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Westminster Abbey in the Reformation and Civil War
Learn how Westminster Abbey navigated the English Reformation, Civil War, and Restoration—losses, protections, and continuities.
12/2/2025
17 min read
Great stones, greater storms: the Abbey bent with the winds and stood.
Key Phases
- Tudor Reformation: monastic life ends; collegiate church status emerges.
- Commonwealth era: iconoclasm threats, adaptive uses, selective protections.
- Restoration: liturgy revives; fabric repairs slowly follow.
Visiting Tips
- Look for tracers of damage and repair in statues and glass.
- Exhibits often narrate these turbulent decades.
Bottom Line
Institutions survive by adapting—Westminster is proof in stone.
About the Author
History Editor
I built this to help you enjoy Westminster Abbey calmly—smarter timing, kinder routes, and context that makes chapels and stories sing.
Tags
Reformation
Civil War
Restoration
Iconoclasm
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