Editing Waltham Abbey Church (section)

==History==
Archaeological investigations between 1984 and 1991 have revealed a much earlier origin of the site than had previously been believed. There is evidence for five distinct churches at Waltham.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=[[The Archaeological Journal]]|year=1992|volume =149|pages=282–343|author1=Huggins, P.J.  |author2=Bascombe, K.N. |name-list-style=amp |title=Excavations at Waltham Abbey, Essex, 1985–1991: Three Pre-Conquest Churches and Norman Evidence'|doi=10.1080/00665983.1992.11078010}}</ref>

===First church at Waltham (7th century)===
Traces of the flint rubble foundations of a 7th-century wooden church have been found under the [[Choir (architecture)|choir]] of the present  building; an associated burial has been [[radiocarbon dating|radiocarbon dated]] to between 590 and 690. A proposed date of ''circa'' 610 would place its construction in the reign of [[Sæberht of Essex]], who was noted for his church-building activities.<ref>Huggins (p. 12)</ref>{{incomplete short citation|date=March 2019}}<!--Huggins 1989 or 1992? Page 12 is outside the stated page ranges for both.--> Other finds included a 7th-century [[Kingdom of Kent|Kent]]ish jewellery book-clasp depicting eagles grasping a fish.<ref>Huggins (p. 17)</ref>{{incomplete short citation|date=March 2019}}<!--Huggins 1989 or 1992? Page 17 is outside the stated page ranges for both.-->

===Second church (8th century)===
During the reign of King [[Offa of Mercia]], whose rule extended to the [[Kingdom of Essex]] in the late 8th century, a building of [[Barnack stone]] was constructed around the earlier wooden church. It was half the length of the present building, and was a [[porticus]]-type church with chambers along each side of the [[nave]].<ref>Huggins (pp. 10–12)</ref>{{incomplete short citation|date=March 2019}}<!--Huggins 1989 or 1992? Pages 10–12 are outside the stated page ranges for both.--> It was intended as a [[Minster (church)|minster]]  serving several communities in the area.<ref>{{cite book|first=Dinah |last=Dean|title=''The Five Churches of Waltham''|publisher=Bookends|year=1984|isbn= 978-0950989303|pages=1–2}}</ref>

===Legend of the  Holy Cross===
At the beginning of the 11th century, the church and manor of Waltham were held by an Anglo-Danish [[thegn]] called [[Tovi the Proud]]. A legend, recorded in the 12th-century ''De Inventione Sanctœ Crucis Nostrœ'' ("The Discovery of our Holy Cross") or "Waltham Chronicle", relates that, in about 1016, the blacksmith at another estate belonging to Tovi, at [[Montacute]] near [[Glastonbury]], found a large black flint (or marble) [[crucifix]] buried at the top of a hill, after a dream. Tovi had the cross loaded onto an [[Bullock cart|ox-cart]], but the oxen would only go in one direction and continued every day until they reached Waltham, a  journey of some 150 miles.<ref>{{cite book |title=Waltham Chronicle |last= Watkiss |first=Leslie   |first2=Marjorie   |last2=Chibnall   |year=1994 |publisher=Oxford University Press }}</ref> This [[Holyrood (cross)|Holy Rood]] or Cross was
installed at the church and soon became the subject of pilgrimage.<ref name="britannia">{{cite web|url=http://www.britannia.com/church/waltham.html|title=Waltham Abbey|publisher=britannia.com|access-date=2014-06-06}}</ref>  Tovi is said to have rebuilt the church, but modern evidence suggests that he probably retained the 8th-century fabric of the building.

===Third church (King Harold's foundation)===
After Tovi's death, his son fell into debt and the estate passed to King  [[Edward the Confessor]]. He then gave it to [[Harold Godwinson]] (later King Harold II), who rebuilt, refounded and richly endowed the church, which was dedicated in 1060; a legend says that this was because  in his childhood, he had been miraculously cured of paralysis by the Holy Cross.<ref
name="channel4.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/e-h/harold04.html|title=Programmes – History – Channel 4|publisher=channel4.com|access-date=2014-06-06}}</ref>
The new church was placed under the control of a [[Dean (Christianity)|dean]] and a [[College (canon law)|college]] of twelve married [[priest]]s. Evidence suggests that stone and some of the
foundations of the previous church were re-used for the new building, which had a nave the same length as the present one, [[aisle]]s, a large [[transept]] and a small eastern [[apse]].<ref>{{cite journal|journal=The Archaeological Journal|year=1989| volume=146|pages=476–537|author= Huggins, P.J.|title=Excavations of the Colligiate and Augustinian Churches, Waltham Abbey, Essex, 1984–1987|doi=10.1080/00665983.1989.11021300}}</ref>

