The Deanery

Previous page: Buildings Connected with the Abbey

The present Deanery, with the adjoining Westminster School, occupy the site of the former abbot's house, and include some important features of the original structure, such as the library of the Deanery, formerly the abbot's long room, the college hail, once the kitchen and monks' refectory, and the monks' dormitory, now the schoolroom of the "Queen's scholars." The suite of apartments and the dining-hall of the Deanery, running along the west side of the cloister, are modern additions.

The cloisters, with entrances at either end to the abbey, contain many interesting relics, such as the nearly-destroyed effigies of Vitalis (d. 1087) and Crispinus (d. 1117), which are among the very earliest existing examples of English monumental art; the slab of black marble, called "Long Meg," over the grave of the gigantic natural son of Stephen, known as Gervaise de Blois; and the remains of a lavatory in the south walk.

Next page: Brief Tour of the Inside