The Cosmatesque Mosaics of Westminster Abbey: The Pavements and Royal Tombs: History, Archaeology, Architecture and Conservation

By Warwick Rodwell and David S. Neal

Westminster Abbey contains the only surviving medieval Cosmatesque mosaics outside Italy. They comprise: the ‘Great Pavement’ in the sanctuary; the pavement around the shrine of Edward the Confessor; the saint’s tomb and shrine; Henry III’s tomb; the tomb of a royal child, and some other pieces. Surprisingly, the mosaics have never before received detailed recording and analysis, either individually or as an assemblage. The proposed publication, in two volumes, will present a holistic study of this outstanding group of monuments in their historical architectural and archaeological context. The shrine of St Edward is a remarkable survival, having been dismantled at the Dissolution and re-erected (incorrectly) in 1557 under Queen Mary. Large areas of missing mosaic were replaced with plaster on to which mosaic designs were carefully painted. This 16th-century fictive mosaic is unique in Britain. Conservation of the sanctuary pavement was accompanied by full archaeological recording with every piece of mosaic decoration drawn and colored by David Neal, phase plans have been prepared, and stone-by-stone examination undertaken, petrologically identifying and recording the locations of all the materials present. It has revealed that both the pavements and tombs include a range of exotic stone types. The Cosmati study has shed fresh light on every aspect of the unique series of monuments in Westminster Abbey; this work will fill a major lacuna in our knowledge of 13th-century English art of the first rank, and will command international interest.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Oxbow Books
• Release date: Nov 30, 2019
• ISBN: 9781789252354

Warwick Rodwell

Professor Warwick Rodwell, OBE, is Consultant Archaeologist to Westminster Abbey.

Book preview

THE COSMATESQUE MOSAICS OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY

Frontispiece: The sanctuary, viewed from the west in 2018, showing the Cosmati pavement, the Victorian high altar and its pavement, and the altar screen. The shrine of St Edward lies in the chapel beyond the screen. © Dean and Chapter of Westminster

THE COSMATESQUE MOSAICS OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY

The Pavements and Royal Tombs: History, Archaeology, Architecture and Conservation

VOLUME 1

THE PAVEMENTS

by

Warwick Rodwell and David S Neal

with contributions by

Pul Drury, Ian Freestone, Kevin Hayward, Lisa Monnas, Matthew Payne, Ruth Siddall, Vanessa Simeoni and Erica Carrick Utsi

computerized illustrations by

Thomas Clark

Foreword by

The Dean of Westminster

Published in the United Kingdom in 2019 by

OXBOW BOOKS

The Old Music Hall, 106–108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JE

and in the United States by

OXBOW BOOKS

1950 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083

Copyright © Warwick Rodwell and David S Neal 2019

Hardcover Edition: ISBN 978-1-78925-234-7

Digital Edition: ISBN 978-1-78925-235-4 (epub)

Kindle Edition: ISBN 978-1-78925-236-1 (mobi)

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019939193

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Front cover: Head of King Henry III, from the effigy on his tomb (Dean and Chapter of Westminster)

Mosaic-decorated tomb-cover set into the sanctuary pavement (Painting by David S Neal)

Lombardic font taken from the sanctuary pavement inscriptions

Half-title page: Aerial view of Westminster Abbey from the south-west (© Historic England Archive)

Note regarding plans: Unless otherwise stated in the caption, or indicated by a compass-point, all plans and vertical photographic views have north towards the top of the page.

Dedicated to

Her Majesty The Queen,

by gracious permission,

to commemorate the 750th anniversary

of the rebuilding of Westminster Abbey

and the re-dedication of the Shrine

of St Edward the Confessor

by King Henry III on

13th October, 1269

CONTENTS

Foreword by The Dean of Westminster

Preface

Acknowledgements

Summary

VOLUME 1

The Pavements

1The cosmatesque pavements and monuments: introduction and context

Historical and architectural context

The mosaic assemblage

2Historiography and the antiquarian record

Early references, 1269–c. 1700

Descriptions and illustrations of the pavements and monuments, 1707–1925

Descriptions

Illustrations

The pavements and monuments in recent scholarship

3The sanctuary and high altar pavements: past interventions, damage and repair

Paving the sanctuary: an historical overview

The cosmatesque sanctuary pavement

Impact of the Civil War, 1643

Repairs, c. 1660

Installation of the Whitehall altarpiece, 1706–07

Sir George Gilbert Scott’s restoration of the sanctuary, 1859–71

Sanctuary pavement

High altar pavement and its underlying archaeology

4Description of the sanctuary pavement

Purbeck marble matrix

Detailed description of the decoration

Panels 1–8: the central quincunx

Panels 9–16: background to the quincunx

Panels 17–20: large medallions (rotae)

Panels 21–32: background to the large medallions

Panels 33–52: medallions in the outer border

Panels 53–56: rectangles in the outer border

Panels 57–88: curvilinear bands

Panels 89–116: outer border spandrels

Panels 117–136: miscellaneous small compartments

The frame inscriptions

Inscription A. Central roundel of quincunx

Inscription B. Outer lobes of quincunx

Inscription C. Great square

Inscription D. Northern tomb-cover

Phasing: construction, alteration and repair

Summary of proposed phasing

Notes on the characteristics of each phase

Early repairs to the Cosmati pavement by Paul Drury

Phase 2: repairs in sympathy with the primary mosaic work

Phase 2–3: various interventions, probably between Phases 2 and 3

Phase 3: introduction of new designs and more stone types, probably c. 1660–62

Phase 4: interventions related to reordering the sanctuary, 1706–07

5Surveying, analyzing and evaluating the sanctuary and high altar pavements

Preparatory studies

Ground-penetrating radar surveys, 2004–05 by Erica Carrick Utsi

Some GPR basics

Planning the survey

The high frequency survey

The low frequency survey

Conclusions

Condition and conservation trials, 1993–98 by Vanessa Simeoni

Condition in 1993–94

Condition in 1997

The archaeology beneath the pavements: a brief assessment

6Conservation and repair of the sanctuary pavement by Vanessa Simeoni

Introduction

Recording and the sanctuary pavement archive

Photogrammetric survey

Photographic record

Video documentary

Reports and other written records

Materials in the pavement

Cleaning

Solvent cleaning, 2008

Relative humidity and temperature

Laser cleaning

Equipment, settings and mechanism

Cleaning the tomb-covers

Removal of cement patching

Emergency stabilization and temporary repairs

Removal methods and techniques

Laser removal of cement

Case studies

Purbeck marble: deterioration and treatment

Bed type and deterioration patterns

Conservation treatment

Purbeck marble matrix replacement

Sub-structure delamination

Stone tesserae: damage and treatment

Stone types

Cocciopesto mortar

Condition of stone tesserae

Treatment programme

Mosaic reintroduction

Repairing historic restorations

George Gilbert Scott’s restoration

Glass tesserae

Opaque glass

Translucent glass

Survey of remaining glass inlays, 2005

Deterioration and condition

Treatment

Restoration of the western border panel

Treatment

Method of tessera production

Case study: the central medallion

Repairs to the central stone

Surface finish

Conclusions and post-conservation care

7St Edward the Confessor’s chapel pavement

Past interventions and damage

Present condition of the pavement

The Purbeck marble matrix

Paving zones

Setting out the design

Detailed description of the pavement

Designs in the medallions

Small roundels

Curvilinear bands

Concave-sided triangles

Discussion

Ground-penetrating radar surveys of the high altar and St Edward’s chapel pavements, 2005 by Erica Carrick Utsi

