Photographs kindly provided by the Abbey © The Dean and Chapter of Westminster
Westminsters in and Around Westminster Abbey Tony Willoughby Esq (LL, 1959-62)
For several hundred years the School continued to be joined with the Abbey, forming one collegiate foundation, until the 1868 Public Schools Act established the School as an independent body.
uring your time as a pupil at Westminster School, you will have spent many hours within the Abbey, at morning prayers, attending the annual Carol Service or possibly even performing as a member of the Choir. Perhaps it has been many years since you visited the Abbey. Its walls are filled with history and mystery; faith at the heart of the nation. In an extract from his new book published under the title above, join OW Tony Willoughby for the start of a guided tour through the Abbey discovering the interesting stories and history surrounding the former pupils and staff of Westminster School who are at rest and/or memorialised within its precincts. This extract of the tour concludes with Ben Jonson (1572-1637) in the North Aisle of the Nave.
The origins of Westminster School, formally known as St Peter’s College, Westminster, can be traced to a charity school established by the Benedictine monks of Westminster Abbey. Its continuous existence is certain from the early fourteenth century. After the dissolution of the monastery at Westminster in 1540, King Henry VIII personally ensured the School’s
survival by creating a foundation of his own. His daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, confirmed Royal Patronage in 1560 and her re-foundation of the Abbey (of which the School was a part) as a Collegiate Church resulted in what we have today. Queen Elizabeth I is celebrated as the School’s Foundress. For several hundred years the School continued to be joined with the Abbey, forming one collegiate foundation, until the 1868 Public Schools Act established the School as an independent body. The School still occupies the buildings it occupied prior to 1868 and enjoys a close relationship with the Abbey. It continues to use the Abbey for its main services and the Dean of Westminster still remains the Chair of the School’s Governing Body. The Head Master and Under Master of the School, together with School’s Scholars and the Master of the Scholars, form part of the Abbey’s Collegiate Body. By custom, the Scholars have the privilege of being the first to acclaim new monarchs at their coronations. It will come as no surprise to anyone associated with the School that the Abbey and St Margaret’s Church house the graves and monuments of many ➽ ISSUE 2018/19
35
