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Constructed in 1297−1300 for King Edward I, the Coronation Chair
ranks amongst the most remarkable and precious treasures to have
survived from the Middle Ages. It incorporated in its seat a block
of sandstone, which the king seized at Scone, following his victory
over the Scots in 1296. For centuries, Scottish kings had been
inaugurated on this symbolic ‘Stone of Scone’, to which a
copious mythology had also become attached. Edward I presented the
Chair, as a holy relic, to the Shrine of St Edward the Confessor in
Westminster Abbey, and most English monarchs since the fourteenth
century have been crowned in it, the last being HM Queen Elizabeth
II, in 1953. The Chair and the Stone have had eventful histories:
in addition to physical alterations, they suffered abuse in the
eighteenth century, suffragettes attached a bomb to them in 1914,
they were hidden underground during the Second World War, and both
were damaged by the gang that sacrilegiously broke into Westminster
Abbey and stole the Stone in 1950. It was recovered and restored to
the Chair, but since 1996 the Stone has been exhibited on loan in
Edinburgh Castle. Now somewhat battered through age, the Chair was
once highly ornate, being embellished with gilding, painting and
colored glass. Yet, despite its profound historical significance,
until now it has never been the subject of detailed archaeological
recording. Moreover, the remaining fragile decoration was in need
of urgent conservation, which was carried out in 2010−12,
accompanied by the first holistic study of the Chair and Stone. In
2013 the Chair was redisplayed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of
the Coronation of HM The Queen. The latest investigations have
revealed and documented the complex history of the Chair: it has
been modified on several occasions, and the Stone has been reshaped
and much altered since it left Scone. This volume assembles, for
the first time, the complementary evidence derived from history,
archaeology and conservation, and presents a factual account of the
Coronation Chair and the Stone of Scone, not as separate artifacts,
but as the entity that they have been for seven centuries. Their
combined significance to the British Monarchy and State – and to
the history and archaeology of the English and Scottish nations –
is greater than the sum of their parts. Also published here for the
first time is the second Coronation Chair, made for Queen Mary II
in 1689. Finally, accounts are given of the various full-size
replica chairs in Britain and Canada, along with a selection of the
many models in metal and ceramic which have been made during the
last two centuries.
Westminster came into existence in the later Anglo-Saxon period,
and by the mid-11th century, when Edward the Confessor's great new
abbey was built, it was a major royal centre two miles south-west
of the City of London. Within a century or so, it had become the
principal seat of government in England, and this series of
twenty-eight papers covers new research on the topography,
buildings, art-history, architecture and archaeology of
Westminster's two great establishments - Abbey and Palace. Part I
begins with studies of the topography of the area, an account of
its Roman-period finds and an historiographical overview of the
archaeology of the Abbey. Edward the Confessor's enigmatic church
plan is discussed and the evidence for later Romanesque structures
is assembled for the first time. Five papers examine aspects of
Henry III's vast new Abbey church and its decoration. A further
four cover aspects of the later medieval period, coronation, and
Sir George Gilbert Scott's impact as the Abbey's greatest Surveyor
of the Fabric. A pair of papers examines the development of the
northern precinct of the Abbey, around St Margaret's Church, and
the remarkable buildings of Westminster School, created within the
remains of the monastery in the 17th and 18th centuries. Part II
part deals with the Palace of Westminster and its wider topography
between the late 11th century and the devastating fire of 1834 that
largely destroyed the medieval palace. William Rufus's enormous
hall and its famous roofs are completely reassessed, and
comparisons discussed between this structure and the great hall at
Caen. Other essays reconsider Henry III's palace, St Stephen's
chapel, the king's great chamber (the 'Painted Chamber') and the
enigmatic Jewel Tower. The final papers examine the meeting places
of Parliament and the living accommodation of the MPs who attended
it, the topography of the Palace between the Reformation and the
fire of 1834, and the building of the New Palace which is better
known today as the Houses of Parliament.
Canterbury Cathedral possesses a unique marble mosaic pavement,
dating from the early 12th century, which has long intrigued
scholars and been the subject of speculation and debate. It forms
part of the floor of the Trinity chapel, adjacent to the site where
the shrine of St Thomas Becket stood, prior to the Reformation.