High altar pavement and steps

St Edward’s chapel

Conclusions

The archaeology beneath the chapel floor

8Materials employed in the pavements and monuments

Antiquarian petrology

The stone types by Kevin Hayward

Introduction

Primary materials

Restoration materials, Phases 2–5

Glass: analysis of samples from the sanctuary pavement by Ian Freestone

Opaque glass

Translucent glass

Metals employed in the pavements and monuments

Wrought iron

Latten (brass)

Analysis of ‘mastic’ resin on the sanctuary pavement by Ruth Siddall

Sampling and analytical details

Discussion and conclusions

Analysis of the paste-inlaid tesserae by Ruth Siddall

Sample preparation and analytical techniques

Composition of the tesserae

Composition of the pigment

Conclusions

Mortars used in the sanctuary pavement by Ruth Siddall

Recording and sampling the mortars

Construction mortars

Restoration mortars

Cement repairs

Discussion

Notes to chapters 1 to 8

Plans 1 and 2 (fold-outs at end of volume)

* * *

VOLUME 2

The Royal Tombs

9St Edward’s chapel and the context of the shrine

Introduction

Chronology of St Edward’s enshrinement

Evolving topography of St Edward’s chapel

Elevating the shrine

Pilgrim access

Proliferation of royal tombs and its consequences

Monuments in the chapel: post-medieval interventions and antiquarian investigations

Impact of pilgrims and tourists on the chapel and its monuments

10 The shrine-tomb of St Edward the Confessor, I: description and primary fabric

Introduction

General description of the shrine-tomb

Detailed descriptions of the components

Plinth

Cornice

South elevation

East elevation

North elevation

West elevation (incorporating the altar retable)

Niches

Columns and colonnettes

Reconstructing the original form of the shrine-tomb

Location, steps and plinth

Lower stage of the pedestal and niches

Upper panelled zone and chest

Detached architectural fragments from the shrine

Method of construction and assembly

The primary inscription: an assessment

Concluding observations

11 The shrine-tomb of St Edward the Confessor, II: Tudor reconstruction and later history

The feretory canopy (capsella or cooperculum)

Description

Discussion and dating

Shrine of St Edward: historical context of its Tudor reconstruction

Abbot Feckenham’s reconstruction of the shrine pedestal and altar, 1557

The pedestal and sarcophagus chamber

Decoration and defacement

The secondary inscription

Accident and intervention, 1685

St Edward’s coffins

Fragments of silk from the tomb of Edward the Confessor by Lisa Monnas

Dating, weave and design

Dilapidation of the shrine canopy and its restoration, 1958–60

12 Tomb of King Henry III

Introduction and antiquarian descriptions

Summary of historical evidence relating to the burial and tomb of Henry III

Architectural form of the tomb

Stepped podium

Lower chest

Upper chest

Effigy

Canopy and accoutrements

Summary list of the mosaic-decorated components of the tomb

Detailed description of the mosaic decoration

South elevation: upper chest

South elevation: lower chest

East elevation: upper chest

East elevation: lower chest

North elevation: upper chest

North elevation: lower chest

West elevation: upper chest

West elevation: lower chest

Tomb colonnettes

Later interventions

Restoration, 1557

Archaeological investigation, 1871

Restoration, 1873

13 Child’s tomb in the south ambulatory

Identity of the tomb and its occupants

Date and primary location of the tomb

Relocation of the tomb in the south ambulatory

The tomb-chest

Detailed description of the decoration

North elevation

East elevation

West elevation

Top slab

Discussion

Design and execution

Decorative materials and their deployment

Architectural setting of the repositioned tomb

Post-medieval interventions

Archaeological investigations, 1937 and later

14 Related monuments and furnishings

The ‘de Valence’ tombs

William de Valence, Earl of Pembroke

St Edward’s chapel: northern tomb-cover

St Edward’s chapel: southern ‘de Valence’ tomb-cover

Identifying the occupants of the two tombs: a reappraisal by Matthew Payne

Discussion

St Edward’s shrine altar

Fragments of cable-moulded colonnette-shafts

Statue pedestals and candelabra

High altar and the Westminster Retable

Inscription fragment in the floor of St Edward’s chapel

15 The Westminster mosaic assemblage: summary, assessment and dating

The Cosmati episode: embracing the academic challenge

Luxury paving and mosaic decoration: Westminster in context

The sanctuary and its pavements

Abbot Richard de Ware, 1258–83

Aspects of the pavement’s design and construction

Four rectangular border panels

Inscriptions

The primary design and materials

Later history of the pavement

Altar pavement and screen

St Edward the Confessor’s chapel and its pavement

The underlying topography of the chapel, 11th to 13th centuries

Demolition and preparations for reconstruction: some logistical considerations

Laying out the chapel in the early 1250s

The shrine pavement

St Edward’s shrine-tomb and altar

Making liturgical provision during the structural interregnum

Aspects of the design of the shrine pedestal

Dating the construction of St Edward’s shrine

St Edward: housing the corporeal relic

The shrine dismantled and reassembled

Henry III and his tomb

Historical context

The upper tomb-chest

The lower shrine-like chest

Effigy

Canopy

Constructional logistics

The coffin

A failed cult?

Dating the construction of the tomb

Other tombs

The child’s Cosmati tomb (John of Windsor)

The ‘de Valence’ tombs: a conundrum resolved

Logistics and chronology of the Westminster Cosmati episode

Logistics of introducing Cosmati work into Westminster Abbey

Chronology of the Cosmati assemblage

Attribution of the Cosmati authorship

Appendix 1. The shrine in the records by Matthew Payne

Archival references

Chronicles

Appendix 2. Quantification of tesserae in the mosaic pavements and monuments

Notes to chapters 9 to 15

Abbreviations and bibliography

Plans 3 and 4 (fold-outs at end of volume)

FOREWORD

By The Dean of Westminster, The Very Reverend Dr John Hall

This two-volume account of the Cosmatesque mosaics in and around the Shrine of St Edward throws new light on one of the most extraordinary and wonderful aspects of the Abbey church.

However, much of the history of the Abbey itself is untold and unknown. In the 19th century, Dean Arthur Penrhyn Stanley (1864 to 1881), explored every tomb and every monument in the Abbey and wrote Memorials of Westminster Abbey, published in several editions. Since then, others have attempted aspects of the history. We know little or nothing of the earliest years and cannot be sure of the time of the first Abbey building, though it seems likely to have been commissioned by Dunstan, the former Abbot of Glastonbury and Bishop of London, when he was about to be Archbishop of Canterbury, perhaps in 959 or 960, who would subsequently be canonized.

