Henry VII Chapel - Westminster Abbey, Old Palace Yard, London, UK
N 51° 29.961 W 000° 07.574
30U E 699460 N 5709273
This inscription is carved into the east wall of Westminster Abbey that is known as Henry VII chapel. Entrance to the Abbey is not required as the inscription is visible from outside the Abbey grounds.
Waymark Code: WMEGD7
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 05/27/2012
Views: 18
The inscription, on the wall of the chapel,
reads:
"The sixteen weather venes on
this Chapel of Henry VII
were given by the Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors to mark the Centenary of its Royal Charter
in 1981. The Dean and Chapter of Westminster
records its deep gratitude to the Institution and to
the other donors whose names are inscribed below
the emblem on each vane.
THE WIND GOETH TOWARDS THE SOUTH AND
TURNETH ABOUT UNTO THE NORTH; IT WHIRLETH
ABOUT CONTINUALLY, AND THE WIND RETURNETH
AGAIN ACCORDING TO HIS CIRCUITS.
Ecclesisates Iv6"
The Westminster Abbey website (visit
link) gives some history of the Henry VII Lady Chapel:
"The Lady Chapel was begun in 1503 and
constructed at the expense of Henry VII. It is the last great masterpiece of
English medieval architecture. In 1545 John Leland called it "the wonder of the
entire world". Unfortunately the names of the master masons who designed it are
not known but they were possibly Robert Janyns and William Vertue. The chapel is
approached by a flight of stairs and at the entrance are finely wrought bronze
gates displaying royal Tudor emblems.
The outstanding feature of the chapel is the spectacular fan-vaulted roof with
its carved pendants. Around the walls are 95 statues of saints. Behind the altar
is the tomb of Henry VII and his queen Elizabeth of York. The bronze screen
around it is by Thomas Ducheman and the gilt bronze effigies and Renaissance
tomb were designed by Italian Pietro Torrigiano. James I is also buried in the
vault beneath the monument.
In 1725 the chapel was first used for installations of Knights of the Order of
the Bath and the heraldic banners of living knights hang above the oak stalls.
Beneath the hinged seats of the stalls are beautifully carved misericords.
At the east end is the Royal Air Force chapel. The stained glass window by Hugh
Easton depicts the badges of the fighter squadrons that took part in the Battle
of Britain in 1940. Above, in the main east window, is stained glass designed by
Alan Younger, installed in 2000.
In the north aisle of the chapel is the tomb of Elizabeth I and her half-sister
Mary I. In the south aisle are monuments to Mary, Queen of Scots and Lady
Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII. Here also is the vault where Charles II,
William III and Mary II and Queen Anne lie, although none of them has a
monument. George II, the last monarch to be buried at the Abbey, is interred in
a vault below the central part of the chapel.
The painting of the Virgin and Child on the altar is by Bartolomeo Vivarini
(Venetian School, about 1480). It was presented to the Abbey in 1935."