===Fourth church (Norman)===
Starting in about 1090, Harold's building was demolished and a new church with crossing tower and transepts was begun in the [[Norman architecture|Norman]] style. It reused the Saxon foundations and some of  the stonework, with additional stone from [[Reigate]], [[Kentish Ragstone|Kent]] and [[Caen stone|Caen]] in [[Normandy]]. The church was cruciform, with a tower at the [[Crossing (architecture)|crossing]] and two smaller towers at the west end. The nave had typically massive Norman pillars with incised decoration and semi-circular arches supporting a [[triforium]] and [[clerestorey]] above. A long eastern chapel may have housed the Holy Cross.<ref>Huggins (p. 5)</ref> The rebuilding, which had started at the eastern end, was completed by about 1150. Although there is a marked stylistic
resemblance to [[Durham Cathedral]], a recent study of the features of the church and comparison with other sites has concluded that the [[Architect|master mason]] at Waltham was trained in [[East Anglia]].<ref>[http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/maney/jba/1985/00000138/00000001/art00003?crawler=true Journal of the British Archaeological Association, Volume 138, Number 1, 1985, pp. 48–78(31) – Fernie, E. C., ''The Romanesque Church of Waltham Abbey'']</ref> This construction is mainly the fabric that has survived to the present.<ref>Hagger 2012, p. 174</ref>

===Fifth church (the Augustinian Abbey)===
[[File:Waltham Abbey Gateway - geograph.org.uk - 1030421.jpg|thumb|The surviving bridge and gatehouse of the abbey]]
In 1177, the abbey was re-founded once more, this time as an [[Augustinians|Augustinian]] priory with 16 canons, by [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] as part of his penance for the murder of [[Thomas Becket]]. The rebuilding, in the [[Early English Period|Early English]] style, made the abbey far more extensive than the original Norman establishment, as can be seen today from traces in the abbey grounds. Those parts of the Norman church east of the Norman crossing were demolished, and a new church, with its own nave, a second pair of transepts and a further tower at the new crossing, were constructed. The Norman nave was retained as a parish church, divided from the new work by a screen. The whole building was now longer than [[Winchester Cathedral]].<ref>Hagger (p. 177)</ref> A [[cloister]] was built to the north of the new nave. A short passage that led into the cloister still exists; this, and a fourteenth-century gatehouse, are the only surviving monastic buildings.<ref
name=bettley>{{cite book |title=The Buildings of England: Essex |last=Bettley |first=James  |first2=Nikolaus  |last2=Pevsner  |year=2007 |publisher= Yale University Press|isbn= 978-0-300-11614-4 |pages=807–809 }}</ref>

In 1184, Henry raised the status of the church to an abbey; he appointed an [[abbot]] and the number of canons was increased to 24. The completed abbey was finally re-dedicated on 30 September 1242, by [[William de Raley]], [[Bishop of Norwich]].<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=39852|series= Victoria County History|title=A History of the County of Essex: Volume 2 – Houses of Austin canons: Abbey of Waltham Holy Cross |pages=166–168}}</ref> The Holy Cross attracted many pilgrims and the Abbey became a popular place for overnight stays for kings and other notables hunting in [[Epping Forest|Waltham Forest]]. [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] was a frequent visitor and is said to have had a house or lodge at Romeland, adjacent to the abbey.<ref>{{cite book|first=Elizabeth|last=Ogborne|orig-year=Originally published in 1814|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=IeVSAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA178 |title=The History of Essex: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time|publisher=Nabu Press|isbn= 978-1247495620|page=179|year=1814|author-link=Elizabeth Ogborne}}</ref> During their summer progress of 1532, Henry and Queen [[Anne Boleyn]] stayed at Waltham Abbey for five days.<ref>{{cite book|author=Starkey, David|year=2004|title=Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII|publisher=Harper Perennial|isbn=978-0060005504|page=[https://archive.org/details/sixwivesqueensof00davi/page/454 454]|url=https://archive.org/details/sixwivesqueensof00davi/page/454}}</ref>