Later, we know of King Edward’s rebuilding of the Abbey in the mid-11th century, who would be canonized in 1161 as St Edward the Confessor, and his burial in his Abbey church on 6th January 1066, but really little of the building itself. Things become clearer in the reign of Henry III, son of King John, who replaced the east end of the Confessor’s church with the quire, transepts, sacrarium and ambulatories around the Confessor’s shrine. The nave was rebuilt many years later and the west towers only finished in 1745. We still see those parts of the Abbey church Henry III left us, consecrated on 13th October 1269.

We also see fascinating remains of the glorious decoration commissioned for Henry III’s church by Abbot Richard de Ware (1258 to 1283). The abbey had earlier that century become exempt from the authority of the Bishop of London or Archbishop of Canterbury, so the abbot travelled to Rome to receive authority for his abbacy from the Pope. He visited Rome perhaps every other year. There he discovered the materials for mosaics recycled from imperial Rome by the Cosmati brothers and became sure that Henry III would delight in their work for his great Abbey church. In 1268, a year or so before the consecration of the new Abbey church, pavements were laid in front of the high altar and around the Confessor’s Shrine, and Cosmatesque mosaics decorated the Shrine itself and would also decorate Henry III’s glorious tomb prepared before his death in 1272.

Warwick Rodwell, the Abbey’s Archaeologist, and David Neal have studied these mosaics in great detail and discovered much about them that has never before been known. The mosaics have been despoiled and removed and returned and tampered with over the centuries but what remains is still precious and amazing and glorious.

These two volumes offer astonishing insights and amazing detail. We must be immensely glad that their story will now be preserved for the future. Countless generations to come will learn and understand the significance of this work that has stood here already for more than 750 years.

PREFACE

The Collegiate Church of St Peter in Westminster – now generally known as Westminster Abbey – is renowned the world over, and no church in the British Isles has a richer, more diverse or more complex history. Formerly a great Benedictine monastery, it is the Coronation church where English kings and queens have been crowned since 1066, and for centuries it was also the principal royal burial church, where many monarchs and nobility were laid to rest.

From the Middle Ages to the present day, interest in the Abbey has generated a huge volume of literature, both scholarly and popular, and it has even provided the inspiration for some compelling works of fiction.¹ Hardly any publication has failed to express interest in, and wonder at, the medieval royal tombs and cosmatesque mosaic pavements. The two are inextricably linked, and together they comprise a unique group of monuments of outstanding importance for the study of art, architecture and archaeology in 13th-century Europe. They include two great pavements, a shrine and two royal tombs. Designed and constructed by Italian craftsmen, the Westminster Cosmati mosaics are the only extant examples outside of Italy itself. Yet despite their undisputed importance, these monuments have never been archaeologically studied or recorded in detail. Consequently, many uncertainties attend the circumstances of their commissioning, the techniques of their construction, and even their dates of completion.

The decision by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster in 1996 to embark on a much-needed programme of sensitive conservation on the Sacrarium (sanctuary) pavement was accompanied by historical research, trial investigations and detailed archaeological recording. Upon completion of the practical work in 2010, it was determined that a monograph on the pavement, including an account of its conservation, should be published. It was deemed essential that the volume should include a large-scale, overall photograph of the conserved pavement, of the highest quality possible, so that every detail of the mosaic work was plainly visible. Despite strenuous attempts to create such an image, for a variety of technical reasons, the results were consistently disappointing. Then a chance encounter occurred that not only resolved the problem in hand, but also changed the course of the entire Cosmati publication project.

In June 2012, the present writers were in conversation when DSN bemoaned that, having worked many years for the Ancient Monuments Inspectorate in Great Smith Street, just around the corner from Westminster Abbey, he had never seen the Cosmati mosaics, which at the time were protected by linoleum and carpets. WR invited him to view the pavements and to consider recording them in the same technique as his paintings of Romano-British mosaics. However, despite having drawn Roman mosaics for more than fifty years DSN had never illustrated a medieval example. Initially, he doubted what a detailed drawn survey could contribute to the study and understanding of the Westminster floors, especially since the pavement in the sanctuary was so complete and glorious to behold, following its recent conservation.

This reticence did not, however, prevail over the need to record the mosaic around the tomb of St Edward the Confessor in the shrine chapel, which was in poor condition and still required protection by a carpet. Patches of cement intended to level the floor, and prevent further tesserae from being dislodged, obscured its patterns and in places masked the eroded schemata, which had also been disrupted by later tombs.

It was decided that recording should begin with the pavement around the shrine, which was clearly going to take some considerable time, there being tens of thousands of tesserae of many different shapes. Each one had to be individually drawn and then appropriately coloured. The shrine chapel pavement was duly recorded in 2012–13, followed by the sanctuary pavement in 2014–15. During the process of recording these, it became evident that something was missing from the substantial area of Victorian floor that lay between the two pavements, where the high altar stands. A compelling case emerged for positing the loss of a third luxury pavement: the altar pavement.

Upon completion of the paintings of the floor mosaics, it was apparent that they were not casual or unassociated works of embellishment, but integral components of a cohesive artistic ensemble that included other Cosmatesque monuments, both extant and lost. The extant works comprise the shrine-tomb of St Edward the Confessor, the reredos from its associated but long-lost altar, the tomb of King Henry III, the tomb of an unnamed royal child, two mosaic-decorated column-shafts and an inlaid coffin lid. The scope of the project was therefore expanded to survey and publish all the cosmatesque mosaics in Westminster Abbey. Such a study would complement the series Roman Mosaics of Britain.²

Accordingly, in December 2015 a survey of the child’s Cosmati tomb was carried out, and the shrine-tomb of Edward the Confessor was tackled in 2016. The latter introduced two fresh recording considerations into the project. First, the shrine had been dismantled at the Dissolution of the Abbey in 1540, and incorrectly reassembled in 1557 by Abbot Feckenham, during the brief monastic revival in the reign of Queen Mary I. Although a shadow of its former self, the original design and decoration of the monument is largely reconstructible. Second, where the tesserae had been lost, Feckenham infilled the matrices with plaster and exquisitely overpainted it with faux mosaic. That work too has been recorded in detail. The final structure to be surveyed was the tomb of Henry III, the most sumptuous of all the English Cosmati monuments. Study of this began in the autumn of 2016, and took almost a year to complete.

Elucidating and describing the construction and physical history of the pavements and the tombs of Henry III and the royal child in the south ambulatory was not difficult, but the shrine-tomb of Edward the Confessor presented challenges of a wholly different order. As a result of its having been dismantled and reconstructed, the architectural anomalies and archaeological questions were legion; moreover, these were not confined to the stone structure, but also embraced the very large and enigmatic timber canopy that surmounts the shrine. Inlaid with glass mosaic and over-restored in 1958–60, its age and precise function were uncertain.

It was readily apparent that if we were to compile an accurate description and authoritative discussion of the shrine pedestal and its canopy, we had to study the internal parts of both. Consequently, in January 2018 the Dean and Chapter generously agreed to our request to close the chapel of St Edward, erect scaffolding and lift the canopy off the shrine, thereby allowing us to study and record the interiors of both components for a period of two weeks. The relevant chapters have been greatly enhanced by this additional investigation.

