south ambulatory. The footprint of the south transept is smaller than the northern one because the 13th-century builders butted against the pre-existing 11th-century cloisters . To make the transepts match,
7350-403: The eastern end of the nave is a large screen separating the nave from the choir, made of 13th-century stone, reworked by Edward Blore in 1834, and with paintwork and gilding by Bower in the 1960s. Behind the main altar is the shrine and tomb of Edward the Confessor . Saints' shrines were once common in English medieval churches, but most were destroyed during the English Reformation and Edward
7455-448: The entire eastern end, the transepts , and the easternmost bay of the nave . The Lady chapel , built from around 1220 at the extreme eastern end, was incorporated into the chevet of the new building. Part of the new building included a rich shrine and chapel to Edward the Confessor, of which the base only still stands. The golden shrine with its jewelled figures no longer exists. 4,000 marks (about £5,800) for this work came from
7560-678: The estate of David of Oxford, the husband of Licoricia of Winchester , and a further £2,500 came from a forced contribution from Licoricia herself, by far the biggest single donation at that time. Around 1253, Henry of Reynes was replaced by John of Gloucester, who was replaced by Robert of Beverley around 1260. During the summer, there were up to 400 workers on the site at a time, including stonecutters, marblers, stone-layers, carpenters, painters and their assistants, marble polishers, smiths, glaziers, plumbers, and general labourers. From 1257, Henry III held assemblies of local representatives in Westminster Abbey's chapter house ; these assemblies were
7665-507: The form, appearance, and decoration of Strawberry Hill". Houses built or refronted supposedly in the style include: 51°26′18″N 0°20′05″W / 51.4382°N 0.3348°W / 51.4382; -0.3348 Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey , formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster , is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster , London, England. Since 1066, it has been
7770-449: The funeral of George II was held at the abbey, and the king was interred next to his late wife, Caroline of Ansbach . He left instructions for the sides of his and his wife's coffins to be removed so that their remains could mingle. He was the last monarch to be buried in the abbey. Around the same time, the tomb of Richard II developed a hole through which visitors could put their hands. Several of his bones went missing, including
7875-418: The gaiety of nature". Walpole saw the modern English garden as a point of perfection: "we have given the true model of gardening to the world; let other countries mimic or corrupt our taste; but let it reign here on its verdant throne, original by its elegant simplicity, and proud of no other art than that of softening nature's harshness and copying her graceful touch". He was a follower of William Kent, one of
7980-520: The hermitage". From "On Modern Gardening": "the fairest scenes, that depend on themselves alone, weary when often seen. The Doric portico, the Palladian bridge, the Gothic ruin, the Chinese pagoda, that surprise the stranger, soon lose their charms to their surfeited master. But the ornament whose merit soonest fades, is the hermitage, or scene adapted to contemplation. It is almost comic to set aside
8085-402: The later developments of the nineteenth century Gothic revival , and for increasing the use of Gothic designs for houses. This style has variously been described as Georgian Gothic, Strawberry Hill Gothic, or Georgian Rococo. Walpole's eccentric and unique style on the inside rooms of Strawberry Hill complemented the Gothic exterior. The house is described by Walpole as "the scene that inspired,
8190-415: The later side; the shields on the aisle walls are carved on the earlier side, and painted on the later side. Above the crossing, in the centre of the church, is a roof lantern which was destroyed by a bomb in 1941 and restored by architect Stephen Dykes Bower in 1958. In the choir aisles, shields of donors to the 13th- and 14th-century rebuilding are carved and painted in the spandrels of the arcade . At
8295-416: The location of the coronations of 40 English and British monarchs and a burial site for 18 English, Scottish, and British monarchs. At least 16 royal weddings have taken place at the abbey since 1100. Although the origins of the church are obscure, an abbey housing Benedictine monks was on the site by the mid-10th century. The church got its first large building from the 1040s, commissioned by King Edward
8400-407: The main structure was completed by 1509, although decorative work continued for several years afterwards. Henry's original reason for building such a grand chapel was to have a place suitable for the burial of another saint alongside the Confessor, as he planned on having Henry VI canonised. The Pope asked Henry VII for a large sum of money to proclaim Henry VI a saint; Henry VII was unwilling to pay
8505-414: The marvel of the neighbourhood – a little later became the town talk – in a short time a theme of frequent comment even in distant parts of the country". "The highest personages of the realm" including the royal family came to visit Strawberry Hill, as well as more common sightseers. These visitors became an incessant addition to Strawberry Hill, and as delighted as Walpole was to share his vision, they became
