NEW TREASURES FOUND

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 852, 21 December 1929, Page 36

NEW TREASURES FOUND

WORK IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY PANELS PAINTED OVER None of London's many “sights” is more popular than Westminster Abbey, and this year the number of visitors has broken all records. One Saturday I joined a party of tourists who were exploring the famous church for the first time, writes a special correspondent of the “Daily Mail." Most of them came from the provinces, but there were an American family, two Japanese, and half a dozen Germans. “You are going to see the most wonderful of all the historic buildings in London,” said the guide. “Every stone has its place in the history of these islands; every monument tells the tale of kings and warriors; of the great men who have built up the Empire.” His listeners stood silent in the presence of historic antiquity and gazed at the grey splendour of the dimly lit nave. “The long hidden art of the ages, lost beneath centuries of grime, is being slowly revealed,” went on the guide. “Today you will see some of the glories of the Abbey which have remained unsuspected for hundreds of years. You will see some of the finest works of art in the whole of Europe which have been obscured since the days of the Reformation.” The guide took us to the north and south aisles, where we saw what are believed to be the oldest examples of architectural heraldry in the world. Here we were shown the coats of arms of the leading rulers in Europe during the later portion of the 13th century. “The first Abbey,” said the guide, “was built by Edward the Confessor and was rebuilt by Henry 111. He had to call upon his friends to assist him in his work. In return their arms were placed in the Abbey and are now visible, owing to the work of Professor Tristram, for the first time for hundreds of years.” In the south ambulatory we were shown four panels which had remained covered since the early 17th century with a dirty-looking brown paint applied by the Puritans, who eschewed anything that might suggest idolatry. There, in the glory of their crimson and gold robes of the artistry of eight centuries ago, were the figures of the founder of the Abbey, Edward the Confessor, with patriarchal long hair and beard. Two other panels represented the angel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary at the time of the Annunciation, in robes of delicate beauty of design and colouring. We went into the most wonderful waxworks show in the world, a loft above the Henry VII.' chapel, where are the death-mask effigies of kings and courtiers.