Although the primary aim of this opus is to present a comprehensive record of the 13th-century mosaic pavements and funerary monuments, it became increasingly obvious as study progressed that their design, date and condition could not be properly understood without taking due cognizance of their context within the evolution of the Abbey over three-quarters of a millennium. We have restricted discussion of this to architectural and archaeological aspects, and have not ventured into the fields of Henry III’s patronage or his relations with Rome; these have already been well covered by Professors David Carpenter and Paul Binski.³ Similarly, we have eschewed discussion of geometric, cosmic and theological issues associated with the design of the sanctuary pavement in particular, a subject upon which others better qualified have expounded.⁴

The Westminster Cosmati study was never planned as a research project that would extend over two decades: it gradually developed through a combination of felicitous circumstances. It began with an academic conference in 1998, effectively setting in train the research that was necessary to precede the conservation programme on the sanctuary pavement, which commenced in 2008. As work progressed, more and more questions were asked, and the answers could only be obtained by studying the other examples of cosmatesque art at Westminster, or by looking to Italy, from whence came the style of the monuments, the materials to decorate them and the mosaicists to execute the work. The scholarly interest generated by the conservation of the sanctuary pavement pointed the way for research to extend to all the other related works in Westminster Abbey.

The preparation of these volumes has been a collaborative exercise. The paintings and other artwork of recent date have been created by DSN, who is also responsible for the technical descriptions of the mosaics. The historical and archaeological sections have been written by WR, and we have jointly formulated the discussion. A major section has been contributed by Vanessa Simeoni, Head Conservator at Westminster Abbey, and specialist contributions by other scholars are published under their own names. The aim of this publication was primarily to record the physical evidence of the pavements and monuments, and their setting, thus providing a basic resource upon which future scholarship can build. Inevitably, as investigation and recording proceeded, innumerable avenues of potential research presented themselves which, for the most part, we have resisted the temptation to pursue. However, the great uncertainty that hitherto attended the dating of the Cosmati ensemble needed to be addressed. Hence, we have brought together, for the first time, all the relevant historical documentation and the archaeological record, to evince a chronology that is coherent, practicable and embraces the entire armoury of evidence at our disposal.

Collectively, we offer these volumes in celebration of the 750th anniversary, in 2019, of both the dedication of Henry III’s rebuilt Abbey and the translation of the body of St Edward the Confessor into its present shrine on 13 October 1269: requiescat in pace.

Warwick Rodwell

David S Neal

Westminster Abbey

St Edward’s Day, 2018

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The study, recording and publication of the Cosmati pavements and monuments has been a long and complex process, involving many people, to whom we are enormously indebted for their time and expertize. The project was instigated by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, and the practical element falls into two parts: it began with the conservation of the sanctuary pavement in 2008–2010. Following that, from 2011 to 2019, detailed recording and study of the full complement of Cosmati monuments in Westminster Abbey was carried out, leading to the present publication.

A steering group set up in 2004, to advise on the conservation of the sanctuary pavement, was composed of members of the Westminster Abbey Fabric Commission, and other specialists. Members of the Cosmati Steering Group (between 2004 and 2017) comprised: Dr Richard Gem OBE (Chairman), the late Revd Canon Anthony Harvey, Revd Canon Michael Middleton, Revd Canon Robert Reiss, Revd Canon David Stanton, Professor Paul Binski, Dr Ian Bristow, John Burton MBE, Ptolemy Dean, Professor Eamon Duffy, Valerie Humphrey, John Maine, Dr Richard Mortimer, Professor Clifford Price, Dr Eric Robinson, Professor Warwick Rodwell OBE, Sarah Staniforth CBE, Tim Tatton-Brown OBE, Dr Tony Trowles and Jim Vincent.

The core team that undertook the conservation programme, headed by Vanessa Simeoni, comprised: Paula Rosser (conservator), Ned Sharer (conservator) and Claudio Costantino (archaeological recorder). Jim Vincent (Clerk of the Works) and his team provided support throughout the project: Mark Croll and Joe Goodbody, Westminster Abbey stone masons, were responsible for working and bedding the new Purbeck marble; Matthias Garn, master mason, and his team of masons in York undertook the cutting of the new stone tesserae. Treleven and Sue Haysom advised on the different types of Purbeck marble in the pavement and supplied new material from their quarries; the late Professor David Peacock and Dr David Williams provided advice and direction on the sourcing of Imperial porphyry and other stones for the pavement. Conservation graduates and students from the City and Guilds of London Art School, the Institute of Archaeology, University College London and the Courtauld Institute of Art periodically assisted the core team.

Vanessa Simeoni also wishes to thank the following for their assistance in various ways: Lucy Ackland (conservator); Sandra Davison (adviser on glass conservation); Professor Ian Freestone; Diana Heath (metals conservator); Ros Hodges (glass conservator); Peter Lewis (film maker and editor); Marie Louise Sauerberg; Léonie Seliger, Cathedral Studios, Canterbury; Dr Ruth Siddall (study and analyses of mortars and mastic resin); Dr Marina Sokhan (laser cleaning); conservators at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence; and the Vatican Mosaic Conservation Studio, Rome.

Valerie Humphrey (Director, Westminster Abbey Foundation) was instrumental in raising the funds for the conservation programme, and the principal donors were: Sir Siegmund Warburg’s Voluntary Settlement; The Getty Foundation (US); The J. Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust; and The Pilgrim Trust.

The authors of these volumes are profoundly indebted to numerous colleagues for advice, discussion and assistance during the extensive research necessary both before and during their preparation. The compilation of this study has only been possible through the goodwill and generous collaboration of many colleagues at Westminster Abbey, and beyond. For continuous support and encouragement, we are grateful to the Dean and Chapter, especially the Very Revd Dr John Hall (Dean); the Revd Canon David Stanton (Treasurer) and Sir Stephen Lamport GCVO (lately Receiver General); also Dr Tony Trowles (Librarian and Head of the Abbey Collection); Matthew Payne (Keeper of the Muniments) for considerable assistance with historical research and providing an appendix to these volumes; Christine Reynolds (Assistant Keeper of the Muniments), for many years of unstinting help with searching out and copying documents and illustrations; Dr Susan Jenkins (Curator); John Burton MBE, and Ptolemy Dean (successively Surveyors of the Fabric), who have always been supportive; Jim Vincent (lately Clerk of the Works) for much practical assistance with conducting archaeological investigations and recording; Vanessa Simeoni (Head Conservator) for close collaboration throughout the duration of the project, providing information and assistance over many aspects, and for contributing a substantial section to this publication; Martin Castledine (Dean’s Verger) and his team of Vergers for tolerating the inconvenience caused by our activities on the pavements and around the monuments over many years.