Since the mosaic is older than the chapel itself and partly
destroyed a pavement of figurative roundels, laid c.1215, it must
have been moved here from elsewhere in the cathedral. This volume
explores the history and archaeology of the Trinity chapel, the
pavement and the physical remains of the cult of Becket, based
largely on hitherto unrecorded and unpublished evidence. In the
early 12th century, Archbishop Anselm rebuilt the eastern arm of
the cathedral, introducing architectural elements from his native
Italy, and these included a magnificent mosaic pavement, composed
of the most expensive marbles, which lay in front of the high
altar. In 1170, Archbishop Becket was murdered in the cathedral,
and his body rested overnight on the pavement before being buried
in the crypt. Thomas was immediately revered as a martyr, and in
1173 was canonised by the pope; a simple shrine was erected over
his tomb. In the following year, a fire (arson) destroyed the
eastern arm of the cathedral, precipitating the construction of the
present Trinity and Corona chapels, wherein St Thomas’s remains
were enshrined. After decades of delay and political strife, the
enshrinement took place in 1220, in the presence of Henry III. The
shrine comprised a great marble table, supported on six clusters of
columns. On top of the table was a marble sarcophagus containing
the saint’s body in an iron-bound timber coffin, over which stood
the sumptuous feretory, a gabled timber ‘roof’, plated with
sheets of gold and adorned with jewels. East of the shrine lies the
small Corona chapel in which a fragment of Becket’s skull was
separately encased in a ‘head-shrine’, and to the west a large
area was paved with forty-eight figurative stone roundels, created
by French artisans. All around, stained-glass windows display the
early miracles of Becket. The layout of the Trinity chapel
underwent transmutations, first around 1230, when the mosaic
pavement was taken up from the old presbytery, reduced in size and
relaid in front of Becket’s shrine, where is it today. Second,
the chapel was reordered in c. 1290, when the podium carrying the
shrine was enlarged and the paving around it reconfigured. Medieval
tombs were now being installed in the chapels, including those of
the Black Prince and Henry IV. The end came in 1538, when Henry
VIII ordered the thorough destruction of Becket’s shrines, but a
great deal of archaeological evidence remained in the floors, walls
and a few surviving fragments of the shrines, all now recorded and
discussed in this beautifully illustrated volume for the first
time.
The British Archaeological Association's 2013 conference was
devoted to the study of Westminster Abbey and the Palace of
Westminster. It also embraced Westminster School, which was founded
at the Reformation in the Abbey precinct. Collectively, these
institutions occupy a remarkable assemblage of medieval and later
buildings, most of which are well documented. Although the
Association had held a conference at Westminster in 1902, this was
the first time that the internationally important complex of
historic buildings was examined holistically, and the papers
published here cover a wide range of subject matter. Westminster
came into existence in the later Anglo-Saxon period, and by the
mid-11th century, when Edward the Confessor's great new abbey was
built, it was a major royal centre two miles south-west of the City
of London. Within a century or so, it had become the principal seat
of government in England, and this series of twenty-eight papers
covers new research on the topography, buildings, art-history,
architecture and archaeology of Westminster's two great
establishments - Abbey and Palace. Part I begins with studies of
the topography of the area, an account of its Roman-period finds
and an historiographical overview of the archaeology of the Abbey.
Edward the Confessor's enigmatic church plan is discussed and the
evidence for later Romanesque structures is assembled for the first
time. Five papers examine aspects of Henry III's vast new Abbey
church and its decoration. A further four cover aspects of the
later medieval period, coronation, and Sir George Gilbert Scott's
impact as the Abbey's greatest Surveyor of the Fabric. A pair of
papers examines the development of the northern precinct of the
Abbey, around St Margaret's Church, and the remarkable buildings of
Westminster School, created within the remains of the monastery in
the 17th and 18th centuries. Part II part deals with the Palace of
Westminster and its wider topography between the late 11th century
and the devastating fire of 1834 that largely destroyed the
medieval palace. William Rufus's enormous hall and its famous roofs
are completely reassessed, and comparisons discussed between this
structure and the great hall at Caen. Other essays reconsider Henry
III's palace, St Stephen's chapel, the king's great chamber (the
'Painted Chamber') and the enigmatic Jewel Tower. The final papers
examine the meeting places of Parliament and the living
accommodation of the MPs who attended it, the topography of the
Palace between the Reformation and the fire of 1834, and the
building of the New Palace which is better known today as the
Houses of Parliament.
The British Archaeological Association's 2013 conference was
devoted to the study of Westminster Abbey and the Palace of
Westminster. It also embraced Westminster School, which was founded
at the Reformation in the Abbey precinct. Collectively, these
institutions occupy a remarkable assemblage of medieval and later
buildings, most of which are well documented. Although the
Association had held a conference at Westminster in 1902, this was
the first time that the internationally important complex of
historic buildings was examined holistically, and the papers
published here cover a wide range of subject matter. Westminster
came into existence in the later Anglo-Saxon period, and by the
mid-11th century, when Edward the Confessor's great new abbey was
built, it was a major royal centre two miles south-west of the City
of London. Within a century or so, it had become the principal seat
of government in England, and this series of twenty-eight papers
covers new research on the topography, buildings, art-history,
architecture and archaeology of Westminster's two great
establishments - Abbey and Palace. Part I begins with studies of
the topography of the area, an account of its Roman-period finds
and an historiographical overview of the archaeology of the Abbey.
