Honouring individuals buried in Westminster Abbey has a long tradition. Over 3,300 people are buried or commemorated in the abbey.[1] For much of the abbey's history, most of the people buried there besides monarchs were people with a connection to the church – either ordinary locals or the monks of the abbey itself, who were generally buried without surviving markers.[2] Since the 18th century, it has become a prestigious honour for any British person to be buried or commemorated in the abbey, a practice much boosted by the lavish funeral and monument of Isaac Newton, who died in 1727.[3] By 1900, so many prominent figures were buried in the abbey that the writer William Morris called it a "National Valhalla".[4]
The practice of burying national figures in the abbey began under Oliver Cromwell with the burial of Admiral Robert Blake, in 1657.[5] The practice spread to include generals, admirals, politicians, doctors and scientists such as Sir Isaac Newton, buried on 4 April 1727 and Charles Darwin, buried on 19 April 1882.
In 1864, Arthur Penrhyn Stanley was appointed dean of the abbey, and was very influential in turning it into a "national church". He invited popular preachers to draw in large congregations, and attracted crowds by arranging for celebrities of the day to be buried in the abbey, such as the writer Charles Dickens, the explorer David Livingstone, and the scientist Charles Darwin — even when those people had expressed wishes to be buried elsewhere.[6] By 1900, so many prominent figures were buried in the abbey that the writer William Morris called it a "National Valhalla".[7]
During the early 20th century, for reasons of space, it became increasingly common to bury cremated remains rather than coffins. In 1905, the actor Sir Henry Irving was cremated and his ashes buried in the abbey, thereby becoming the first person ever to be cremated prior to interment.[8] This marked a milestone as after the death of Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker in December 1911, the Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey chose to offer Hooker a grave near Charles Darwin's in the nave, but also insisted that he be cremated before. His widow however declined and so Hooker's body was buried in the churchyard of St Anne's Church, Kew. The majority of interments are of cremated remains, but some burials still take place – Frances Challen, wife of the Rev. Sebastian Charles, Canon of Westminster, was buried alongside her husband in the south choir aisle in 2014.[9] Members of the Percy family have a family vault, "The Northumberland Vault", in St Nicholas's Chapel, within the abbey.[10] The ashes of physicist Stephen Hawking were interred in the abbey on 15 June 2018, near the grave of Sir Isaac Newton.[11][12] The memorial stone, bearing the inscription 'Here lies what was mortal of Stephen Hawking 1942–2018', includes a form of the Bekenstein–Hawking entropy equation relating to black holes.[12]
In the floor just inside the great west door, in the centre of the nave, is the tomb of The Unknown Warrior, an unidentified British soldier killed on a European battlefield during the First World War. He was buried in the abbey on 11 November 1920. There are many graves in the floors, but this is the only grave on which it is forbidden to walk.[13]
An estimated total of 18 English, Scottish and British monarchs are buried in the abbey, including Edward the Confessor, Henry III, Edward I, Edward III, Richard II, Henry V, Edward V, Henry VII, Edward VI, Mary I, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, James I, Charles II, Mary II, William III, Queen Anne, and George II.[14][15] Elizabeth and Mary, Queen of Scots were the last monarchs to be buried with full tomb effigies; monarchs buried after them are commemorated in the abbey with simple inscriptions.[16] In 1760, George II became the last monarch to be buried in the abbey, and George III's brother Henry Frederick became the last member of the royal family to be buried in the abbey in 1790. Most monarchs after George II have been buried either in St. George's Chapel, Windsor or at the Frogmore Royal Burial Ground to the east of Windsor Castle.[17]
In 1290, Eleanor of Castile, queen of Edward I, died in Nottinghamshire. Over the course of several days, the body was brought to Westminster Abbey, and at each of the places the cortège rested, an Eleanor cross was erected in memory. The most famous of these is Charing Cross, the last stop before the funeral. Eleanor of Castile is buried in the abbey alongside her husband.[18]