Tony Davies and Bill Mowatt of The Downland Partnership carried out photogrammetric surveys and laser scanning of the pavements and the shrine; Erica Carrick Utsi undertook surveys using ground-penetrating radar (GPR). Professor Christopher Wilson specially photographed aspects of the monuments for this publication; other images were kindly supplied by the contributors, and by Christina Unwin and Dr Richard Foster. David Lambert and The Picture Partnership were also commissioned by the Dean and Chapter to provide further photographs.

We are grateful to Dr Olivia Horsefall-Turner for assistance with acquiring new images of John Talman’s invaluable drawings of mosaic work in the Abbey; also to Elisabeth Murray for images of the silk fragments from Edward the Confessor’s coffin; and to the Victoria and Albert Museum for permission to publish these items. For arranging the study-loan of a further fragment of silk from the Confessor’s coffin, held by Westminster Cathedral, we are indebted to the Revd Canon Christopher Tuckwell (Administrator) and Miriam Power (Archivist). Hero Granger-Taylor, Frances Pritchard, Silvija Banic and Frank Bowles are also thanked for their input to the study of the Confessor’s silk.

Ironbridge Gorge Museum and Archives generously loaned an album of drawings of the sanctuary pavement made by George Maw, copies of which are now held in Westminster Abbey Library. Dr Richard Mortimer (formerly Keeper of the Muniments) kindly organized the loan. We are grateful to all the contributors to these volumes, and for the benefit of much valuable discussion, we are indebted to Sally Badham MBE, Professor Paul Binski, Professor David Carpenter, Paul Drury, Professor Eamon Duffy, Dr Richard Foster, Dr Richard Gem OBE, Dr John Goodall, Dr Kevin Hayward, Revd Professor Martin Henig, Lisa Monnas, Matthew Payne, David Sherlock and Tim Tatton-Brown OBE.

Additionally, we are grateful to Oxbow Books, and especially Dr Julie Gardiner and Val Lamb, for producing these volumes to our exacting requirements, and within the tight timescale required to meet the 750th anniversary deadline of the dedication of Henry III’s rebuilding of Westminster Abbey.

Finally, we wish to thank Dr Peter and Mrs Suzette Jarvis and Mrs Ann Gardner for generous contributions towards the cost of this publication; the Society of Antiquaries of London for financial assistance from the publication fund that it holds for mosaics; Thomas Clark for much assistance with the computer generation of illustrations; Noel Read for studio photography; Tony Moon for photocopying; Takako Kanazome for assistance in calculating the numbers of tesserae in the components of all the cosmatesque works; and Atsushi Yoshizawa for calculating the relative areas of mosaic and Purbeck marble in the monuments. WR wishes to thank his wife, Diane Gibbs, for her unfailing support and patience when the preparation of these volumes had an all-consuming effect on life, particularly during the last year of the project.

Authors

P

ROFESSOR

W

ARWICK

R

ODWELL

OBE

Consultant Archaeologist, Westminster Abbey;

Visiting Professor in Archaeology,

University of Reading

D

R

D

AVID

S. N

EAL

Formerly head of archaeological illustration,

Ancient Monuments Inspectorate; later

Senior Archaeologist, English Heritage

P

AUL

D

RURY

Historic environment consultant,

Drury McPherson Partnership

P

ROFESSOR

I

AN

F

REESTONE

Professor of Archaeological Materials

and Technology,

Institute of Archaeology,

University College London

D

R

K

EVIN

H

AYWARD

Archaeologist and geologist,

Pre-Construct Archaeology Ltd

and University of Reading

L

ISA

M

ONNAS

Independent textile historian

M

ATTHEW

P

AYNE

Keeper of the Muniments,

Westminster Abbey

D

R

R

UTH

S

IDDALL

Student Mediator,

University College London

V

ANESSA

S

IMEONI

Head Conservator,

Westminster Abbey

E

RICA

C

ARRICK

U

TSI

Ground-penetrating radar specialist,

EMC Radar Consulting

Cambridge

SUMMARY

The Collegiate Church of St Peter in Westminster – commonly known as Westminster Abbey – has been England’s premier church for almost a thousand years. Soon after he became king in 1042, Edward (later known as the ‘Confessor’), refounded the Benedictine community at Westminster and set about building a grand new church and cloister for the monks, not in the local Anglo-Saxon architectural style but in the Romanesque that was current in Northern France. This remarkable departure from local tradition heralded the arrival of ‘Norman’ architecture in pre-Norman England, some two decades before William, Duke of Normandy, launched his invasion in 1066. In that same year, the new Westminster Abbey saw both the burial of Edward, its patron, and the coronation of William I as King of England.

Thenceforth, Westminster became, first, the coronation church and, later, the burial church for the kings and queens of England and their families. Edward was held in high regard as a monarch who displayed exceptional piety, and the Abbey petitioned the pope for his sanctification, which was granted in 1161. The body of ‘St Edward the Confessor’ was taken up from its tomb in front of the high altar and installed in a shrine sited to the east of the altar. Enshrinement took place on 13 October 1163, St Edward’s Day.

The nine-year-old son of King John ascended the throne in 1216 as King Henry III, and so began one of the longest reigns in English history: fifty-six years. Henry, like Edward, was a pious monarch, but he was also extremely ambitious. In 1220 he was present at the enshrinement of St Thomas Becket, the murdered archbishop of Canterbury. The cathedral there had been partly rebuilt in the French Gothic style, following a disastrous fire in 1174. It also had an exotic polychrome pavement in the Trinity chapel, constructed with rare Mediterranean marbles, including purple and green porphyry. There was probably nothing comparable in England, and Henry would have seen and remembered it.

In about 1240 Henry took a decision, the consequences of which were to dominate the remainder of his reign: he would rebuild Westminster Abbey on a scale to rival architectural achievement in France, and would be so lavishly furnished and decorated that it probably became the most ambitious and expensive building project in 13th-century Europe. Despite periods of political turmoil and financial embarrassment, the speed and determination with which the king drove the project forward between c. 1240 and 1272 is breathtaking, as was the sheer scale of the operation, requiring the simultaneous employment of many hundreds of men. While the political and financial aspects of rebuilding Westminster Abbey, as well as its locus in the development of European Gothic architecture (particularly vis-à-vis France) in the mid-13th century, have been thoroughly explored by several scholars, the archaeology and logistics of this unprecedented operation have largely been overlooked.

The liturgical heart of Henry’s new church was the presbytery, a polygonally-apsed structure of four-and-a-half bays, divided at its mid-point by steps into two levels: on the west is the sanctuary (Sacrarium), and on the east the shrine-chapel of St Edward the Confessor, elevated on a platform. The architectural magnificence of these interlinked spaces was complemented by a style of decoration hitherto unknown in England: brilliantly coloured marble and glass mosaics of the type generically named after the Cosmatus family that constructed a great number of pavements and monuments in Italy in the 12th and 13th centuries. The surviving Cosmati commissions in Westminster Abbey comprise: the pavements of the sanctuary and chapel of St Edward, the shrine and the retable of its lost altar, the tomb of Henry III, a tomb of a royal child and a grave-slab.