8610-469: The more cheerful or "riant" garden. The interior included a Robert Adam fireplace; parts of the exterior were designed by James Essex . The garden contained a large seat shaped like a Rococo sea shell, which was recreated during the 2012 restoration of the garden, one of the many examples of historic garden conservation in the UK. In May 1747, Horace Walpole took a lease on a small 17th-century house that
8715-774: The north ambulatory are the Islip Chapel, the Nurses' Memorial Chapel (sometimes called the Nightingale Chapel), the Chapel of Our Lady of the Pew, the Chapel of St John the Baptist, and St Paul's Chapel. The Islip Chapel is named after Abbot John Islip , who commissioned it in the 16th century. The screen inside is decorated with a visual pun on his name: an eye and a boy falling from a tree (eye-slip). Additional chapels in
8820-491: The old nave was pulled down and rebuilding commenced, with his mason Henry Yevele closely following the original design even though it was now more than 100 years out of date. During the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, Richard prayed at Edward the Confessor's shrine for "divine aid when human counsel was altogether wanting" before meeting the rebels at Smithfield . In the modern day, the abbey holds Richard's full-length portrait,
8925-495: The original bench survive, "the garden is as far as possible being restored to its original appearance. Walpole's extraordinary Shell Bench has been recreated" according to the Strawberry Hill website. Even in Walpole's lifetime, Strawberry Hill drew many visitors to admire the architecture, grounds, and Walpole's carefully cultivated collection. According to Elliot Warburton , "Strawberry Hill in its new form soon became
9030-428: The original design and it has a unified style. Markers of the long gap in building between 1269 and 1376 are relatively minor, but can be seen at the fifth bay from the crossing. The spandrels above the arches are towards the earlier east end are decorated with diaper-work , and are plain towards the (later) west end. The lancet windows on the earlier side have a foiled circle, and have an unencircled quatrefoil on
9135-457: The originators of the English landscape garden. The gardens are Grade II* listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens . One particular attraction of Walpole's gardens was a Rococo garden seat carved to resemble a large sea shell. "This shell was one of Mr. Walpole's favourite inventions – for Strawberry Hill was crammed with inventions and contrivances. It was a seat in the form of
9240-570: The portraits, such as Peter Lely 's "sensual" A Boy as a Shepherd , as well as those of Walpole's male friends, imply that he was homosexual. Other objects suggest a gothic sensibility, such as the clock which Henry VIII gave to his second wife Anne Boleyn , who was later beheaded; the critic Jonathan Jones of The Guardian calls this "truly spooky", like the 500-year-old red cardinal's hat that Walpole believed, most probably correctly, had belonged to Cardinal Wolsey . But in Jones's opinion,
9345-504: The public on 1 March 2015. Between October 2018 and February 2019, the house was repopulated with some 150 artworks from Horace Walpole's collection. Having been dispersed in the great sale of 1842, they were located in museums and private collections around the world, and brought back to their exact locations in Strawberry Hill House, as mapped in Walpole's detailed plans of each room. The curators suggest that some of
9450-555: The remains of Edward the Confessor were moved to their present location at the shrine behind the main altar. After Henry's death and burial in the abbey in 1272, construction did not resume and Edward the Confessor's old Romanesque nave remained attached to the new building for over a century. In 1296, Edward I captured the Scottish coronation stone, the Stone of Scone . He had a Coronation Chair made to hold it, which he entrusted to
9555-517: The sign, the Gothic Castle ... my whole time is passed in giving tickets for seeing it, and hiding myself when it is seen – take my advice, never build a charming house for yourself between London and Hampton-court, everybody will live in it but you." Warburton notes that while Walpole may have been annoyed from time to time, he also came to see his estate contributing to the public's enjoyment when he had doubts about his endeavour. "He arrives at
9660-427: The south transept overhangs the western cloister; this permitted a room above the cloisters which was used to store the abbey muniments . In the south transept is the chapel of St Faith , built c. 1250 as the vestry for the abbey's monks. On the east wall is a c. 1290 – c. 1310 painting of St Faith holding the grid-iron on which she was roasted to death. The octagonal chapter house
9765-431: The sum, and so instead he is buried in the centre of the chapel with his wife, Elizabeth of York , rather than a large raised shrine like the Confessor. A view of the abbey dated 1532 shows a lantern tower above the crossing , but this is not shown in any later depiction. It is unlikely that the loss of this feature was caused by any catastrophic event: structural failure seems more likely. Other sources maintain that
