As the year draws to a close, we will have welcomed thousands of visitors to…
October at Westminster Abbey
We hope you are keeping well!
The Abbey has been the coronation church since 1066, and is the final resting place of 17 monarchs. The church we see today was begun by Henry III in 1245. It’s one of the most important Gothic buildings in the country, and has the medieval shrine of an Anglo-Saxon saint at its heart.
In October, you are welcome to attend our members-only Medieval Monastery Tours, join us for our annual National Pilgrimage to the Shrine of St Edward the Confessor and join us for special talks – part of our Voice and Verse Season.
Read on to find out what’s happening next month – there’s something for everyone to enjoy here, at Westminster Abbey!
We look forward to welcoming you soon.
Voice and Verse Bookshelf
Location: Cloister entrance
Date: Tuesday 1st October – Saturday 30th November
Time: 9:30am – 3:30pm
Tickets: Included in the price of admission
Take time to pause and enjoy a poem or two whilst you explore Westminster Abbey.
Head over to the North Cloister and peruse a selection of poetry at your leisure.
Immerse yourself in the work of poets like Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Elizabeth Barrett Browning who are commemorated in Westminster Abbey. Read a selection of poetry that celebrates the vibrant city of London in which the Abbey is located and discover the writing of poets who have not been memorialised in Poets’ Corner.
Reading materials will be available for adults and families and seating is available near the bookshelf.
FIND OUT MORE AND BOOK YOUR ABBEY TICKETS HERE
Voice and Verse 15-Minute Talk: Poets’ Corner
Location: Poets’ Corner
Date: Tuesday 8th – Tuesday 29th October
Time: Times vary
Tickets: Included in the price of admission
Enrich your visit to Westminster Abbey by attending a drop-in talk about the history of Poets’ Corner every Tuesday across the Autumn Season.
Poets’ Corner is a destination for literature lovers and an evolving monument to Britain’s literary heritage. More than 100 poets and writers are buried or have memorials here.
Join a member of the Westminster Abbey team for a short talk that will reveal how this famous site came to be and reflect on the lives of some of the poets who are buried or remembered in the heart of London.
Space will be managed on a first come first served basis.
Available dates
8th October 11.15am and 2.15pm
15th October 11.15am and 2.15pm
22nd October 11.15am and 2.15pm
29th October 11.15am and 2.15pm
FIND OUT MORE AND BOOK YOUR ABBEY TICKETS HERE
Lunchtime Talk: Women Poets
Location: St Margaret’s Church
Date: Wednesday 9th October
Time: 1:00pm – 1:50pm
Tickets: £5.00
Professor Helen Hackett explores the lives and works of several women poets, considering why only some of them have been memorialised in Westminster Abbey.
Only a few women have made it into Poets’ Corner at Westminster Abbey yet history is filled with remarkable female writers. Professor Helen Hackett will consider what cultural forces led some women to be memorialised but not others.
To answer this question, Professor Hackett will discuss the lives of a selection of women poets, beginning with the notable poets Emily Brontë and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, whose eventful lives and inspiring works are commemorated in the Abbey.
She will then shine a light on some of the female poets commemorated elsewhere in the Abbey, such as Elizabeth Russell and Margaret Cavendish, before looking beyond its walls to encounter some distinguished women poets who are entirely missing from the Abbey, including Aemilia Lanyer and Mary Wroth.
This event is part of our monthly Lunchtime Talk series. On the second Wednesday of every month, join us at St Margaret’s Church for an in-depth exploration of part of the Abbey’s history.
FIND OUT MORE AND BOOK YOUR TICKETS HERE
Voice and Verse Tour: Beyond Poets’ Corner
Location: The Abbey
Date: Saturday 12th October – Saturday 23rd November
Time: Times vary
Tickets: £10.00
Join this journey to bring Poets’ Corner to life as we explore the Abbey through the stories and words of our most famous poets.
Poetry is woven into every corner of the Abbey. On this tour, we will ‘free’ the poets from their corner and explore their words and works throughout the entire Abbey.
Come along to discover how their voices resonate through a variety of different moods, monuments and memorials.
Available dates:
12th October 11.00am
26th October 1.30pm
2nd November 1.30pm
23rd November 11.00am
FIND OUT MORE AND BOOK YOUR TICKETS HERE
Edwardtide Pilgrimage
Location: The Abbey
Date: Saturday 19th October
Time: 9:00am – 4:00pm
Tickets: Free (no booking required)
Everyone is welcome to join us for the National Pilgrimage to the Shrine of St Edward the Confessor on Saturday 19th October 2024.
Visit the Abbey and experience its beauty in an atmosphere characterised by prayer. Pilgrims will be invited to pray at the Shrine of St Edward – the king and saint who re-founded the Abbey – and in other spaces set aside in and around the Abbey. Priests will be available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and a chapel will be set aside for the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.