===The Dissolution===
Waltham was the last abbey in England to be [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|dissolved]].<ref>Heale 2016, p. 323</ref> On 23 March 1540, the last abbot, Robert Fuller, surrendered the abbey and its estates to Henry's commissioners, the annual income from which was valued at £1,079, 12 shillings and one penny. In return, the abbot received a generous pension in the form of estates with an annual income of £200; the [[Prior (ecclesiastical)|prior]] received an annuity of £20 and sixteen canons each received between £5 and £10 depending on seniority.<ref>Ogborne pp. 180–182</ref> [[Thomas Tallis]], who had taken up a post as a senior "singing-man" (often interpreted as [[Organist and Master of the Choristers|choir master]]) in the autumn of 1538, was awarded 20 shillings in outstanding wages and 20 shillings "reward". Tallis went on from Waltham to a post in the choir at [[Canterbury Cathedral]].<ref>[http://www.hoasm.org/IVM/Tallis.html Here Of A Sunday Morning – Thomas Tallis (c. 1510–1585)]</ref>  The Holy Cross disappeared without trace at this time. King Henry suggested Waltham as one of the new cathedrals for the [[Church of England]], but this proposal was not implemented.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42720|title= History of the County of Essex: Volume 2|pages=170–180}}</ref>  In 1541, the king leased the manor of Waltham to Sir [[Anthony Denny]], a prominent member of the [[Privy chamber]] and a confidant of the king. When Denny died in 1549, his estates passed to his widow Joan and in 1553 she bought the manor of Waltham outright; she died in the same year. The manor then passed to her son Henry, who died in 1574 leaving two sons; the elder Robert, died in 1576 and was succeeded by [[Edward Denny, 1st Earl of Norwich|Edward Denny]], who became Baron Denny of Waltham in 1604 and [[Earl of Norwich]] in 1626.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42718|title=History of the County of Essex: Volume 2|pages=151–162}}</ref> Edward reused the stones from the demolished Gothic choir and chancel (the fifth church) for the sumptuous Abbey House which he built to the north of the churchyard; the Norman remnant of the nave continued in use as the town's [[parish church]].<ref>[http://forms.eppingforestdc.gov.uk/community/history/history_of_the_area.asp  Epping Forest District Council – History of the District]</ref>

===Later architectural history===
In 1553,<ref name=bettley/> shortly after the demolition of the 12th-century choir, crossing and chancel, the 11th-century Norman tower at the east end of the nave collapsed. It was replaced by a new tower at the opposite end of the church, abutting the 14th-century west wall and straddling the main doorway. Work commenced in 1556 and was completed in the following year; it was the only church tower built in England during the reign of [[Mary I of England|Queen Mary I]].<ref>New, Anthony (1985), ''A Guide to the Abbeys of England and Wales'', Constable and Company Ltd, {{ISBN|0-09-463520-X}} (p. 405)</ref>

[[File:ECR(1851) p22b - Waltham Abbey.jpg|thumb|left|Waltham Abbey depicted in 1851, before the rebuilding works]]
[[File:Waltham Abbey - East Wall.jpg|thumb|right|Burges's East Wall and Zodiac Ceiling]]
[[File:Waltham Abbey, Doom 01.jpg|thumb|right|The 15th-century doom painting in the Lady Chapel]]
In 1859, the architect [[William Burges]] was appointed to undertake a restoration of the site and a refurbishment of the interior. The restoration was extensive; the removal of pews and galleries from the
south and west sides, a new ceiling (painted with signs of the [[zodiac]] as at [[Peterborough Cathedral]]), a new chancel and significant re-building. The designs were exhibited at the [[Royal Academy]]. Work  was completed by 1876. In the view of Burges's biographer, [[J. Mordaunt Crook]], "(Burges's interior) meets the [[Middle Ages]] as an equal." The architectural historian [[Nikolaus Pevsner]] said that Burges's remodelling was carried out "with all the robust ugliness which that architect liked".<ref>The Buildings of England: Essex (1965)</ref>  The revised 2007, edition of his book takes a more sympathetic view, describing Burges' work as "pioneering (and) powerful".<ref name="bettley"/> In the last year of the restoration, a 15th-century [[Doom (painting)|doom painting]] was discovered under whitewash on the east wall of the Lady Chapel.<ref>Tatton-Brown & Crook 2007, p.  69</ref> Further, more sensitive, restoration was undertaken in 1964.<ref>New p.  405</ref>

The Abbey's stained glass includes early work by [[Edward Burne-Jones]] in the rose window and lancets of the east wall, and [[Archibald Keightley Nicholson]] in the Lady Chapel. The Lady Chapel has three windows by Nicholson, depicting the [[Annunciation]], the [[Nativity of Jesus in art|Nativity]] and the [[Presentation|Presentation of Christ in the Temple]]. Work on a fourth – intended to depict the [[Epiphany (holiday)|Epiphany]] – was interrupted by the Second World War and never resumed.{{citation needed|date=May   2013}} In April 1941, a 500&nbsp;kg German [[parachute mine]] exploded in a field nearby at Romeland, destroying most of the windows on the north side of the church. In March 1945, a [[V-2 rocket]] landed in Highbridge Street, destroying the "Bellringers Window" in the tower; a detailed hand-tinted photograph of the window, discovered in 2007, may eventually allow the window to be recreated.<ref>{{cite web|work=Epping Forest Guardian – Local History |date=13 July 2007|url=http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/localhistory/1542792.a_window_into_the_abbeys_past/ |title=A window into the Abbey's past|author=Barden, Daniel}}</ref>

In 2003 the church was attacked by a man armed with two small axes, resulting in an estimated £200,000 worth of damage.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2003-01-03 |title=BBC NEWS {{!}} UK {{!}} England {{!}} Two hurt by Abbey axeman |website=news.bbc.co.uk |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2625687.stm |access-date=2017-03-13}}</ref>