On 17th July 2015 around sixty members and guests of the Masters of the Tylers and Bricklayers’ and Horners’ Companies attended Evensong at Westminster Abbey. Evensong is said to be one of the most popular services held at the Abbey. A long queue was still forming as guests arrived.
The visit was organised by the Master, Roger Westbrook CMG and the Master of the Horners’ Company, Anthony Layard. Both have enjoyed a long relationship with the Abbey. Roger Westbrook was until recently Chief Honorary Steward at the Abbey.
Members and guests of the two Companies were to enjoy the Evensong Service, a guided tour and a visit to the Chapter House, concluding with an opportunity to meet friends, old and new, over drinks and canapés in the East Cloister.
We entered the Abbey through the Great West Door and were directed to our reserved seats in the Quire (Choir). Originally the area where the monks worshipped, there is now no trace of the pre-Reformation fittings. The thirteenth-century stalls were removed in the late eighteenth century. The present Choir was created, following other changes, by Henry Blore in the mid-nineteenth century and in the Victorian Gothic style.
The seating arrangements placed us alongside the members of the Abbey Gate College Chapel Choir who performed the hymns and psalms. These included The Magnificat and Nunc dimittis, which are taken from the early chapters of St Luke’s Gospel and form part of the Church’s prayers for the evening and the end of the day.
The Very Reverend John Hall, Dean of Westminster, was joined by other members of the Clergy in readings and prayers.
When the Service had finished we remained in our seats for a few moments longer as members of the public, who had been seated in the main body of the Abbey, left the building.
We then formed into three groups, each group having a Verger as guide. For the next hour we were given a very informed and extremely interesting tour of the Abbey, hearing of its 1,000 year history and, more specifically, its place in the history of the monarchy. It has been the coronation church since 1066 and is the final resting place of seventeen monarchs. Westminster Abbey, or, more accurately, the Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster is one of only a small group of Church of England churches that are known as a “Royal Peculiar“. This means it is subject to the direct jurisdiction of the monarch. Contained within the Abbey is the Henry VII Chapel, which is also the chapel of the Order of the Bath. We were ably guided through the Royal Tombs, Poet’s Corner, the Cloisters and the Nave and viewed the Coronation Chair. It was then time to visit the Chapter House. Dating from the 1250s it is one of the largest in England and is where the monks met every day for prayers and to discuss the day’s work. The King’s Great Council first assembled here in 1257 and was effectively the beginning of the English Parliament. The House of Commons used the room for several years in the late 14th century.
The Chapter House is lavishly adorned with sculpture as well as wall paintings of the Apocalypse. We Tylers and Bricklayers were pleased to note that it contains one of the finest medieval tile pavements in England!
At this point we were introduced to the Canon Treasurer and Almoner, David Stanton who, as the person with oversight responsibility for all financial affairs and all matters relating to the fabric of the Abbey, gave us a more detailed view of the responsibilities of the Dean and Chapter for the day-to-day management of the Abbey. From him we heard about the Abbey’s upcoming Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries (opening 2018). The galleries will be located in the Triforium, a medieval level within the Abbey 70 feet up from the nave floor built during the reign of Henry III in the 13th century. This will be the first major addition to the Abbey since its towers by Nicholas Hawksmoor were added in 1745.*
Following Canon Stanton’s concluding presentation, Roger Westbrook, the Master, thanked the Canon Treasurer and Almoner and other members of the Abbey staff and volunteers for a very enjoyable and informative evening. The Master Horner, Anthony Layard extended thanks to all concerned on behalf of both Companies and, in unison, both Masters presented a donation, a gift from each Company to the Abbey.
We then made our way to East Cloister, passing on our way, in the vestibule of the Chapter House, the oldest door in Britain, dated to the 1050s. Here guests enjoyed a selection of canapés with a choice of wines or juice. It was a chance to chat and enjoy the rest of the evening before departing into Dean’s Yard for the journey home.
Alan Dodd
*www.westminster-abbey.org
