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AKC Essay Competition - Coversheet

• Complete all sections of this form and ensure it is the first page of the document you submit (either copy and paste this page into the front of your work, or begin your work on

subsequent pages of this form).

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• Pages should be clearly numbered.

Student ID number (e.g. 1712345) NOT your K number

Degree Programme (where applicable)

MA in EU Procurement Law

Department (where applicable)

Dickson Poon School of Law

AKC Year (1, 2 or 3): 2

Essay question number:

1

Essay Title:

Westminster Cathedral

Deadline: 23:59, Sunday 26 April 2020

Date Submitted: 18th April, 2020

Word Count (max 1500 words):

1631

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DECLARATION BY STUDENT

By submitting this essay, I declare the following:

This assignment is entirely my own work. Quotations from secondary literature are indicated by the use of inverted commas around ALL such quotations AND by reference in the text or notes to the author concerned.

ALL primary and secondary literature used in this piece of work is indicated in the bibliography placed at the end, and dependence upon ANY source used is indicated at the appropriate point in the text.

I confirm that no sources have been used other than those stated.

I understand what is meant by plagiarism, including self-plagiarism. I understand that plagiarism is a serious academic offence that will result in disciplinary action being taken and may result in my withdrawal from the AKC programme.

I understand that essays which do not include references and a bibliography will not be read.

My word count is accurately stated above and I understand that essays which are more than 10% over the word limit may not be considered by the AKC Steering Committee.

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Westminster Cathedral

Situated in Victoria, London and nestled between grand terraced houses of

Ambrosden Avenue and Morpeth Terrace is the Neo-Byzantine Westminster

Cathedral. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster who is the head of

the Roman Catholic church in England.

The land upon which Westminster Cathedral is built has a rather colourful pre-

cathedral history. It was known as Bulinga Fen in medieval times and was

originally marshland. In the Seventeenth century it became a pleasure garden

with a bull-baiting ring. The land was reclaimed by Benedictine monks and

used as a market, with the annual St Mary's Fair held on 22 July. In 1826 the

Middlesex County Prison was built here. The prison closed in 1877 and its

foundations were found to be so sturdy that they were reused when the

cathedral went up in its place.

In 1884 the Roman Catholic church acquired the land as it was destined to

become the location of principal Roman Catholic church in Great Britain and it

was in the memory of Cardinal Wiseman (who died in 1865, and was the first

Archbishop of Westminster from 1850) that the first substantial sum of money

was raised for the new cathedral. Cardinal Vaughan, the third archbishop of

Westminster, himself wrote round to and got generous donations from his

contacts. Vaughan’s brother, Fr Kenelm, spent a number of years peaching his

way round South America appealing for funds, which were sufficient to pay for

the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, also known as the Spanish Chapel.1

The cornerstone was laid in 1895 but it was not completed until 1903.

1 De L’Hopital, W., Westminster Cathedral and its Architect, 1919, Dodd, Mead & Co., New York, Chap. 15

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_Wiseman

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Cardinal Vaughan chose John Francis Bentley as the architect for the cathedral.

Bentley normally built structures in the Victorian style but Westminster

Cathedral was his first neo-Byzantine-style church. The Cardinal wanted a

building that would not resemble the nearby protestant Westminster Abbey. It

is said Bentley based his design on Mediterranean examples of the early

Christian church and Bentley went on a tour of primitive church buildings in

order to gather ideas for the Westminster church. Perhaps if Bentley was alive

today, we would ask him why did he choose Neo-byzantine style? The result

is stunning now and a tribute to his great vision. But why this design in this

vein?