In 1483, the boy king Edward V and his brother, Richard (known collectively as the Princes in the Tower), disappeared while preparing for Edward's coronation at the Tower of London. Although it is not known for sure what happened to the boys, historians have suspected their uncle, who became Richard III, of having them murdered. In 1674, the remains of two children were discovered at the Tower, and were buried in Westminster Abbey with royal honours. In 1933, the bones were studied by an anatomist who suggested that they might indeed be the remains of the two princes.[19] Requests to test the DNA of the bones to determine their provenance have been refused, both by the abbey and Queen Elizabeth II, with a spokesperson for the abbey saying, "the mortal remains of two young children [...] should not be disturbed".[20]
Although not a royal burial, the funeral of the Lord ProtectorOliver Cromwell took place at the abbey in 1658 with full honours normally only given to monarchs. On top of the coffin lay an effigy of Cromwell complete with crown.[21] After the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, Cromwell's body was dug up, hanged, and thrown in an unmarked grave.[17]
Audio description of the shrine of Edward the Confessor by John Hall
The following English, Scottish and British monarchs and consorts are buried in the abbey:
Elizabeth Stuart, Electress consort of the Palatinate and Queen consort of Bohemia, in 1662; daughter of James VI and I and Anne of Denmark; grandmother of George I
East side of the north transept, from left to right, George, Charles and Stratford Canning, General John Malcom, Benjamin Disraeli, Admiral Peter Warren, William Gladstone and Robert PeelWest side of the north transept, from left to right, monument to Captains William Bayne, William Blair and Robert Manners, statue of Lord Palmerston, monument to William Pitt the Elder
William Cowper — honoured with a stained glass window unveiled by George William Childs in 1875; buried in the St Thomas of Canterbury Chapel, at St Nicholas's Church, East Dereham, Norfolk
The Reverend Evelyn Levett Sutton, Prebendary of Westminster and Chaplain to the House of Commons (collapsed after reading the ninth commandment during Sunday services and died the next day)
Robert Graves (author of "I, Claudius" and the only poet of the sixteen, still alive at the time of the commemoration) — buried in Deià, Mallorca, Spain
Harold I of England was originally buried in the abbey, but his body was exhumed, beheaded, and thrown into a fen, in June 1040. The body was later rescued and re-buried in the church of St. Clement Danes, Westminster.
A number of Cromwellians were also buried in the abbey, but later removed, on the orders of Charles II, and (except for Oliver Cromwell, who was buried at Tyburn) buried in a pit in St Margaret's churchyard, adjoining the abbey. A modern plaque on the exterior wall of the church records the names of those who were disinterred:
Thomas Carlyle burial: Upon Carlyle's death in 1881, Arthur Penrhyn Stanley made an offer of burial in Westminster Abbey. Carlyle had anticipated and rejected this, taking issue with the Church of England's burial service as well as the spectacle of the event, saying that "Westminster Abbey would require a general gaol delivery of rogues before any man could be at peace there".[41] In accordance with his will, he was buried with his family in Hoddam, Scotland.[42]
Captain Sir Thomas "Tom" Moore memorial: Following his death in February 2021, TV presenter Carol Vorderman suggested Moore should have a memorial stone placed in Westminster Abbey, in recognition of his fundraising efforts in the run up to his 100th birthday during the COVID-19 pandemic.[45]
^In 1674 the remains of two boys were exhumed from the Tower of London and at the orders of Charles II, they were interred in the wall of the Henry VII Lady Chapel. Westminster Abbey says this: "The urn was opened on 6th July 1933 to examine the bones to try to ascertain if they were human remains. Not all the bones were there as some had been lost or given away when they were found in 1674. The remaining bones were of two young children. The Lady Chapel was closed during the examination and on 11th July the bones were carefully wrapped up and replaced in the urn by the Dean with a parchment recording what had been done. He then read part of the burial service and the urn was re-sealed."[22]
^In the 19th century, researchers looking for the tomb of James VI and I partially opened the underground vault containing the remains of Elizabeth I and Mary I of England. The lead coffins were stacked, with Elizabeth's resting on top of her half-sister's.[23]
^The position of the tomb of King James was lost for two and a half centuries. In the 19th century, following an excavation of many of the vaults beneath the floor, the lead coffin was found in the Henry VII vault.[23]
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