Editing Westminster Abbey (section)

=== Henry III's rebuilding ===
Westminster Abbey continued to be used as a coronation site, but after Edward the Confessor, no monarchs were buried there until [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] began to rebuild it in the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic style]]. Henry III wanted it built as a shrine to venerate Edward, to match great French churches such as [[Reims Cathedral|Rheims Cathedral]] and [[Sainte-Chapelle]],{{sfn|Jenkyns|2004|p=27}} and as a burial place for himself and his family.{{sfn|Wilkinson|Knighton|2010|p=16}} Construction began on 6{{Nbsp}}July 1245 under Henry's master mason, Henry of Reynes.{{sfn|Corrigan|2018|p=148}} The first building stage included the entire eastern end, the [[transept]]s, and the easternmost [[Bay (architecture)|bay]] of the [[nave]]. The [[Lady chapel]], built from around 1220 at the extreme eastern end, was incorporated into the [[Apse|chevet]] of the new building.

Part of the new building included a rich shrine and chapel to Edward the Confessor, of which the base only still stands.  The golden shrine with its jewelled figures no longer exists.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Colvin |first=H.M |title=The History of the King's Works |date=1963 |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office |isbn=0116704497 |edition=2nd |location=London |publication-date=1963 |pages=149 |language=English}}</ref>  4,000 marks (about £5,800) for this work came from the estate of David of Oxford, the husband of [[Licoricia of Winchester]], and a further £2,500 came from a forced contribution from Licoricia herself, by far the biggest single donation at that time.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bartlett |first=Suzanne |title=Licoricia of Winchester: Marriage, motherhood and murder |date=2009 |publisher=Valentine Mitchell |isbn=9780853038221 |edition=1st |location=London, Portland (Oregon) |pages=59 |language=English}}</ref>

Around 1253, Henry of Reynes was replaced by John of Gloucester, who was replaced by Robert of Beverley around 1260.{{sfn|Jenkyns|2004|p=12}} During the summer, there were up to 400 workers on the site at a time,{{sfn|Wilkinson|Knighton|2010|p=17}} including stonecutters, marblers, stone-layers, carpenters, painters and their assistants, marble polishers, smiths, glaziers, plumbers, and general labourers.{{sfn|Corrigan|2018|p=56}} From 1257, Henry III held assemblies of local representatives in Westminster Abbey's [[chapter house]]; these assemblies were a precursor to the [[House of Commons]]. Henry III also commissioned the [[Cosmati]] pavement in front of the High Altar.{{sfn|Wilkinson|Knighton|2010|pp=17–18}} Further work produced an additional five bays for the nave, bringing it to one bay west of the [[Choir (architecture)|choir]]. Here, construction stopped in about 1269. By 1261, Henry had spent £29,345 19s 8d on the abbey, and the final sum may have been near £50,000.{{sfn|Corrigan|2018|p=41}} A consecration ceremony was held on 13{{Nbsp}}October 1269, during which the remains of Edward the Confessor were moved to their present location at the shrine behind the main altar.{{sfn|Wilkinson|Knighton|2010|p=7}} After Henry's death and burial in the abbey in 1272, construction did not resume and Edward the Confessor's old Romanesque nave remained attached to the new building for over a century.{{sfn|Jenkyns|2004|p=12}}

[[File:Westminster Abbey - Plan showing relative positions of the church of Edward the Confessor and of the existing church 1910.jpg|thumb|Plan showing relative positions of the 11th-century church (in red) and the present church (in blue)|alt=A top-down diagram of two overlaid abbey floorplans: a smaller one in red and a larger one in blue]]

In 1296, [[Edward I of England|Edward I]] captured the Scottish coronation stone, the [[Stone of Scone]]. He had a [[Coronation Chair]] made to hold it, which he entrusted to the abbot at Westminster Abbey.{{sfn|Wilkinson|Knighton|2010|p=23}} In 1303, the small crypt underneath the chapter house was broken into and a great deal of the king's treasure was stolen. It was thought that the thieves must have been helped by the abbey monks, fifty of whom were subsequently imprisoned in the [[Tower of London]].{{sfn|Wilkinson|2013|p=41}}