Meaning Behind the Monuments

Historian Peter Sherlock gives a lunchtime talk on Westminster Abbey's sixteenth- and seventeenth-century monuments and how tourists shaped them.

Historian Peter Sherlock explores why certain memorials were added to Westminster Abbey in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and how tourists of the time reacted to them. The talk covers the Abbey's transition from monastery to a sought-after burial place, and how monuments conveyed political messages, commemorated war and celebrated professions. It also looks at the surprising role tour guides and tourists played in influencing and interpreting the collection. The 50-minute lunchtime talk takes place at St Margaret's Church, next to the Abbey.