15 Amazing Overlooked Details To Spot At Westminster Abbey

Since 1066 every monarch, who has had a coronation, has been crowned inside Westminster Abbey and over 30 Kings and Queens of England are buried inside the building.

Ever since Edward the Confessor had the first significant Westminster Abbey built in the 1040s, it has been at the heart of the country’s history and traditions.

If you visit Westminster Abbey there is just so much to see. You will be keen of course to see the Coronation Chair, the Tomb to the Unknown Soldier and more.

As well as the above, here are 15 details and quirky sights that I think are not to be missed. 

1. The 152 Year Old Man

Make sure to not miss the gravestone of ‘Old Tom Parr’, who is said to have lived to the ripe old age of 152!

His tombstone says that he was born in 1483AD, lived through the reigns of ten monarchs and was buried here in 1635. 

Most of what we have on his life comes from a pamphlet from 1635 entitled ‘The Old, Old, Very Old Man or the Age and Long Life of Thomas Parr’.

Parr apparently married his first wife Jane Taylor when he was 80 years old. At 100 he did penance for being unfaithful to his wife by standing draped in a white sheet in the parish church. Ten years after Jane’s death he married a lady called Jane Lloyd but they had no children.

His secrets to a long life included a diet of green cheese, onions, coarse bread, buttermilk or mild ale and no smoking. He also said that to grow prosperous, you must ‘keep your eyes open and your mouth shut.’ Sound advice.

In 1635 he travelled to London from Shropshire to see Charles I, at the behest of Thomas Howard Earl of Arundel who had heard about him. Parr met the king, his portrait was painted, but he sadly died within a few weeks thought to be due to a change in diet and the pollution of the city. 

2. Evidence Of The Blitz

Westminster Abbey managed to escape significant damage during the Blitz. However, a high explosive bomb did land nearby in September 1940, shattering windows and pockmarking the exterior of the 16th century Lady Chapel. 

You can see a hole from this bomb still today in the RAF Chapel inside the Lady Chapel. 

3. The Vertical Burial

Over 3000 people are buried or commemorated at Westminster Abbey. One of the most unusual burials was that of dramatist and poet Ben Jonson.

You once had to pay to be buried inside the Abbey. When Ben Jonson died in 1637, he had very little money and could only afford an 18 inch by 18 inch square plot for his burial, telling the Dean ‘Six feet long by two feet wide is too much for me: two feet by two feet will do for all I want’.

He was therefore slotted into the space vertically.

In 1849, whilst a burial was taken place nearby, the clerk of works saw the two bones of Jonson’s legs sticking directly upright and the skull apparently rolled off into the newly made grave.

4. The Most Dramatic Tomb In The Abbey

In St Michael’s Chapel, off the North transept, you can find the amazing tomb of Lady Elizabeth Nightingale and her husband Joseph.

Elizabeth died in 1731, after a premature birth, apparently brought on by the shock caused by a flash of lightning. The monument was erected in 1761 and depicts a dying Elizabeth being protected by her husband from death, aiming his deadly spear at her. 

The idea is thought to have come from a dream that Elizabeth’s brother in law had when a skeleton appeared at the end of his bed, before proceeding to climb under the bedclothes between him and his wife. 

A thief is said to have broken into the Abbey one night but was so terrified by the sculpture that he dropped his crowbar and ran. The crowbar was once displayed beside the monument but no longer.

5. A Monk’s Mercy

Make sure to spot the misericords on the seats in the Lady Chapel.

These hinged oak seats when pivoted up create a little ledge for monks to perch during long services and periods of standing. ‘Misericord’ comes from the latin for pity or mercy. They are wonderfully carved and decorated with various scenes. 

6. Britain’s Oldest Door

This door is thought to be not just the oldest door in the Abbey but also the entire country.

It can be found in the passage leading to the 13th century Chapter House and was part of the original Westminster Abbey built by Edward the Confessor in the 1050s. Dendrochronology carried out in 2005 revealed that the wood was still growing between 924 and 1030 and was felled in 1032. 

7. An Aged Queen

One the most interesting tombs to look for is the tomb of Good Queen Bess herself: Elizabeth I.

