Westminster

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WESTMINSTER

BY
SIR WALTER BESANT, M. A., F. S. A.
AUTHOR OF “LONDON,” ETC.

WITH 130 ILLUSTRATIONS BY WILLIAM PATTEN AND OTHERS
New York
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PUBLISHERS

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Copyright, 1894 and 1895, byWalter Besant.
Copyright, 1895, by
Frederick B. Stokes Company.
All rights reserved.{iii} 

TO
MRS. WILLIAM PATTEN
IN MEMORY OF HER
MANY WANDERINGS IN WESTMINSTER WITH HER HUSBAND
WHILE HE WAS ADORNING THESE PAGES
AND IN MEMORY OF
A STAY IN ENGLAND FAR TOO SHORT FOR HER MANY FRIENDS
THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED
BY ONE OF THOSE FRIENDS
THE AUTHOR

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PREFACE.

These papers in their original form first appeared in the Pall MallMagazine. Additions have been made in some of the chapters, especiallyin the three chapters entitled “The Abbey.” As in the book entitled“London,” of which this is the successor, I do not pretend to offer aHistory of Westminster. The story of the Abbey Buildings; of the GreatFunctions held in the Abbey; of the Monuments in the Abbey; may be foundin the pages of Stanley, Loftie, Dart, and Widmore. The History of theHouses of Parliament belongs to the history of the country, not that ofWestminster. It has been my endeavor, in these pages, (1) to show,contrary to received opinion, that the Isle of Bramble was a busy placeof trade long before London existed at all. (2) To restore the vanishedPalaces of Westminster and Whitehall. (3) To portray the life of theAbbey, with its Services, its Rule, its Anchorites, and its Sanctuary.(4) To show the connection of Westminster with the first of Englishprinters. And, lastly, to present the place as a town and borough, withits streets and its people.

I hope that, with those who have made my “London” a companion, my“Westminster” may also be so fortunate as to find equal favor.

I must not omit my acknowledgments to the Editors of the Pall MallMagazine for the costly manner in which they presented these pages.Nor{vi} must I forget to record my sense of the pains and thoroughnessbrought to the work of its illustration by my friend Mr. William Patten;nor my sense of the assistance rendered me by Mr. Loftie for manyconsultations and suggestions; nor my thanks to the Benedictine Fathersof Downside, near Bath, who kindly received Mr. Patten and myself astheir guests and showed us what a modern Benedictine House really means,and how the House at Westminster may have been during its five centuriesof existence, even such as their own, a Home of Religion and Learning.

United University Club, September, 1895.

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CONTENTS.

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.