Educa on Department. Stand in the centre of the Nave and look back at the Great West Window above the main door.

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1 Educa on Department Trail Notes Self guided groups will enter the Abbey from the Cloisters. On entry a Marshal in a red gown will open the rope for the group to enter into the Nave. The trail begins in the Nave. Before you go into the Abbey, look at the windows from the outside. From here they look dark and dull. Enter the Abbey and stand by the Great West Door. Westminster Abbey has been here for over a 1000 years, but many of the windows are much newer than that. What events in London over the years do you think caused the glass to get broken? 1. Dissolution of the monastery 2. Oliver Cromwell s Puritans 3. World War II bombings The West Window was designed by Sir James Thornhill who also painted the Dome of St. Paul s Cathedral. Stand in the centre of the Nave and look back at the Great West Window above the main door. When was this window put into the Abbey? (There is a date on it at the top) How many people can you see in the window? 17 The people are important men from the Old Testament in the Bible. Stained glass windows often show pictures of people or events from the Bible. Why do you think this might be? (Clue: People could not always read the Bible.) Stained glass windows were used as aids to teach the Bible stories to people who couldn t read. Before the 1550s people were not encouraged to read the Bible in case they misunderstood it. Of course, less educated people couldn t read it anyway so the windows helped them to remember the teachings. Make your way to the North side of the Nave (on the right of the door as you look at it.) 1

2 The windows on this side the Abbey show important people from the history of England and Westminster Abbey. Find the window Edward the Confessor shown here (near the 3rd pillar). What can you tell about Edward from this window? He was a king (he died in 1066). He may have been an albino. What two things is he holding? The Charter for founding Westminster Abbey, a ring and a sceptre. The ring recall a legend. One day, he met an old man who asked him for money. He had none, but gave him a ring. The man disappeared. He reappeared to two pilgrims in Syria. They were lost and the old man showed them to safety. He gave them the ring and told them to return it to King Edward with the message that he would die in 6 months. List the different colours you can see in the window. Blue, Red, Yellow, Green, White. Keep looking at the windows until you find the second of two knights in shining armour, King Henry V (near the 7th pillar). What animal can you see in the bottom left hand corner of this window? Cat. The window remembers which famous Lord Mayor of London who had one of these animals? (Clue: Think of pantomimes!) This window remembers him. Dick Whittington. He was employed by Henry V to oversee the finances in the building of the Abbey. Turn and look at the decorated screen in the middle of the Nave. This screen separates the Nave from the Quire. What colours can you see? The gold you can see is real gold! On the left hand side of the screen is a monument to the scientist Sir Isaac Newton. Newton found out that sunlight is made up of all the colours of the rainbow. Make up a sentence to help you remember the order of the colours. For example: White Light Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Richard Of York Gave Battle Prism Indigo Violet In Vain 2

3 Walk down the middle of the Nave, around the Altar and under the screen (remember to look up!) through into the Quire. Walk forward to stand in front of the High Altar. The area in front of the High Altar is called the Cosmati Pavement. It is made up of thousands of pieces of coloured stone and glass. Draw some of the patterns you can see. This part of the Abbey is called the Quire and it is where the Choir sings during services. The Cosmati pavement is over 700 years old made up of semi-precious stones and coloured glass. Kings and Queens are crowned on it. From here you can look left and right and see the beautiful stained glass rose windows in the North and South Transepts. In the middle of the South Rose Window is a picture of Jesus. Why do you think this might be a good place to have his picture? Things that are significant are placed in the middle so the window emphasises Jesus importance What is in the middle of the North Rose window? The Bible. How many petals does the North Rose window have? 8 inner and 16 outer. North Rose Window 3

4 Leave the Altar and turn right into the Ambulatory. Look out for the wooden steps that lead up to the Shrine of St. Edward. Find the tomb just past the steps with some of its decoration missing. This is the tomb of King Henry III who built much of the Abbey. Look up high and you will see gold decoration. What do you think might have happened to the gold further down? It was stolen by pilgrims and visitors. They couldn t reach the sections that are left so they have survived. Continue round to find the brightly coloured tomb of Sir Lewis de Robessart on your left. When the Abbey was built, it was all brightly painted like this tomb. Over the years, Christian ideas have changed and churches tend not to be so colourful. Why do you think some Christians might think that churches should not be painted in bright colours? Consider ideas such as how distracting it would be; how expensive it was (some paints were made up of semiprecious stones), not to mention the gold. The decoration on the High Altar is very colourful and uses lots of real gold! Go up the stairs and into the Lady Chapel. This was built by Henry VII. Look up at the ceiling. Can you think of some words to describe it? 4

5 The colourful flags and coats of arms belong to knights who are members of the Order of the Bath. Find a flag you like and draw it here. Make a note of the colours used so you can colour it in later. The banner, crest and mantling of each Knight hang above his stall until his death when they are returned to his family, but a copper stall plate enamelled with his coat of arms remains as a permanent record. Go to the far end of the chapel and find the stained glass window which remembers people who fought in the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. This window shows the badges of squadrons in the Royal Air Force. Write down four animals you can see. 1. e.g. Eagle, snake, lion, wasp, owl, butterfly, boar, dragon, moose, horse, duck, ram Write down the words you can see in the windows at the bottom. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. These words are from the play Henry V by William Shakespeare. 5

6 On either side of the chapel are the tombs of very important women: Mary I and Elizabeth I, and Mary, Queen of Scots. Visit them if you have time. Many other kings and queens are buried in this area. Go down the steps and continue around the Ambulatory. You may wish to visit the chapels on either side dedicated to St. Nicholas and St. Edmund. Notice the tombs of Edward III and Richard II on the right as you go past the shrine. Continue into the South Transept, Poets Corner. Many of the people buried and remembered here are famous poets and writers. There are toilets here if you need them. Find two faint paintings on the back wall. These were painted over 700 years ago! What colours do you think these paintings were when they were first done? Reds, greens, blues, gold etc. Bright colours. Why do you think it is hard to tell the colours now? Pigments have faded in the light; vegetable dyes would be quite delicate and probably not as bright as we are used to today anyway. Also damage caused by visitors. This section was hidden behind monuments for several hundred years. This one shows St. Christopher who carries Christ upon his shoulders. People often wear a necklace of St. Christopher and he is known as the patron saint of travellers. Leave the Abbey and enter the Cloisters. On the right, at the top of the open windows you can see windows made up of bits of old stained glass. Many of the these pieces are from very old windows that were broken during World War II. If you look carefully you How may faces can you find? There are two windows like this. If you have time, visit the Chapter House where you can see more wall paintings, and the Museum which has the Retable, a beautiful altar decoration. We hope you enjoyed your visit! To leave, follow the signs for the exit via the Great West Doors. 6