So
That The Length Of The Whole Building Is 489 Feet; The Breadth Of
Henry VII.'s Chapel, 66 Feet; And The Height, 54 Feet.
The nave and
cross aisles of the abbey-church are supported by fifty slender
pillars, of Sussex marble, besides forty-five demi-pillars or
pilasters.
There are an upper and lower range of windows, being
ninety-four in number, those at the four ends of the cross very
spacious. All which, with the arches, roofs, doors, &c., are of the
ancient Gothic order. Above the chapiters the pillars spread into
several semi-cylindrical branches, forming and adorning the arches
of the pillars, and those of the roofs of the aisles, which are
three in number, running from east to west, and a cross aisle
running from north to south. The choir is paved with black and
white marble, in which are twenty-eight stalls on the north side, as
many on the fourth, and eight at the west end; from the choir we
ascend by several steps to a most magnificent marble altarpiece,
which would be esteemed a beauty in an Italian church.
Beyond the altar is King Edward the Confessor's Chapel, surrounded
with eleven or twelve other chapels replenished with monuments of
the British nobility, for a particular whereof I refer the reader to
the "Antiquities of St. Peter, or the Abbey-Church of Westminster,"
by J. Crull, M.D. Lond. 1711, 8vo, and the several supplements
printed since; and shall only take notice of those of the kings and
queens in the chapel of St. Edward the Confessor, which are as
follows, viz., Edward I., King of England; Henry III.; Matilda, wife
of Henry I.; Queen Eleanor, wife of Edward I.; St. Edward the
Confessor, and Queen Editha, his wife; Henry V., and Queen Catherine
of Valois, his wife; Edward III., and Queen Philippa, his wife;
Richard II., and Queen Anne, his wife. And on the south side of the
choir, King Sebert, and Queen Anne of Cheve, wife to Henry VIII.
East of St. Edward's Chapel is that of Henry VII., dedicated to the
blessed Virgin Mary, to which we ascend by twelve stone steps. At
the west end whereof are three brazen doors finely wrought, which
give an entrance into it. The stalls on the north and south sides
are exquisitely carved. The roof is supported by twelve pillars and
arches of the Gothic order, abounding with enrichments of carved
figures, fruit, &c. At the east end is a spacious window with
stained glass, besides which there are thirteen other windows above,
and as many below on the north and south sides. Under each of the
thirteen uppermost windows are five figures placed in niches,
representing kings, queens, bishops, &c., and under them the figures
of as many angels supporting imperial crowns. The roof, which is
all stone, is divided into sixteen circles, curiously wrought, and
is the admiration of all that see it.
The outside of this chapel was adorned with fourteen towers, three
figures being placed in niches on each of them, which were formerly
much admired; but the stone decaying and mouldering away, they make
but an odd appearance at present.
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