Editing Westminster Abbey (section)

=== Chapter house and Pyx Chamber ===
The octagonal [[chapter house]] was used by the abbey monks for daily meetings, where they would hear a chapter of the [[Rule of St Benedict]] and receive their instructions for the day from the abbot.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2013|p=40}} The chapter house was built between 1250 and 1259 and is one of the largest in Britain, measuring nearly {{Convert|60|ft|m}} across.{{sfn|Trowles|2008|pp=152-153}} For 300 years after the English Reformation, it was used to store state records until they were moved to the [[Public Record Office]] in 1863.{{sfn|Trowles|2008|p=154}} It was [[Victorian restoration|restored]] by George Gilbert Scott in the 19th century.{{sfn|Trowles|2008|p=|pp=153-154}}

The entrance is approached from the east cloister via outer and inner [[Vestibule (architecture)|vestibules]], and the ceiling becomes higher as a visitor approaches the chapter house.{{sfn|Pevsner|1973|p=467}} It is an octagonal room with a central pillar, built with a small crypt below.{{sfn|Trowles|2008|p=|pp=153-154}} Around the sides are benches for 80 monks, above which are large stained-glass windows depicting the coats of arms of several monarchs and the abbey's patrons and abbots.{{sfn|Trowles|2008|p=|pp=153-154}} The exterior includes [[flying buttress]]es (added in the 14th century) and a leaded roof designed by Scott.<ref name="Historic England-2">{{Cite web |title=The Chapter House and Pyx Chamber in the abbey cloisters, Westminster Abbey |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1003579 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017031754/https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1003579?section=official-list-entry |archive-date=2022-10-17 |access-date=2023-11-05 |website=Historic England |language=en}}</ref> The interior walls of the chapter house are decorated with 14th- and 15th-century paintings of the [[Book of Revelation|Apocalypse]], the [[Last Judgment|Last Judgement]], and birds and animals.<ref name="Historic England-2" /> The chapter house also has an original, mid-13th-century tiled floor. A wooden door in the vestibule, made with a tree felled between 1032 and 1064, is one of Britain's oldest.<ref name="Historic England-2" /> It may have been the door to the 11th-century chapter house in Edward the Confessor's abbey, and was re-used as the door to the Pyx Chamber in the 13th century. It now leads to an office.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2013|p=40}}

The adjoining Pyx Chamber was the [[undercroft]] of the monks' dormitory. Dating to the late 11th century, it was used as a monastic and royal treasury. The outer walls and circular piers also date to the 11th century; several [[Capital (architecture)|capitals]] were enriched in the 12th century, and the stone altar was added in the 13th century. The term ''pyx'' refers to the boxwood chest in which coins were held and presented to a jury during the [[Trial of the Pyx]], when newly minted coins were presented to ensure they conformed to the required standards.{{sfn|Carr|1999||p=24}} The chapter house and Pyx Chamber are in the guardianship of [[English Heritage]], but under the care and management of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster.<ref name="eh">{{cite web |title=Chapter House and Pyx Chamber |url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/chapter-house-and-pyx-chamber/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728221719/http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/chapter-house-and-pyx-chamber/ |archive-date=28 July 2018 |access-date=28 July 2018 |publisher=English Heritage}}</ref>

{{Multiple image
| image1            = London - Westminster abbey - chapter house 03.jpg
| caption1          = Interior of the chapter house
| image2            = London - Westminster abbey - chapter house 05.jpg
| caption2          = Umbrella vault ceiling of the chapter house
| align             = center
| image3            = Westminster Abbey Chapter House 11.jpg
| caption3          = Medieval wall paintings inside the chapter house
| image4            = Britains Oldest Door Westminster Abbey London England.jpg
| caption4          = An 11th-century door in the undercroft of the chapter house, possibly Britain's oldest door
| total_width       = 900
| alt1              = A large, octagonal room with stained-glass windows and a central pillar
| alt2              = A ceiling shaped like an eight-pointed star, supported by a central pillar
| alt3              = A wall covered in small paintings of Biblical scenes and animals
| alt4              = An old wooden door
}}