It is remarkable how similar the architecture of Westminster Cathedral is to

the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, and the Christuskirche in Matzleinsdorf. The

Hagia Sophia is the former Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal cathedral,

later an Ottoman imperial mosque and now a museum (Ayasofya Müzesi)

in Istanbul, Turkey. It is famous for its dome and it was the world's largest

building and an engineering marvel of its time. It is considered the epitome

of Byzantine architecture.

https://www.aviewoncities.com/london/westminsterabbey.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Orthodox_Churchhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarchatehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empirehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbulhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkeyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_architecture

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Hagia Sophia (Church of the Holy Wisdom), Istanbul

The Christuskirche of Matzleinsdorf Protestant Cemetery has a distinct

architectural style which is reminiscent of an Eastern Orthodox Church. The

architect, Theophil Hansen, constructed the church in a Byzantium style with

a large dome and crowned corner pillars2.

Christuskirche in Matzleinsdorf Protestant Cemetery, Vienna 1858—1860 The Tower

2 Matzleinsdorf Protestant Cemetery, assessed at https://web.archive.org/web/20110803135101/http://christuskirche.evang.at/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matzleinsdorf_Protestant_Cemeteryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theophil_Hansenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantiumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matzleinsdorf_Protestant_Cemetery

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Visitors to the cathedral are invited to go up the 87 meter (285ft) high bell

tower, which rewards guests with an amazing view of the city

The Campanile Bell Tower, 273 ft in height, is dedicated to St Edward the

Confessor. It has one bell named ‘Edward’ the gift of the Duchess of Norfolk,

in 1910. The text of the prayer inscribed on the bell reads

‘While the sound of this bell travels through the clouds, may the bands of

angels pray for those assembled in thy church. St Edward, pray for England’.

The Viewing Gallery of the Tower is 210ft above street level, is accessible by

elevator and offers spectacular 360° views across London and for £6 is surely

good value.

Piazza

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The Piazza in which the Cathedral is sited is hard-landscaped and has a cross

erected for Cardinal Basil Hume, who was Archbishop of Westminster from

1975 until his death in 1999.3

This Piazza is a welcome space in this part of London flanked by a McDonalds,

a Pret-a-Manger and various retail shops. The traffic on busy Victoria Street

rushes by at the north end of the Piazza on their way past Victoria Station.

The Piazza is owned by Westminster City Council which might explain why

Extinction Rebellion did not set up camp there as they did outside Westminster

Abbey starting Ash Wednesday, February 2020.

Main Portal

Entering from the Piazza and above the portal arch is the Latin dedication

‘Domine Jesus Rex et Redemptor per Sanguinem tuum salva nos’, in English,

‘Lord Jesus, King and Redeemer, heal us through your blood’; the cathedral is

dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

3 Westminster Cathedral Piazza, London Parks and Gardens Trust, assessed at http://www.londongardensonline.org.uk/gardens-online-record.php?ID=WST146

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_of_Christhttp://www.londongardensonline.org.uk/gardens-online-record.php?ID=WST146

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Below the dedication inscription is a mosaic of Christ enthroned which is above

the entrance to the cathedral. The tympanum4 of the portal shows in a

byzantine mosaic technique from left to right the kneeling St Peter with

the Keys of Heaven, the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ as Pantocrator5 on the

throne, St Joseph, the Nursing Father of Jesus with a lily in his right hand, and

in a kneeling position the canonized English King Edward the Confessor in royal

regalia.6

The exterior and architecture of Westminster Cathedral is exquisite and for

those of us who enjoy looking at majestic buildings it is awe inspiring.

4 In Romanesque architecture, the tympanum constitutes the area between the lintel over a doorway and the arch above. During the 11th and 12th centuries in Europe, tympana over church portals were decorated with intricate and stylized relief sculpture assessed at https://www.britannica.com/technology/tympanum-architecture 5 The word Pancrator means the ruler of everything, especially as an epithet for Jesus Christ 6 Westminster Cathedral, Wikipedia, assessed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_Cathedral

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_enthronedhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tympanum_(architecture)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peterhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keys_of_Heavenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary,_mother_of_Jesushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Christhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_Pantocratorhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Josephhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liliumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_the_Confessorhttps://www.britannica.com/place/ancient-Romehttps://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/constituteshttps://www.britannica.com/technology/arch-architecturehttps://www.britannica.com/art/relief-sculpture

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Inside the Cathedral Entering into the cathedral at first is daunting. Inside the cathedral is quite

dark. We have all experienced coming out of the light and into a large enclosed

space. At first it always appears dark until our eyes adjust, but in this case the

experience is accentuated by the dark vaults above. It is as if the walls are

painted black in order for the beauty and majesty below to shine more.