She can be found in the Lady Chapel with her half-sister Mary I. What is particularly interesting about it though is that her effigy is thought to be based on her death mask.

It is therefore a pretty accurate depiction of what she looked like in her old age, rather than the young queen she was nearly always depicted as in her official portraits. 

8. Pilfering Pilgrims

Another royal tomb to look out for is that of Henry III (1207-1272). Henry III was the monarch who rebuilt the Abbey from 1245 and is responsible for much of the Abbey we see today. His tomb is made of purbeck marble and the sides laid with gilded mosaic.

You will notice however that the mosaic tiles within reach of human hands have been pilfered. Pilgrims over the centuries would occasionally surreptitiously nab a tile to take home as a memento. 

9. A Sneaky Porcupine

Inside the side chapels of the Abbey you will find many lavish tombs to aristocrats and nobles. One to look out for in particular is that of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex, in the chapel of St Paul. It is an impressive and elaborate tomb, with an effigy of the Countess but look closely and you will see, at her feet, is a blue and gold porcupine. There are also two on top of the tomb.

The porcupine comes from the family crest of the Sidney family. It is thought to have been added when William Sidney travelled to France in 1514 to assist in the marriage between Princess Mary, Henry VIII’s sister, and King Louis XII.

He travelled with them in the fabulously named position of ‘jousting ambassador’. The French king died a few months after the marriage and Mary then secretly married Charles Brandon who had travelled as part of the ambassadorial team. William Sidney had to announce this to Henry VIII, throwing him into a fury, but somehow William managed to stay in favour.

The porcupine defends itself by reversing its spiky quills into its opponents and so is a symbol of tenacity, courage and self-preservation. It had also featured on the French king’s coat of arms, so this is possibly where William got the inspiration.

10. A Strangely Plain Royal Tomb

Edward I or Edward ‘Longshanks’ was one of the most successful English medieval monarchs. He is however buried inside a very plain marble tomb. No effigy, no decoration.

No one is certain why it is so plain but it is thought that Edward had made a request that, when the Holy Land was reconquered, his bones should be taken there for burial. It was therefore designed as a plain and temporary tomb. The Holy Land was never reconquered and he has been in his plain tomb ever since. 

11. Where The Architecture Changes

Much of the Abbey was built in the middle of the 13th century during the reign of Henry III. He died in 1272 with the Abbey unfinished but he had more or less blown the royal budget. It was finally finished by King Richard II in the late 14th century.

You can see in the Abbey today the exact spot that Richard II took over. He had to go for a slightly more stripped back approach.

12. A Treasure Trove Above Your Head

If visiting the Abbey, I would highly recommend paying the extra to go up into the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries. 

They are 52ft above the Abbey floor, in the old 13th century Triforium. You get some incredible views down into the nave but also they contain around 300 amazing historical treasures.

These include various funeral effigies of monarchs, the oldest surviving altar-piece in England and a Roman sarcophagus that had been repurposed for a medieval burial.

13. The Door To Heaven

Look up from the nave and you can see a little door.

It is the door to the roof! I am told all the staff members have to go through it, out onto the roof, as part of their training.

The lantern roof, directly above the door, was the section that collapsed after being hit by an incendiary bomb in May 1941. It is underneath this roof that the monarch gets crowned.

14. The Oldest Room In The Abbey

Make sure to not miss the beautiful cloisters and gardens of the Abbey. Off the East cloister you will find the Pyx Chamber, the oldest room inside the building.

It was originally part of the undercroft, underneath the monk’s dormitory, built in around 1070. It was walled off in the 12th century and used as a treasury from the 13th century.

The name comes from the ‘pyx’ or wooden chests that the silver and gold were stored in. Pyx comes from the latin ‘pyxis’ for a small box.

15. A Statue Of Martin Luther King Jnr

Finally, on your way out, make sure to spot the ten statues over the Great West Door.

They are known as the ‘Modern Martyrs’ and were unveiled in 1998, filling niches never filled from the 15th century. They represent 20th century Christian figures from across the world who have given their lives for their faith. Up there, for example, you will see a statue representing Martin Luther King Jnr. 

And there we have it! Thank you for reading, if you would like to visit the Abbey, you can find out more here.

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