A major exhibition area has been built where dusty relics were once stored, housing precious artefacts which reflect the building’s thousand-year history.
The Prince of Wales joined the Queen for a tour of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries, set more than 16 metres above the abbey’s floor in its 13th century triforium, an arcade above the building’s chapels.
The Very Rev Dr John Hall, the Dean of Westminster, took the head of state on a guided tour of the exhibits, which included the realistic bust of Henry VII, modelled from the monarch’s death mask.
Other items on display included the 13th century Westminster Retable, believed to be England’s oldest altarpiece, which has fragments of its lavish decoration still in place and is thought to have been designed for the abbey’s high altar.
The dean said of the Queen’s visit: “Like other people who have been up there, she was very impressed I think, and quite surprised by the amount of space and by the particular things she was able to see.”
The new gallery is home to 300 treasures from the abbey’s collection, many on display for the first time, and it uses four themes to tell the story of the place of worship: building Westminster Abbey; worship and daily life; Westminster Abbey and the monarchy; and the abbey and national memory.
Visitors will reach the galleries, which…
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