Individually, the surviving sumptuous furnishings of the medieval presbytery have been illustrated and briefly described on many occasions, and the dating of the principal components debated. However, only one item – the great altarpiece of c. 1270 (the Westminster Retable) – has received systematic forensic study, which proved remarkably informative. The remainder of the Henrician ensemble – mosaic pavements, shrine and royal tombs – awaited similar treatment, and that is what we have attempted in these volumes. Two avenues of approach have been adopted. First, the monuments themselves have been minutely studied, drawn and analyzed and, in the case of the sanctuary pavement, it has also received archaeological investigation and conservation. Secondly, the physical and chronological contexts of the monuments have been scrutinized with the aid of historical documentation, topographical analysis within the evolving building complex, and ground-penetrating radar (GPR).

We considered it imperative to adopt a holistic approach to this study, examining not just the Henrician presbytery as we see it today, but also its 11th-century predecessor and the protracted process of transition. The latter has yielded vital clues to the constructional order and dating of the cosmatesque works. Since medieval monuments seldom remain in the same condition as when first built, it is equally important to study their history of post-construction use and physical intervention, working backwards from the present day. Every piece of detectable evidence must fit somewhere in the historic sequence, and any anomalies require investigation and explanation. In the case of certain elements of the Westminster ensemble there have been major interventions: some of the decoration of the sanctuary pavement has been reconfigured or entirely replaced; the shrine of St Edward was totally demolished and reassembled in the 16th century; and royal tombs have been dismantled and moved. Furthermore, some fundamental components of the Henrician presbytery have been entirely lost, including the high altar, shrine altar, paschal candlestick and all the screens.

The present study began with a programme of conservation work on the sanctuary pavement in 2008–10, instigated by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster; hitherto, the mosaic was in poor condition and had to be permanently covered with carpeting. Conservation provided the opportunity to identify the assemblage of exotic stones and glass employed for the tesserae, as well as studying the mortars and constructional aspects of the pavement. Although the design and mosaic work proclaim its Italian authorship, aspects of the project are expressly English, most notably the matrix into which the tessellation is set: it is grey Purbeck marble from Dorset, rather than white marble of Mediterranean origin. Also, this is the only Cosmati pavement known to incorporate an inscription, created in latten (brass) by the London marblers who were accustomed to lettering Purbeck marble tombs. The inscription records the date of the pavement as 1268, and names Odoricus as the Italian master responsible for its construction.

The geometrical structure of the pavement is based on a central quincunx contained within a poised square, from the sides of which develop four lobes (rotae), each containing a medallion. A larger square frames the composition and is in turn bordered by a band of guilloche comprising twenty medallions and four rectangular panels, one mid-way along each side. All the components are defined by a composite framework of straight and curvilinear strips of Purbeck marble. The panels are filled with mosaic patterns, mostly built-up in situ, but two of the rectangular units and at least eight of the circular ones were prefabricated; i.e. the designs were chased into ‘trays’ (slabs) of Purbeck marble and the tesserae installed in the workshop. Each completed unit was then placed in position within the skeletal frame of the pavement. In total, the tesserae numbered c. 93,000.

The northern and southern rectangular panels cover tombs that were incorporated in the pavement ab initio. Both are undisturbed, but have been superficially interrogated by GPR. On the north side, beneath a highly ornate slab is a monolithic stone coffin containing Richard de Ware (1258–83), the abbot credited with organizing the laying of the pavement; on the south, beneath another mosaic-inlaid slab, is a rectangular chamber that appears to contain a timber chest with tightly packed contents. This is probably an ossuary.

In the Confessor’s chapel the Cosmati pavement is not geometrical, but consists of an overall pattern of medallions, roundels and curvilinear bands, which ‘flow’ around three sides of the shrine pedestal. Essentially, it is a carpet pattern that can easily fill an irregular space, where a formal rectilinear design would fail aesthetically. First, the floor of the chapel was paved with tightly-jointed rectangular slabs of Purbeck marble of varying sizes. The design for the pavement was then drawn on the floor and matrices chased to receive the mosaic inlay; unlike the sanctuary pavement, there were no separately jointed components. Effectively, the chapel floor was one huge tray for mosaic, and it originally contained c.121,000 tesserae.

The principal materials employed for the mosaic inlays in the pavements were purple and green porphyry, white lias limestone from Somerset, Italian opaque glass and French translucent glass. Medallions in the sanctuary pavement contain discs of giallo antico and other Mediterranean stones, as well as an impressively large disc of calcite-alabaster at the centre. Egyptian gabbro is also fairly common, as is Carrara marble (but only in the shrine pavement). A further ten exotic stone types are present in very small quantities.

After centuries of being tramped over by pilgrims and tourists, the chapel pavement is in a very worn and depleted condition, but has never been subjected to restoration; for the last 150 years it has been under protective coverings. Parts of the mosaic have also been destroyed by the intrusion of late medieval graves. The sanctuary pavement, on the other hand, first underwent restoration in the later medieval period, when several panels and bands of mosaic were replaced. Porphyry was unobtainable and substitute stone-types were sourced: red Belgian marble as a replacement for purple, and serpentine for green. Two or three phases of intervention in the 17th century saw significant changes that were not primarily governed by the need for repair, but more by a desire to introduce a range of geometrical constructs into the pavement, unrelated to the original design. Plain discs of giallo antico that filled the centres of many of the medallions were extracted and recut to create hexagons, heptagons and octagons. Complex geometrical designs, having the appearance of pietra dura work, were introduced into several of the spandrels, displaying a further array of foreign marbles. Re-ordering the sanctuary in 1706 led to the destruction of much of the guilloche border on the east, and when it was reinstated by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1868, the medallions were all given new patterns, despite evidence for the originals having been preserved.

A comprehensive set of scale-drawings has been prepared of the pavements and monuments by David S Neal, recording the position of each extant tessera in the mosaic work and, in the case of the monuments, every surviving mortar impression where tesserae have been lost. Very little original mosaic survives on the Confessor’s shrine pedestal, having been picked out by pilgrims and souvenir-hunters. Additionally, the monument was dismantled when the Abbey was dissolved in 1540, and incorrectly reassembled in 1557: the empty matrices of the lost mosaic were infilled with plaster and competently painted as faux mosaic, which, in many places, replicated the patterns of the missing original work. In so far as it survives, the painted mosaic has been carefully recorded, but much of the plaster infilling has fallen away since the 16th century, revealing the bedding mortar and patterns of the original cosmatesque mosaics. Consequently, it has been possible to reconstruct elements of the 13th-century decoration, using a combination of the surviving mosaic and the mortar impressions of lost tesserae. The original number of tesserae in the pedestal was c. 158,000.

