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The Queen’s Diamond
Jubilee Galleries in
Westminster Abbey
E
xploring the topography
of Westminster Abbey is
a fascinating experience.
One of the advantages of
these new Galleries is the
magnificent view they give,
especially of the Nave. At
coronations, all of which
have been held here since
1066, you get a bird’s eye
view of proceedings from the
eastern triforium, built by
Henry III, where the Galleries
are sited.
The funeral effigies of
monarchs were an important
part of the ceremony until
Charles II and were extremely
lifelike. Effigies attracted
crowds; the only one on show
here who was not buried in the
Abbey was the naval hero
Admiral Horatio Nelson. There
is also the realistic death mask
of Henry VII who has a
magnificent Chapel named
after him.
Hidden for over 700 years; discover a secret space never open before
to the public.
was dedicated by the Dean of
Westminster last October and is
supposed to commemorate her
love of the countryside, is a
disaster. Hockney is one of our
finest painters but the standard
of his work is erratic. Here his
use of bright colours and
childlike shapes looks
incongruous and the work is
totally at odds with its imposing
surroundings. Opposite it are
the statues of former prime
ministers such as Disraeli and
Gladstone. I only wish that their
voices could be heard to
condemn this dysfunctional
tribute which is a blot on the
otherwise unstained escutcheon
of this national shrine to the
famous.
It is ironic that in the same year,
both the Galleries, which
commemorate aspects of the
Abbey’s life, past and present so
superbly, and a stained glass
window, which should have been
placed in an outbuilding, have
been erected. Unfortunately this
misbegotten window is all too
visible as every visitor who
enters has no option but to pass
by it.
RICHARD FITZWILLIAMS
High above the Abbey floor, the Galleries display the Abbey’s
greatest treasures.
Four themes are evident…. the
building of the Abbey, worship
and daily life, its links with
national memory as the Abbey
commemorates the nation’s
most prominent figures and its
connection with the monarchy.
The artefacts selected are
fascinating and range from a
fragment of the Shrine of St
Edward the Confessor, who
founded the Abbey, and a copy
of Magna Carta to peepshows
featuring coronations which
gave an insight into their scale
and even the oldest stuffed
bird in England which was
owned by a Duchess.
An ingenious idea is to show us
casts of the Abbey’s buttress
beasts when the real stone
images can be seen through
the nearby windows. There is
also a model for a Hanoverian
burial vault and George II was
the last monarch to be buried
here. A film using CGI
illustrates how the Abbey has
changed over the centuries.
These new Galleries are a fine
addition displaying many of the
Abbey’s treasures which reflect
our history down the ages.
In contrast The Queen’s
Window by David Hockney,
designed on his i-pad, which
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David Hockney and The Queen's Window.
THE LONDON & UK DATEBOOK
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