St Edward the Confessor has been venerated in songs, stories, plays and prayers since his death in 1066. This year, we make a pilgrimage through verse as we explore how Edward has been remembered and ask how our words now can shape and sustain our prayer and praise
Programme:
- 9:00am – Abbey opens to pilgrims
- 11:15am – Festival Eucharist – Preacher: The Right Reverend Andrew Rumsey, Bishop of Ramsbury
- 3:00pm – First Evensong of the Dedication of Westminster Abbey
Pilgrims are welcome to attend for all or part of the day.
Voice and Verse Lunchtime Concert
Location: St Margaret’s Church
Date: Wednesday 23rd October
Time: 1:00pm – 1:45pm
Tickets: £5.00 – £10.00
The St Margaret’s Consort sings a programme of music inspired by the poetry of writers memorialised in Poets’ Corner.
When Westminster Abbey authorities buried the Clerk of the King’s Works in the South Transept of their church building in 1400, little did they know that six centuries later that part of the Abbey would be a site of pilgrimage for literature lovers. The Clerk in question, Geoffrey Chaucer, was also a poet and has become known as the “Father of English poetry”, and over the centuries many of England’s finest writers have been buried or memorialised in that corner of the Abbey alongside him.
Their words have also inspired countless musical settings, and this 45-minute recital explores just a small portion of some of the choral music setting their texts. With beautiful poetry by Chaucer, Tennyson, Dryden, Blake and others exquisitely set to music by composers such as Purcell, Britten, Vaughan Williams and Parry, this programme celebrates the marriage of voice and verse, including both well-known music and hidden gems.
Ticketing information
Concert tickets are non-transferrable and non-refundable.
This event does not include entry to Westminster Abbey. We recommend looking at the Visit us pages to plan a visit during opening hours.
Tickets without Abbey entry cost £10 and are bookable through Eventbrite.
FIND OUT MORE AND BOOK YOUR TICKETS HERE
DID YOU KNOW…?
Ann Oldfield, celebrated actress of her day, was buried in the south aisle of the nave of Westminster Abbey. It was unusual for actors to be buried within the church as the cloisters were normally where those of the profession were interred.
She died on 23rd October 1730 and was buried in fine Brussels lace, a Holland shift, wearing new kid gloves and wrapped in a winding sheet. Her coffin lay in Jerusalem Chamber prior to the magnificent funeral on 27th October.
But the Dean and Chapter drew the line at allowing a monument to be erected for her despite the insistence of her paramour Brigadier Churchill.
Her mother was also called Ann and she was born in 1683. She started her career with John Rich of the Drury Lane theatre in London. She became famous for her tragic and comic roles in many different plays. She had a liaison with Arthur Mainwaring by whom she had a son Arthur. Later she had an affair with Charles Churchill, an illegitimate nephew of the famous Duke of Marlborough. Their son Charles married Lady Catherine Walpole.
The inscription on her small square stone reads simply:
ANN OLDFIELD 1730
READ MORE ABOUT THE ABBEY’S HISTORY HERE
SHOP
From spacious Dean’s Yard outside the Cloisters, through the Great and Little Cloister Garden, to the delights of the richly planted College Garden, the Abbey Gardens offer a varied and rewarding experience and are today a popular visitor destination in their own right.
This personal guide, written from the uniquely informed and personal perspective of Head Gardener Jan Pancheri, recounts the history of the different spaces that visitors will see as they walk towards and through the cloisters and the varying horticultural challenges that each space presents.
She also discusses her overall planting philosophy and shares her favourite shrubs and flowers. This book has been beautifully illustrated with Jan’s own illustrations and artwork, alongside a selection of carefully curated photographs.
FREE SUNDAY ORGAN RECITALS
Sundays throughout the year
Held on Sundays at 5.00pm, these popular 30-minute recitals are given by visiting and the Abbey’s own organists and feature a wide range of music to suit all tastes.
Admission is free, tickets are not required.
DAILY SERVICES
Westminster Abbey has been a place of worship since the tenth century and we still hold services every day.
Everyone is welcome to worship with us; services are free of charge and most do not require a ticket.
SUPPORT WESTMINSTER ABBEY
It costs over £14 million a year to maintain the Abbey, and we do not receive any funding from the Church, the Crown, or the Government. The drastic reduction to our income caused by the Covid pandemic is putting our priceless heritage at risk.
You can support the work of the Abbey, and preserve over 1,000 years of history, by becoming a member of the Abbey Association. From just £40, membership benefits include free entry to the Abbey and Galleries, exclusive member events and tours and discounts in our shops and the Cellarium Café and Terrace.
FIND OUT MORE AND BECOME A MEMBER TODAY!
CORPORATE HOSPITALITY
Since our founding by Benedictine monks, hospitality has always been at the heart of the Abbey. We have held royal weddings, State Occasions, and every coronation since 1066.
You can now hire an historic space for your next corporate event.
Why not host a dinner or reception in one of our unique heritage spaces, set within the Abbey grounds – and offer your guests a private tour of the Abbey?
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