The complex history of the shrine has been elucidated. Initially, commissioned by Henry III in 1241 – four years before the reconstruction of the Abbey church began – the pedestal was designed as a Gothic structure, carved from Purbeck marble, and was doubtless intended to be embellished with gilding and paint. At the same time, the king commissioned metalworkers to create the sumptuous ‘golden feretory’ that was to rest on top of the pedestal and encapsulate the coffin containing the complete, ‘incorrupt’ body of Edward the Confessor. The shrine stood at the centre of St Edward’s chapel, on or very close to the site of its predecessor in the old church. The shrine altar is now on the site of the 11th-century high altar, and Edward’s original burial chamber lies immediately to the west, beneath an enormous Purbeck marble slab that forms part of the matrix for the Cosmati pavement. In rebuilding the abbey church, Henry III carefully preserved the saint’s empty tomb – which was revered as a secondary relic – and a small crypt was constructed around it. Access from the west was maintained until 1440, when it was blocked by the erection of the great stone altar screen.

The shrine pedestal carried a protective timber canopy, suspended over the feretory by ropes from the high vault above the presbytery. The medieval canopy has not survived, but references to it are preserved in the Sacrist’s accounts. The successor canopy is however extant, and still rests on the pedestal. Long assumed to belong to the Marian revival of the 1550s, the timber canopy has been reassessed and demonstrated to be pre-Reformation: it is a unique survival in England. The two-tiered structure is classical in style, with semicircular arches and ranks of pilasters on all sides; it is also inlaid with glass panels and Italian glass mosaic, and the timberwork is painted in imitation of purple and green porphyry. The west end of the canopy incorporates a flattened arch of a type not found in the English Tudor repertoire, but is paralleled in the quire screen of King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, which dates from the early 1530s and is most likely of Italian workmanship. The arch-form also features in the Chapel’s glazing of the 1520s. However, the Westminster shrine canopy can be dated to 1516, making it an exceptionally early example of Renaissance woodwork in England.

St Edward’s body, wrapped in 11th-century Byzantine silk and contained in a timber coffin, was initially placed in the shrine of 1163, the predecessor of the present structure, which was dedicated in 1269. At the Dissolution, the ‘golden feretory’ was seized by the King’s Commissioners, but the Confessor’s coffin was unharmed and was probably placed on the floor of the chapel where the shrine pedestal had stood, and the timber canopy lowered over it, thus creating a makeshift tomb for Edward. When the shrine was resurrected in 1557, the coffin was encapsulated within it, rather than being placed inside a feretrum on top of the pedestal. The Tudor timber canopy was hoisted on to the pedestal, where it still remains.

A scaffolding accident in 1685 pierced the Confessor’s coffin, providing an opportunity for unscrupulous antiquaries to pilfer objects. King James II ordered the coffin to be encased with heavy oak planks, and bound with iron so that it could not be further robbed. A detailed study of the coffin, made in 2018, is published here.

Henry III’s tomb was probably the most sumptuous of all the Cosmati monuments, and is the best preserved, at least on the north side where much of its glittering array of glass and gilt mosaic decoration is out of the reach of souvenir-hunters. The tomb is two-tiered, the lower chest comprising a shrine-like structure with three accessible chambers to receive relics and other offerings, modelled on the Italian confessio. The upper chest contains the king’s coffin, over which a gilt copper-alloy effigy rests on a low metal table bearing a marginal inscription. The chest was clad on all four sides with sheets of purple porphyry, symbolizing the high-ranking late Roman custom of being buried ‘in the purple’, a powerful symbol of legitimacy. Surmounting the entire structure was a ciborium-type canopy supported by four spirally-fluted Cosmati columns, two of which survive and were reused in 1557 as supports for the retable to the shrine altar. The significance of the extant columns had not hitherto been recognized; the set of four would have contained c. 32,000 glass tesserae.

Henry III’s tomb was the only cosmatesque monument to be embellished with a significant amount of micro-mosaic, and to have silvered glass tesserae as well as gilded ones. The total number of tesserae would have been c. 127,000. Like the Confessor’s shrine pedestal, Henry’s tomb was partially restored in the 1550s by Abbot Feckenham, using plaster and painted faux mosaic.

A small chest-tomb bearing cosmatesque decoration stands in a wall-recess in the south ambulatory, having been installed there in the mid-15th century, when it was ejected from the shrine chapel to make way for the construction of Henry V’s monumental chantry. It has now been established that the tomb was made for Edward I’s son, John of Windsor (d. 1271), and was modified three years later to receive also the body of the king’s second son, Henry. The top slab bears a carpet-like pattern, related to that of the shrine pavement.

The final cosmatesque monument is a tomb-cover, set into the paving at the east end of the shrine. The tapering Purbeck marble slab is a product of the London marblers, who inlaid it with a long central cross of latten, and an inscription composed of individual letters set between fillets around the perimeter of the stone. The exceptional aspect of this otherwise straightforward product is the fact that the fields on either side of the cross-shaft are inlaid with panels of glass mosaic in red, white and gold. Moreover, at the west end of the slab are the matrices that once housed a pair of cosmatesque heraldic shields. The monument is heavily worn and only a few letters of the inscription survive. It has often been claimed to mark the burial of John de Valence (d. 1277), but it can now be shown that his interment is beneath an adjacent slab which still bears part of his name and is not mosaic-decorated.

Reassessment of the evidence, including the fragmentary inscription, points to the occupant of the tomb being Aveline de Forz, Countess of Aumale, who married Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, brother of Edward I. Aveline died in 1274, aged only fifteen. Two decades later, she and her husband were both honoured with fine canopied tombs in the sanctuary, but her corporeal remains probably still lie under the original grave-slab.

The near-total lack of reliable and explicit records that can be meaningfully associated with the pavements and monuments has severely hampered past attempts to elucidate the chronology of the Cosmati episode, and historical events associated with it. The authors demonstrate that too much reliance has been placed on ambiguous and dubiously relevant material, antiquarian supposition and negative evidence. There is, for example, no basis for maintaining that Abbot Ware instigated the Cosmati episode at Westminster in c. 1267; his involvement was limited to the sanctuary pavement, and the grandiose decorative scheme that he envisaged for that was never completed. The design for the outer border was extraordinarily elaborate; work on it was begun and quickly abandoned in favour of a greatly simplified scheme, which was implemented hurriedly and haphazardly. Notwithstanding, the most elaborate and costly element in the entire pavement, with one of the highest densities of tesserae, was Ware’s own tomb-cover in the north border. It contained about 6,600 tesserae, and was probably the first unit to be made; elements of the design were clearly inspired by Henry III’s tomb and the Confessor’s shrine.

When Henry III died in 1272, according to some medieval accounts his coffin was placed in the chamber that originally housed Edward the Confessor’s burial. That chamber lies beneath the Cosmati pavement in the shrine chapel, and was accessed from the west. However, other accounts state that the king was buried in front (i.e. west) of the high altar in the present sanctuary. Investigations in the 19th century and recent radar scanning have confirmed that there is no burial chamber in the floor in front of the 13th-century high altar, and if Henry was interred here, it could only have been in an undocumented chest-tomb constructed at pavement level. There is thus a major conflict in the historical evidence, and only one explanation could satisfy both accounts, namely that Henry’s coffin lay in state, in front of the high altar for a period, and was then transferred to the Confessor’s empty tomb further east.