9870-475: The traditional, formal layout of "parterre, terraces, marble urns, statued fountains and ‘canals measured by the line ' ". The French or Italian taste seemed, to Walpole, alien to the English climate "resulting in symmetrical and unnatural gardens". Trees and shrubs were planted in "natural groupings" on the lawn. Walpole preferred to see all nature as a garden. He did not however appreciate the extravagant "romantic grotto and that favourite eighteenth-century conceit,
9975-514: The vestibule, made with a tree felled between 1032 and 1064, is one of Britain's oldest. It may have been the door to the 11th-century chapter house in Edward the Confessor's abbey, and was re-used as the door to the Pyx Chamber in the 13th century. It now leads to an office. The adjoining Pyx Chamber was the undercroft of the monks' dormitory. Dating to the late 11th century, it was used as
10080-477: Was "little more than a cottage", with 5 acres (20,000 m ) of land from a Mrs. Chenevix. Walpole was under familial and political pressure to establish a country seat, especially a family castle, which was a fashionable practice during the period. The following year he purchased the house, which the original owner, a coachman, had named "Chopped Straw Hall". This was intolerable to Walpole, "his residence ought, he thought, to possess some distinctive appellation; of
10185-561: Was built in a late Perpendicular style in Huddlestone stone, probably by Robert and William Vertue . The west towers were designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and blend the Gothic style of the abbey with the Baroque style fashionable during his lifetime. The modern Westminster Abbey is largely based on French Gothic styles, especially those found at Reims Cathedral , rather than the contemporaneous English Gothic styles. For example,
10290-402: Was built. Because of its outstanding universal value, the abbey was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, together with the nearby Palace of Westminster and St Margaret's Church . In 1997, the abbey, which was then receiving approximately 1.75 million visitors each year, began charging admission fees to visitors at the door (although a fee for entering the eastern half of
10395-501: Was completed around 1060 and was consecrated on 28 December 1065, about a week before Edward's death on 5 January 1066. A week later, he was buried in the church; nine years later, his wife Edith was buried alongside him. His successor, Harold Godwinson , was probably crowned here, although the first documented coronation is that of William the Conqueror later that year. The only extant depiction of Edward's abbey
10500-455: Was dissolved in 1550, but the abbey was recognised (in 1552, retroactively to 1550) as a second cathedral of the Diocese of London until 1556. Money meant for the abbey, which is dedicated to St Peter, was diverted to the treasury of St Paul's Cathedral ; this led to an association with the already-old saying " robbing Peter to pay Paul ". The abbey saw the return of Benedictine monks under
10605-646: Was issued during the Middle Ages . Westminster Abbey continued to be used as a coronation site, but after Edward the Confessor, no monarchs were buried there until Henry III began to rebuild it in the Gothic style . Henry III wanted it built as a shrine to venerate Edward, to match great French churches such as Rheims Cathedral and Sainte-Chapelle , and as a burial place for himself and his family. Construction began on 6 July 1245 under Henry's master mason, Henry of Reynes. The first building stage included
10710-435: Was still in perfect condition. This was considered proof of his saintliness, and he was canonised in 1161. Two years later he was moved to a new shrine, during which time his ring was removed and placed in the abbey's collection. The abbey became more closely associated with royalty from the second half of the 12th century, as kings increasingly used the nearby Palace of Westminster as the seat of their governments. In 1222,
10815-562: Was the fictional 2nd-century British king Lucius . One tradition claims that a young fisherman on the River Thames had a vision of Saint Peter near the site. This seems to have been quoted as the origin of the salmon that Thames fishermen offered to the abbey, a custom still observed annually by the Fishmongers' Company . The origins of the abbey are generally thought to date to about 959, when Dunstan and King Edgar installed
10920-512: Was used by the abbey monks for daily meetings, where they would hear a chapter of the Rule of St Benedict and receive their instructions for the day from the abbot. The chapter house was built between 1250 and 1259 and is one of the largest in Britain, measuring nearly 60 feet (18 m) across. For 300 years after the English Reformation, it was used to store state records until they were moved to
11025-526: Was well publicized; Walpole himself published two editions of A Description of the Villa of Mr. Horace Walpole at Strawberry Hill to make the "world aware of the extent of his collection". Speaking on Walpole's collection, Clive Wainwright states that Walpole's collection "constituted an essential part of the interiors of his house". The character of the rooms at Strawberry Hill was "created and dictated" by Walpole's taste for antiquarianism. Though even without
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