Edward the Confessor's enigmatic church plan is discussed and the
evidence for later Romanesque structures is assembled for the first
time. Five papers examine aspects of Henry III's vast new Abbey
church and its decoration. A further four cover aspects of the
later medieval period, coronation, and Sir George Gilbert Scott's
impact as the Abbey's greatest Surveyor of the Fabric. A pair of
papers examines the development of the northern precinct of the
Abbey, around St Margaret's Church, and the remarkable buildings of
Westminster School, created within the remains of the monastery in
the 17th and 18th centuries. Part II part deals with the Palace of
Westminster and its wider topography between the late 11th century
and the devastating fire of 1834 that largely destroyed the
medieval palace. William Rufus's enormous hall and its famous roofs
are completely reassessed, and comparisons discussed between this
structure and the great hall at Caen. Other essays reconsider Henry
III's palace, St Stephen's chapel, the king's great chamber (the
'Painted Chamber') and the enigmatic Jewel Tower. The final papers
examine the meeting places of Parliament and the living
accommodation of the MPs who attended it, the topography of the
Palace between the Reformation and the fire of 1834, and the
building of the New Palace which is better known today as the
Houses of Parliament.
The British Archaeological Association's 2013 conference was
devoted to the study of Westminster Abbey and the Palace of
Westminster. It also embraced Westminster School, which was founded
at the Reformation in the Abbey precinct. Collectively, these
institutions occupy a remarkable assemblage of medieval and later
buildings, most of which are well documented. Although the
Association had held a conference at Westminster in 1902, this was
the first time that the internationally important complex of
historic buildings was examined holistically, and the papers
published here cover a wide range of subject matter.
Westminster came into existence in the later Anglo-Saxon period,
and by the mid-11th century, when Edward the Confessor's great new
abbey was built, it was a major royal centre two miles south-west
of the City of London. Within a century or so, it had become the
principal seat of government in England, and this series of
twenty-eight papers covers new research on the topography,
buildings, art-history, architecture and archaeology of
Westminster's two great establishments - Abbey and Palace. Part I
begins with studies of the topography of the area, an account of
its Roman-period finds and an historiographical overview of the
archaeology of the Abbey. Edward the Confessor's enigmatic church
plan is discussed and the evidence for later Romanesque structures
is assembled for the first time. Five papers examine aspects of
Henry III's vast new Abbey church and its decoration. A further
four cover aspects of the later medieval period, coronation, and
Sir George Gilbert Scott's impact as the Abbey's greatest Surveyor
of the Fabric. A pair of papers examines the development of the
northern precinct of the Abbey, around St Margaret's Church, and
the remarkable buildings of Westminster School, created within the
remains of the monastery in the 17th and 18th centuries. Part II
part deals with the Palace of Westminster and its wider topography
between the late 11th century and the devastating fire of 1834 that
largely destroyed the medieval palace. William Rufus's enormous
hall and its famous roofs are completely reassessed, and
comparisons discussed between this structure and the great hall at
Caen. Other essays reconsider Henry III's palace, St Stephen's
chapel, the king's great chamber (the 'Painted Chamber') and the
enigmatic Jewel Tower. The final papers examine the meeting places
of Parliament and the living accommodation of the MPs who attended
it, the topography of the Palace between the Reformation and the
fire of 1834, and the building of the New Palace which is better
known today as the Houses of Parliament.
Westminster Abbey contains the only surviving medieval Cosmatesque
mosaics outside Italy. They comprise: the ‘Great Pavement’ in
the sanctuary; the pavement around the shrine of Edward the
Confessor; the saint’s tomb and shrine; Henry III’s tomb; the
tomb of a royal child, and some other pieces. Surprisingly, the
mosaics have never before received detailed recording and analysis,
either individually or as an assemblage. This two-volume
publication presents a holistic study of this outstanding group of
monuments in their historical architectural and archaeological
context. The shrine of St Edward is a remarkable survival, having
been dismantled at the Dissolution and re-erected (incorrectly) in
1557 under Queen Mary. Large areas of missing mosaic were replaced
with plaster on to which mosaic designs were carefully painted.
This 16th-century fictive mosaic is unique in Britain. Conservation
of the sanctuary pavement was accompanied by full archaeological
recording with every piece of mosaic decoration drawn and coloured
by David Neal, phase plans have been prepared, and stone-by-stone
examination undertaken, petrologically identifying and recording
the locations of all the materials present. It has revealed that
both the pavements and tombs include a range of exotic stone types.
