This photo book has documented the new stone carvings and restoration work done by some of Britain's leading master craftsman at Westminster Abbey's Chapter House.



By repute, one of the greatest achievements of Gothic architecture, the Chapter House was completed about 1253. It was one of the largest chapter houses built. It was the formal meeting place not only of the Abbey monks but, uniquely, the assembly hall for King Henry III's Great Court, the forerunner of Parliament. A crypt beneath the Chapter House which extended under the adjacent Pyx Chamber accommodated royal treasure.



Following the dissolution of the Abbey in 1540 and until about 1863, the Chapter House held the important documents and records of the government and was the precursor of the Public Record Office. After the Chapter House was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott between 1866 and 1872, it was opened to the public. It continued to be royal property used for secular and religious functions which role continues although now administered by English Heritage on behalf of the Crown.