The Lady Chapel was begun in 1503 and constructed at the
expense of Henry VII. It is the last great masterpiece of English
medieval architecture. In 1545 John Leland called it "the wonder
of the entire world". Unfortunately the names of the master
masons who designed it are not known but they were possibly
Robert Janyns and William Vertue. The chapel is approached by a
flight of stairs and at the entrance are finely wrought bronze
gates displaying royal Tudor emblems.
The outstanding feature of the chapel is the spectacular
fan-vaulted roof with its carved pendants. Around the walls are
95 statues of saints. Behind the altar is the tomb of Henry VII
and his queen Elizabeth of York. The bronze screen around it is
by Thomas Ducheman and the gilt bronze effigies and Renaissance
tomb were designed by Italian Pietro Torrigiano. James I is also
buried in the vault beneath the monument.
In 1725 the chapel was first used for installations of Knights
of the Order of the Bath and
the heraldic banners of living knights hang above the oak stalls.
Beneath the hinged seats of the stalls are beautifully carved
misericords.
At the east end is the Royal Air Force chapel. The stained
glass window by Hugh Easton depicts the badges of the fighter
squadrons that took part in the Battle of Britain in 1940. Above,
in the main east window, is stained glass designed by Alan
Younger, installed in 2000.
In the north aisle of the chapel is the tomb of Elizabeth I
and her half-sister Mary I. In the south aisle are monuments to
Mary, Queen of Scots and Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry
VII. Here also is the vault where Charles II, William III and
Mary II and Queen Anne lie, although none of them has a monument.
George II, the last monarch to be buried at the Abbey, is
interred in a vault below the central part of the chapel.
The painting of the Virgin and Child on the altar is by Bartolomeo Vivarini (Venetian School, about 1480). It was presented to the Abbey in 1935.