The Lady Chapel – Westminster Abbey
A Lady Chapel is a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and is common to most cathedrals and large churches.
The Lady Chapel in Westminster Abbey, is the burial place of fifteen kings and queens.
These include Elizabeth I, Mary I, Mary Queen of Scots and what is thought to be the remains of Edward V and Richard Duke of York, the “Princes in the Tower”.
Below the central aisle is the Hanoverian vault where George II and members of his family are buried.
The Stuart vault is in the south aisle where Charles II, William III and Mary II, and Queen Anne lie buried.
Henry VII lavished huge sums on his new Lady Chapel, which was begun in 1503.
The chapel was not completed until 1516, nearly six years after his death.
Henry’s imposing tomb at the east end of the chapel has magnificent gilt bronze effigies of the king and his wife, Elizabeth of York.
The king and queen lie in a vault below their monument, together with James I.
Henry’s mother Lady Margaret Beaufort also has a tomb in the south aisle.
Since 1725, it has been used for the Knights of the Order of the Bath, and the colourful banners of living knights hang here.
Brass plates with coats of arms of current and former knights are attached to the stalls.
The Sovereign and the Great Master of the Order continue to install new knights in the chapel, usually every four years.
One outstanding feature of the chapel is the spectacular fan-vaulted roof, with its carved pendants.
