Our programme for 2019–2020
Find out more about our workshops, tours and special events
Download programmeWestminster Abbey is a living church at the heart of the nation's story where more than 1000 years of British history and pilgrimage can be explored under one roof. A warm welcome awaits all in this sacred space.
Our Abbey Highlights Tour includes:
- Coronation Chair
- Cosmati Pavement - site of coronations
- Royal tombs
- Grave of the Unknown Warrior
- Poets’ Corner
This tour can be tailored to suit your study topic.
Suitable for: KS3, KS4 and Post-16
Tour duration: 1.5 hours
Cost: £4
Duration of tours: 1.5 hours | Cost: £4, except where stated
Christian Life and Worship
Explore how symbols help Christians to worship in the Abbey and live the Christian life. This tour looks at how symbolic objects, actions, words and images are used in baptism, marriage and funerals.
Suitable for: KS3, KS4 and Post-16
Pilgrimage
Why have people come to the Abbey as pilgrims for nearly a thousand years? Find out about the Shrine of St Edward, and consider what pilgrimage means to Christians and offers to all.
Suitable for: KS3 and KS4
Abbey and Parliament
See where Parliament met in medieval times and explore the historical and contemporary links between the Abbey and the Houses of Parliament.
Suitable for: KS3, KS4 and Post-16
Religion and Science
Some of the greatest, and most controversial, scientists are buried or remembered at Westminster Abbey. This tour explores the relationship between science and religion in the past and today.
Suitable for: KS3, KS4 and Post-16
Religion in Public Life
Consider what Britain as a 'Christian country' means in the Coronation Church, where Benedictine values of hospitality, mutual respect and tolerance continue to contribute to contemporary society. Additional 'Meet a Priest' workshop recommended.
Suitable for: KS4 and Post-16
British Values - Discontinued from September
Democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, respect and tolerance: find out how Westminster Abbey underpins and upholds core British values.
Suitable for: KS3 and KS4
Meet a Priest
Put your questions on Christian teaching and moral, ethical and social issues to a member of the clergy. Can be combined with any RE tour of the Abbey.
Suitable for: KS3, KS4 & Post-16
Tour and Workshop duration: 2 hours
Cost: £5 per student
Duration of tours: 1.5 hours | Cost: £4
Icons - Discontinued from September
Join icon writer Reverend Regan O'Callaghan for a practical class exploring the tradition of icon writing. Using egg tempura, pigments and gold leaf, students will create a beautiful icon and learn about the symbolism of this ancient form of worship.
Suitable for: KS3, KS4 & Post-16
Gothic Abbey
Explore the differences between Medieval Gothic and Victorian Gothic on this architectural and literary tour.
Suitable for: KS3, KS4 & Post-16
Shakespeare
Faith, power and death: explore the cultural context of Shakespeare’s plays in Westminster Abbey and visit the graves and memorials of Tudor and Jacobean playwrights.
Suitable for: KS3, KS4 & Post-16
Art in the Abbey - Available from September
Explore 1,000 of art from the medieval wall paintings to the brand new Queen's Window designed by David Hockney. Includes opportunities for sketching.
Suitable for: KS3, KS4 & Post-16
Duration of tours: 1.5 hours | Cost: £4
Henry III: Piety and Patronage - Discontinued from September
What inspired Henry III to spend one tenth of the nation's wealth on building Westminster Abbey? Discover Henry's devotion to St Edward and visit the Chapter House, scene of Simon de Montfort's first parliament.
Suitable for: Post-16
Listen to a lecture on Henry III and Westminster Abbey by Professor David Carpenter (King’s College London) given at Westminster Abbey on 13th February 2019.
Dissolution: Before and After*
600 years of monastic life ended here in 1540. Investigate the pre-Reformation church exploring themes such as church fabric and wealth and religious doctrine. Discover the story of how one of the most powerful monasteries in the land was dissolved.
Suitable for: KS4 & Post-16
Henry VII: Building a Legacy
Find out how Henry VII established and consolidated his dynasty with this detailed look at the Lady Chapel and the Shrine of St Edward. Tour includes rare access to Henry's tomb.
Suitable for: KS4 and Post-16
The Pre-Reformation Church, 1529* - Discontinued from September
Examine the state of the church in 1529. Explore themes such as church fabric and wealth, religious doctrine and practice, criticism of the monasteries and popular Catholicism within the context of Westminster Abbey, a Benedictine monastery until 1540.
Suitable for: KS4 and Post-16
Enquiring into Elizabeth*
Discover what sovereignty meant to Elizabeth I as you stand at the Coronation site and find out how her religious settlement affected Westminster Abbey.
Suitable for: KS4 and Post-16
* These sessions can be booked as part of a joint offer with The National Archives at Kew.
Question Time
Wednesday 13th November 2019, 1:00-3:30pm
Debate current issues with a panel of distinguished speakers. Find out more
Suitable for: Post-16
Cost: £5 per student
Maximum number of students per school: 15
Science & Religion Conference
Wednesday 12th February 2020, 10:00am-3:30pm
How should we tackle Big Questions – where both science and religion seem to have something to say? Discover new ways to think about the meaning of life and the challenge of AI through interactive activities and conversations with leading academics in science, theology and other disciplines.
Suitable for: KS4
Cost: £4 per student
Tour and Galleries visit duration: 2 hours | Cost: £5
Visit the stunning Galleries high above the east end of the Abbey and view some of the rare and unusual objects in the Abbey collection. A visit to the Gallery must be booked as an add-on tour.
