The Architecture of Westminster Abbey

 THEME: The Architecture of Westminster Abbey

“Architecture is a visual art, and the buildings speak for themselves.”  

                                                                                       Julia Morgan

Read, write and learn the following words and word combinations:

buttress  контрфорс

apparent очевидний

pointed arches стрілчасті арки

ribbed vaulting ребристе склепіння

nave  неф (церкви)

aisles проходи (між рядами в церкві)

carvings  різьблення

chapels   каплиці                                                   

pendants  підвіски

features особливості

narrow  вузький

vermilion  яскраво-червоний колір

stained glass  вітражне скло

magnificent чудовий

Read and translate the text.

The present building dates mainly from the reign of King Henry III. In 1245 he pulled down the eastern part of the 11th century Abbey, which had been founded by King Edward the Confessor and dedicated in 1065. It is said that Henry’s devotion to St Edward later prompted him to build a more magnificent church in the newest Gothic style, and also to provide a new Shrine for the Saint, near to whom Henry himself could be buried. The characteristics of Gothic are flying buttresses, pointed arches and ribbed vaulting. The three master masons supervising the work were Henry of Reyns, John of Gloucester and Robert of Beverley. It is not known if 48 Henry was English or French but the architect was greatly influenced by the new cathedrals at Reims, Amiens and Chartres, borrowing the ideas of an apse with radiating chapels, rose windows and flying buttresses. The design is based on the continental system of geometrical proportion, but its English features include single rather than double aisles and a long nave with projecting transepts. The Abbey has the highest Gothic vault in England (nearly 102 feet) and it was made to seem higher by making the aisles narrow. The Englishness is also apparent in the elaborate mouldings of the main arches, the lavish use of polished Purbeck marble for the columns and the overall sculptural decoration. The stonework (which came from Caen in France and Reigate in Surrey), the sculptured roof bosses and carvings would have been brightly coloured and the wall arcades may have been decorated in vermilion and gold. By 1269 the apse, radiating chapels, transepts and choir were complete and the new Shrine received the bones of St Edward on 13 October. But Henry died in 1272 with only one bay of the nave beyond the choir screen having been completed. Since then work had progressed slowly for nearly a hundred and fifty years. Henry V ordered his lavishly sculptured Chantry Chapel to be built at the eastern end of St Edward’s chapel, forming a bridge over the ambulatory. The great addition to the Abbey was the construction of a magnificent new Lady Chapel by Henry VII between 1503 and 1519 to replace the 13th century chapel. The Perpendicular architecture here is in total contrast to the rest of the Abbey. No accounts for this building have been found but it is thought that the architects were Robert Janyns and William Vertue. It has been called "one of the most perfect buildings ever erected in England" and "the wonder of the world". Henry spent lavish sums on its decoration. The glory of the chapel is its delicately carved fan vaulted roof, with hanging pendants. All around the chapel are Tudor emblems such as the rose and portcullis, and nearly one hundred statues of saints 49 still remain in niches around the walls. The original jewel-like stained glass by Bernard Flower has, however, disappeared.

What do these numbers refer to?

1245    11     3     102      13      150  

 Read the following statements and decide if they are true or false.

1. In 1245 King Henry III erected the eastern part of the 11th century Abbey.

2. The characteristics of Gothic are flying buttresses, pointed arcades and ribbed vaulting.

3. The three master masons supervising the work were Henry of Reyns, John of Gloucester and Robert of Beverley.

4. The Abbey has the highest Gothic vault in England and it was made to seem higher by making the long passages between rows of seats in the church narrow.

5. By 1269 the apse, radiating chapels, transepts and choir were complete and the new Shrine received the bones of King Henry III on 13 October.

6. The original jewel-like stained glass of the Abbey has been stolen.