Editing Westminster Abbey (section)

== In popular culture ==
[[File:Da Vinci Code props - geograph.org.uk - 239567.jpg|thumb|[[Fiberboard|Fibreboard]] prop copies of marble Westminster Abbey monuments made for the filming of ''[[The Da Vinci Code (film)|The Da Vinci Code]]'', on display in [[Lincoln Cathedral]]|alt=Three monuments of varying sizes and shapes, cordoned off by a red rope]]

Westminster Abbey is mentioned in the play ''[[Henry VIII (play)|Henry VIII]]'' by William Shakespeare and [[John Fletcher (playwright)|John Fletcher]], when a gentleman describes [[Coronation of Anne Boleyn|Anne Boleyn's coronation]].{{sfn|Jenkyns|2004|pp=170–171}} The abbey was mentioned in a 1598 [[sonnet]] by [[Thomas Bastard]] which begins, "When I behold, with deep astonishment{{nbsp}}/ To famous Westminster how there restort{{nbsp}}/ Living in brass or stony monument{{nbsp}}/ The princes and the worthies of all sort".{{sfn|Jenkyns|2004|p=125}} Poetry about the abbey has also been written by [[Francis Beaumont]]{{sfn|Jenkyns|2004|p=125}} and [[John Betjeman]].{{sfn|Jenkyns|2004|pp=190–191}} The building has appeared in paintings by artists such as [[Canaletto]],{{Sfn|Wilkinson|Knighton|2010|p=57}} [[Wenceslaus Hollar]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wenceslaus Hollar (1607–77) – Westminster Abbey |url=https://www.rct.uk/collection/702371/westminster-abbey |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205222849/https://www.rct.uk/collection/702371/westminster-abbey |archive-date=2023-02-05 |access-date=5 February 2023 |website=Royal Collection Trust |language=en}}</ref> [[William Bruce Ellis Ranken]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Interior of Westminster Abbey, Arranged for the Coronation, 1937 |url=https://artuk.org/shop/image-library/gallery-product/poster/interior-of-westminster-abbey-arranged-for-the-coronation-1937-165508/posterid/165508.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231028142152/https://shop.artuk.org/interior-of-westminster-abbey-arranged-for-the-coronation-1937-165508.html |archive-date=2023-10-28 |access-date=5 February 2023 |website=Art UK |language=en}}</ref> and [[J. M. W. Turner]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, October 16, 1834 |url=https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/103831 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021153428/https://www.philamuseum.org/collection/object/103831 |archive-date=2023-10-21 |access-date=5 February 2023 |website=Philadelphia Museum of Art |language=en}}</ref>

Playwright [[Alan Bennett]] produced ''[[The Abbey (1995 TV series)|The Abbey]]'', a 1995 documentary recounting his experiences of the building.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bennett, Alan (1934–) |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/504794/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231009184826/http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/504794/index.html |archive-date=2023-10-09 |access-date=2023-10-28 |website=BFI Screenonline}}</ref> Key scenes in the book and film ''[[The Da Vinci Code]]'' take place in Westminster Abbey.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Briggs |first=Caroline |date=2006-05-17 |title=Review: Da Vinci Code |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4989710.stm |access-date=2023-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408204441/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4989710.stm |archive-date=2023-04-08}}</ref> The abbey refused to allow filming in 2005 (calling the book "theologically unsound"), and [[The Da Vinci Code (film)|the film]] uses [[Lincoln Cathedral]] as a stand-in.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 June 2005 |title=Westminster Abbey closes doors to Da Vinci Code |url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/jun/01/2005inreview |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124091424/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/jun/01/2005inreview |archive-date=24 January 2023 |access-date=24 January 2023 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref> The abbey issued a fact sheet to their staff which answered questions and debunked several claims made in the book.<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 May 2005 |title=Westminster Abbey counters Da Vinci Code |url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/may/31/religion.books |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124084955/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/may/31/religion.books |archive-date=24 January 2023 |access-date=24 January 2023 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref> In 2022, it was announced that the abbey had given rare permission to film inside the church for ''[[Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=De Semlyen |first=Phil |date=2022-07-11 |title='Mission: Impossible 8' will be the first ever movie to film in Westminster Abbey |url=https://www.timeout.com/london/news/mission-impossible-8-will-be-the-first-ever-movie-to-film-in-westminster-abbey-071122 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327032333/https://www.timeout.com/london/news/mission-impossible-8-will-be-the-first-ever-movie-to-film-in-westminster-abbey-071122 |archive-date=27 March 2023 |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=Time Out London |language=en-GB}}</ref>