Source: Things You Didn't Know About Westminster Cathedral, Londonist, (2017), assessed

at https://londonist.com/london/secret/things-you-didn-t-know-about-westminster-cathedral

The nave stretches before us towards the high altar under its elegant canopy

or baldacchino. Suspended between the sanctuary and nave is the great rood

or crucifix. It seems to float in the dark spaces above, a brightly lit red against

the cavernous arches that soar upwards. All the lines of perspective converge

and focus on the baldacchino and the high altar beneath it.

https://londonist.com/london/secret/things-you-didn-t-know-about-westminster-cathedral

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On either side of the nave run the North Aisle and South Aisle. The side chapels

are arranged off these aisles.

Space does not allow me to detail all of the side chapels. I show a picture of

just one – that of the great Apostle of England, St Augustine, being sent by

then Pope Gregory in 597.

The other side chapels are dedicated to St Paul, The Lady’s Chapel, St Joseph,

The Holy Souls, The Sacred Heart and St Michael, St Patrick and all the Saints

of Ireland, St Andrew and all the Saints of Scotland, St George and the English

Martyrs and the Vaughan Chantry (Chapel of St Thomas of Canterbury).

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Mosaics

When opened in 1903, the interior of the cathedral was a vast, sublime,

unadorned structure of millions of London stock bricks and grey concrete

saucer domes: ‘Cardinal Vaughan’s railway station’. But it was always intended

to embellish the walls with gorgeous marbles and to cover the soon soot-

stained vaults7 with mosaic. It was always known that this work would take a

century or more, and it began, sensibly, with decorating some of the side

chapels that soon had reredoses and other furnishings installed but whose

concrete vaults remained bare.8

‘We speak of the sky as a vault, a dome,’ wrote W.R. Lethaby (1891)9 in his

recondite but influential book of 1891, Architecture, Mysticism and Myth; ‘It

may be said that at great periods of architecture ceilings were always skies.’

He was thinking of, among other things, the mosaic-covered vaults and domes

7 Soot-stanied vaults caused by the burning of candles 8 Westminster Cathedral’s ceilings like the sky, Apollo, the international art magazine, 2016, assessed at https://www.apollo-magazine.com/westminster-cathedrals-mosaic-skies/ 9 W.R. Lethaby, Architecture, Mysticism and Myth, First Rate Publishers,1891

https://www.apollo-magazine.com/westminster-cathedrals-mosaic-skies/

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of Byzantine churches on which, in addition to Christ Pantocrator and figures

of apostles and the saints, six-winged seraphs flutter against a glittering gold

sky. This was the vision of John Francis Bentley for Westminster Cathedral,

the great church he had designed for London and the supreme masterpiece of

the late-Victorian Byzantine Revival – although Bentley never saw any mosaics

fixed before his death in 1902.

The mosaics, inside and out the cathedral are exquisite. They are in every side

chapel and also on the ceilings at the heart of the church. It was known that

they would take a long time, indeed it would be a century later that the new

decorative scheme in St George’s Chapel would dedicated in 2016 (A century

after the completion of what is regarded as the most successful of all the

chapels – that of St Andrew and the Saints Scotland.

Identity

Westminster Cathedral does bring to London a unique character. It is another

example of the Spirit of London seen in this lecture series of the ‘Inside

London: The Life-Story of a City in Nine Buildings‘. Its history as part of

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London, its striking and unique architecture and its exquisite beauty within

makes it qualify for being the tenth building in this series of Inside London.