The Cosmati study has shed fresh light on every aspect of the
unique series of monuments in Westminster Abbey; this work will
fill a major lacuna in our knowledge of 13th-century English art of
the first rank, and will command international interest.
The British Archaeological Association's 2013 conference was
devoted to the study of Westminster Abbey and the Palace of
Westminster. It also embraced Westminster School, which was founded
at the Reformation in the Abbey precinct. Collectively, these
institutions occupy a remarkable assemblage of medieval and later
buildings, most of which are well documented. Although the
Association had held a conference at Westminster in 1902, this was
the first time that the internationally important complex of
historic buildings was examined holistically, and the papers
published here cover a wide range of subject matter.
The life and cult of Edward the Confessor are here fully
reappraised. The millennium of Edward the Confessor's birth
presents an appropriate occasion for a full-scale, up-to-date
reassessment of his life, reign and cult, a reappraisal which is
provided in the essays here. After an introduction to the many
views of Edward's life, and a reinterpretation of the development
of his cult, the volume considers his childhood in England and its
influence upon his later life; the time he spent in Normandy and
the relationships that developed there; and his later life,
including an examination of the role played by Edith, his queen.
There is also a particular focus upon Westminster Abbey, and the
major new discoveries which have recently been made there.
Incorporating both broad surveys and the fruits of detailed new
work, this book is essential reading for all those interested in
late Saxon and Norman England. CONTRIBUTORS: RICHARD MORTIMER,
SIMON KEYNES, ELISABETH VAN HOUTS,STEPHEN BAXTER, PAULINE STAFFORD,
ERIC FERNIE, WARWICK RODWELL, RICHARD GEM, EDINA BOZOKY
? Professor Rodwell is the foremost expert in church archaeology?
Full color throughout over 240 color photographs?Churches are a
hugely popular subject, with best selling titles such as Simon
Jenkins England s Thousand Best ChurchesChurches are Britain s most
completely surviving class of historic monument. They are also
usually the oldest buildings within their settlements. As such,
these structures, from parish churches to cathedral, from medieval
to Georgian, are a huge architectural and archaeological
resource.The last couple of decades have witnessed an unprecedented
upsurge of public interest in the historic environment, and the
growth of the tourism and heritage industries has focused new
attention on churches. While some visitors to churches, cathedrals
and monastic ruins seem content to wander around with little or no
understanding of what they are looking at, many have an interest in
learning about the history or usage of the building. How far does
it go back? Where is the earliest part of the building? Warwick
Rodwell discusses the archaeological techniques that can attempt to
answer such questions. In this highly illustrated, informative
guide, Professor Rodwell explores the buildings themselves, their
component parts, from doorways to turrets, their sites,
furnishings, fixtures and fittings, as well as churchyards and
monuments.REVIEWS 'You will not regret purchasing (the
book).'Cathedral City Guide"
This volume tells the complete story of the Westminster Abbey
chapter house, which ranks as one of the spectacular achievements
of European Gothic art and architecture; and that is precisely what
its builder, King Henry III, intended. Begun in the mid-1240s, and
completed within a decade, its pre-eminence was recognized in its
own day, when the chronicler Matthew Paris described Westminster as
having 'a chapter house beyond compare'. Papers by leading scholars
in the field of medieval art and architecture reveal the reasons
for the construction of the chapter house and trace the possible
influences upon the master mason in charge of the project. The
subsequent history of the structure is revealed as it evolved from
a meeting place of the king's Great Court, the predecessor of the
English Parliament, and as a royal treasury into a repository for
government archives after the Dissolution, home to the Public
Record Office until the late 1850s, and its subsequent restoration
at the hands of Sir George Gilbert Scott. Now under the care of
English Heritage, the chapter house has just been cleaned and
restored again, leading to the spectacular light-filled building
that we see today, to which full justice is done by this richly
illustrated book, filled with pictures of the architectural and
sculptural details, the medieval tilework and the wall painting
that justify the motto inscribed in the chapter house floor: 'as
the rose is the flower of flowers, so is this the house of houses'.
Dorchester-on-Thames and its abbey have been subjects of
antiquarian interest for more than 450 years, and during that time
much has been written about them. They are, however, still far from
being comprehensively studied and recorded. Indeed, the most
substantial architectural description of the medieval church was
written as long ago as 1845, and a thoroughgoing reappraisal has
long been overdue. In this major new study on the origins, history
and architecture of Dorchester Abbey, Warwick Rodwell assembles a
huge amount of material from observations during repair and
conservation and information derived from archaeological
excavation, as well as the unexpected discovery of previously
unstudied and unpublished topographical and architectural material,
housed in several archives. The volume is divided into two parts:
the first contains an account of the archaeology of the site and
the architectural development of the abbey, while the second
comprises a series of detailed notes and observations on the
present structure, its fittings and furnishings.
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