The Henry
VII Chapel also known as Henry VII Lady Chapel located on the eastern end of Westminster
Abbey whose construction was financed by the will of Henry VII. This chapel is
separated from the other abbey using a flight of stairs and brass gates. The structure
of this chapel is a three-aisled nave which is made up of four bays. The
chapel’s apse has an alter, behind which are the tombs of Henry VII, James I
and that of Henry VII’s wife. At the same time the chapel has five apsidal
chapels.
This chapel
was constructed using the very late Gothic perpendicular style. This
magnificent structure led to John Leland calling it the wonder of the world
(orbis miraculum). At the same time, the chapel contains that tombs of Charles
II, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I and Edward VI besides that of Henry VII
and his wife and that of James I. Since 1725, this chapel has been serving as
the mother church of the Order of the Bath. This can be seen by the presence of
the banners of members that hang above the stalls.
The
construction of this chapel is believed to have been influenced by a movement
toward the devotion to the Virgin Mary in the 13th century. This
movement aimed at building chapels in honor of Virgin Mary across Europe. One
of the chapels constructed for this reason was Henry III’s Lady Chapel located
at Westminster Abbey. In 1502, King Henry VII came up with a plan for a new
chapel. This plan led to the demolition of the old chapel which subsequently
led to the foundation of the new chapel being laid in January 24, 1503(Tatton-Brown
& Mortimer, 2004).. Henry VII decided to build a new chapel in order to:
build a shrine in honor of the body of Henry VI who was supposed to be
canonized, build a sophisticated chapel for Virgin Mary and create a royal
mausoleum for him and his entire family including heirs.
The
chapel’s most amazing architectural feature are the pendant fan vault. The fan
vault was created through dividing the ceiling to groin vaulted compartments.
The groin vaults on the other hand are created through the combination of
arches along the chapel’s walls and the large transverse arches that bridge the
chapel’s nave. The other spectacular architectural features of this chapel are
the aisles that are divided by the rows of mahogany stalls into central, south
and north aisles. All the aisles contain floor stones and monuments that are
dedicated to the various British nobles (Tatton-Brown & Mortimer, 2004).
References
Tatton-Brown, T. W. T., & Mortimer, R. (2004). Westminster
Abbey: The Lady Chapel of Henry
VII. Rochester NY: Boydell Press.
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