Visiting Westminster Abbey with the Purcell Club is a must and well worth the wait

We could hear the sirens outside but inside the Abbey time stood still and all was peace and tranquillity.  The tourists had left for the evening and we lucky few were welcomed as guests by The Purcell Club to a guided tour of the world-famous Westminster Abbey. Not only a behind the scenes peek at areas not normally seen, but an interesting talk at each stop followed by a beautiful piece from the choir.

The Purcell Club is made up of retired choristers of the Abbey, some of whom have grown up in the abbey school. They deliver this enchanting tour to a relatively small group each month, the proceeds of which go to charities.

Having been on the waiting list for three and a half years, we eagerly anticipated a night to remember and were not disappointed.

Starting in the nave, our speaker outlined the early history of the site. Did you know this site was once an island on the Thames by the name of Thorney Island? A monastery was here from 975. A spoken picture was drawn for us and I could easily imagine it.

We moved onto the quire, familiar in some way from the televised coronations and royal weddings. To get to this we had passed under a small canopy of stars flanked by an imposing monument to Isaac Newton, the first of many tributes to science and scientists buried there. 

Then the real magic began at the Cosmati Pavement and Sanctuary “the finest medieval mosaic pavement”. It’s a swirling, almost labyrinth, of thousands of tiny marble and stone pieces set out to represent the wonders of the universe and God’s creation.

Here we began to hear of so many monarchs, consorts and famous names that have been buried beneath our feet or entombed, most with elaborate monuments to their glory.

 I was leaning against the fairly modest tomb of Anne of Cleves!

The largest of all is that of Edward the Confessor, in his own chapel which was our next stop.

The monument is impressive but a dull version of what it would have been before it was desecrated during the Reformation. Henry the Third had barely finished his ultimate homage to the King he most revered, when he died having given much of his reign over to rebuilding much of Westminster Abbey as we see it today.  Our heads are now reeling with the names and stories attached to the monuments which are all around us. At one point we are told to pop round the corner to see Elizabeth the First entombed with her half sister Mary and apparently, they were not destined to be eternal bedfellows.

The next space takes my breath away and is Henry the Seventh’s Lady Chapel.

In any given church I will seek out the Lady Chapel, usually a place of calm and grace. This is the most beautiful I have ever seen with its ceiling as intricate and fine as lace in pale stone Despite the elaborate stonework and glitzy centrepiece, this lady chapel with ancient choir stalls and pendants of the Order of the Bath, still retains a serenity. Here lies Henry the Seventh and his Queen Elizabeth of York.

We meander on to Poet’s Corner, a charming square and a who’s who of poets, writers and composers, presided over by a monument to Shakespeare.

Via Musician’s aisle we returned to the nave. Here we have something of a finale – a vibrant piece from a young organist which filled the vast and ancient building. Then a touching tribute to The Unknown Warrior sung by the choir who had followed us on our tour. At every stop they had sung for us, each time beautiful and carefully chosen to be different and fitting. The narrator had spoken without notes and was kindly – no pomposity here but with obvious pride and love of Westminster Abbey.

We returned to the coach uplifted and knowing that we had experienced something special.