Wherever it was deposited, the coffin remained there for eighteen years, before being moved into Henry’s own sumptuous tomb on the north side of the shrine chapel. These peregrinations have given rise to an assumption that Henry’s tomb had not been constructed by 1272, and that it was built, or at least completed, by his son, Edward I, in the 1280s. Inexplicably, this assumption has never been questioned until now: there is no supporting historical documentation, and it is refuted by the archaeological evidence.

Edward the Confessor was Henry III’s role-model: both were renowned for their intense piety, good kingship and rebuilding Westminster Abbey. Edward was canonized, and by the end of his life Henry most likely saw himself as a potential candidate for beatification too. The unique form of his monument, a tomb-chest mounted on a shrine-like base, was designed to encourage people to pray beside it. It is argued here that Henry’s reported sojourn in the Confessor’s empty tomb was deliberately planned, to bring the king’s body as closely as possible into the ambience of his patron, Edward the Confessor.

Although we know for certain that the Confessor was translated, with great ceremony, into the new shrine in 1269, some scholars have argued that the structure was not finished until 1279, based on the evidence of a lost inscription mentioned in 1450 by a chronicler of questionable reliability. The evidence has been weighed and found wanting. Archaeologically, it is clear that the construction of the shrine and Henry III’s tomb were contemporaneous, and preceded the laying of the Cosmati pavement in the chapel. Paviours are recorded finishing the floor on the south side in 1269, in time for the dedication. Their work was clearly hurried and lacks the finesse that characterizes the Cosmati paving on the west and north sides of the shrine.

The shrine pedestal was conceived in the 1240s as a purely Gothic monument, and shaping its Purbeck marble components had begun before a decision was made to embrace cosmatesque decoration and Roman mouldings. The trefoiled heads of the seven niches (kneeling-places) were all roughed-out from large slabs, as were the backs of the niches: each was designed to simulate a blind window of two pointed lights, with a sexfoil in the tracery above. Then came the decision to modify the design, and patterns from the Cosmati repertoire was chased over every flat surface, and the matrices filled with stone inserts and glass mosaic. All the mouldings and other detailing followed the Italian tradition too. Thus Westminster’s hybrid Roman-Gothic shrine emerged.

We argue that this change of direction, occurring around 1260, marked the opening of the Cosmati era, and by 1269 the two pavements, the shrine-tomb of St Edward and the tomb for Henry III were all in place. The innumerable cross-links between the design, materials and execution of the ensemble point strongly to a single Cosmati campaign, potentially overseen by one master mosaicist, whose name is recorded on the shrine as Petrus, and on the sanctuary pavement as Odoricus. Since the 19th century, the case has been plausibly argued for identifying him as the Petrus Oderisius who was responsible for the tomb of Pope Clement IV at Viterbo in the early 1270s. This monument displays several decorative elements identical to those at Westminster. Clement IV died in 1268, but Oderisus did not begin work on his tomb until 1271, presumably following his return to Rome; it is perhaps no coincidence that the pope’s monument embodies design elements that could conceivably be derived from Gothic Westminster.

Although the precise date of embracing cosmatesque decoration in the Abbey has not been determined, it could have been 1258–59, when Henry made other momentous decisions concerning the rebuilding of the Abbey, and delayed its planned dedication for a decade. The end of the Cosmati era is, however, more clearly definable on archaeological grounds. The last substantial commission was for the tomb of John of Windsor (the ‘child’s tomb’), who died in 1271. It was clearly constructed by the same team as was responsible for the king’s own monument, and it is not difficult to envisage Henry III, in the final year of his life, commissioning this small tomb for his first grandson. Work continued on it after the king’s death, perhaps until 1274, when his second grandson, Henry, died, and his body was added to the tomb. Meanwhile, Edward I had not been crowned for a year, when Aveline de Forz, his young sister-in-law, also died (1274). A standard Purbeck marble floor-slab with brass inserts was made for her, but when it was placed in a position of honour adjacent to the Confessor’s glittering shrine, Aveline’s memorial would have appeared rather drab. Hence, the mosaicist who had worked on Henry III’s and John’s tombs was presumably instructed to enhance its appearance with cosmatesque panels and shields. This he did in red, white and gold glass chequers, similar to his previous work. That unconventional, and probably unique, addition to a Gothic floor slab marked the end of the Cosmati era at Westminster.

The extant Cosmati work in the Abbey confirms that the team of mosaicists installed c. 536,000 glass and stone tesserae. Allowing for the loss of the shrine altar, which would have been cosmatesque too, brings the tessera-count to around 600,000; if the high altar, paschal candlestick and other lost furnishings were also cosmatesque, the count would be significantly higher.

* * *

Volume 1 outlines the architectural context and history of antiquarian study of the Cosmati floor mosaics in Westminster Abbey, followed by an introduction to the sanctuary pavement (chapters 1–3). That leads into a detailed description of its construction and decoration, panel-by-panel (chapter 4). Chapter 5 is devoted to accounts of the recording and various forms of investigation, including ground-penetrating radar (GPR), applied to both the medieval pavement and the Victorian mosaic occupying the area in front of the high altar. A description of the major conservation programme undertaken in 2008–10 is given in chapter 6 by Vanessa Simeoni, who led the project. The pavement in St Edward’s chapel is described in chapter 7, together with an account of the GPR investigation that revealed the site of the Confessor’s original tomb and the chamber that was subsequently constructed to preserve it. Finally, chapter 8 is devoted to descriptions of the various materials employed in the construction of the whole suite of cosmatesque works: stone, glass, metals, mastic resin and mortars. Two large-scale fold-out plans show in detail the tessellation of the sanctuary and chapel pavements, respectively.

Volume 2 is devoted to the Cosmati monuments and furnishings, beginning with the topography of St Edward’s chapel (chapter 9), followed by a description and analysis of the shrine pedestal, including an attempt to reconstruct its original form prior to 1540 (chapter 10). In chapter 11 we consider, first, the surviving pre-Reformation timber and glass-mosaic canopy that tops the pedestal; secondly, the history and archaeology of the shrine’s re-assembly in 1557; and, thirdly, the mishap that occurred in 1685, when the coffin containing St Edward’s body was damaged. Henry III’s remarkable tomb is the subject of chapter 12, where it is analyzed in detail. Descriptions and discussion of the displaced child’s tomb and other related monuments occupy the next two chapters (13 and 14). The history, significance and chronological sequence of the Cosmati monuments as a whole are explored in chapter 15. Finally, two appendices present, first, the historical references to St Edward’s shrine and, secondly, a quantification and analysis of the numbers of tesserae required for the creation of the Westminster mosaics. Two large-scale fold-out plans detail the north elevation of Henry III’s tomb, and present a reconstruction of the complete mosaic pavement in St Edward’s chapel.

1The Cosmatesque Pavements and Monuments: Introduction and Context

HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL CONTEXT

The presbytery of Westminster Abbey is not merely the sanctum sanctorum of a great medieval church and former Benedictine monastery, but in many senses it is also the heart of the English nation. Here, following his accession to the throne in 1042, King Edward (later, the Confessor) erected a new church in the Romanesque style then current in northern France. Its construction heralded the arrival of Norman architecture in the British Isles, well before Duke William launched his