"When Edward
the Confessor knelt within the Benedictine chapel
on Thorneye, which had so miraculously withstood
the ravages of the Danes, and vowed to dedicate a
new church on the same spot to the glory of God
and in the name of St. Peter, even his prophetic soul
cannot have foretold the high destiny of his beloved
foundation. As the building slowly grew during
the last years of his reign, he conceived the idea of
its use as a sepulchre for himself and his successors.
In his visions he may even have foreseen the
coronations of the English sovereigns within its
walls, his own canonisation, and the long connection
between the throne and the monastery."
Extract from "Westminster Abbey" (Open Library).
Address:
The Chapter Office, Dean's Yard, Westminster Abbey, London SW1P 3PA Website:
www.westminster-abbey.org
