Card of the Day: The Confessor’s Chapel Prepared for the Coronation

One of the most sacred parts of Westminster Abbey, the chapel containing the shrine of St. Edward the Confessor is situated east of the Sanctuary at the heart of the Abbey. The Confessor’s chapel is obstructed on the west by a stone screen from approximately the Fifteenth Century which bears carved scenes from the Confessor's life.

The current chapel has taken the place of an earlier shrine which was erected in 1163, after the Confessor had been canonized. The shrine that we see today is a ghost of its former grandeur. The “New” chapel built by Henry III originally consisted of three parts: a stone base decorated with Cosmati work, a gold feretory (a reliquary) containing the saint's coffin, and a canopy above it, which could be raised to reveal the feretory or lowered to cover it. The whole of the shrine was decorated with gold images of kings and saints.

During the Reformation the shrine was broken apart and stored by the Abbey monks, and the gold feretory was lost. For its safety, the Confessor's body was interred in another part of the Abbey. However, in the reign of Queen Mary I, the shrine was rebuilt, but without much of its adornment and visual appeal.

For many years the Chair of St. Edward, also known as The Coronation Chair, was stored in the Confessor’s chapel. This practice has long since stopped. However, both the chair and the chapel continue to be major parts of the coronation service as seen in this card which was produced by Churchman’s Cigarettes for the 1935 Silver Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary.