Editing Westminster Abbey (section)

=== Dissolution and Reformation ===
In the 1530s, [[Henry VIII]] broke away from the authority of the [[Catholic Church]] in Rome and [[Dissolution of the monasteries|seized control of England's monasteries]], including Westminster Abbey, beginning the [[English Reformation]].{{sfn|Wilkinson|Knighton|2010|p=43}} In 1535, when the king's officers assessed the abbey's funds, their annual income was £3,000.{{sfn|Harvey|2007}} Henry's agents removed many relics, saints' images, and treasures from the abbey. The golden [[feretory]] that housed the coffin of Edward the Confessor was melted down, and monks hid his bones to save them from destruction.{{sfn|Wilkinson|Knighton|2010|p=44}} The monastery was dissolved and the building became the cathedral for the newly created [[Diocese of Westminster (Church of England)|Diocese of Westminster]].{{sfn|Jenkyns|2004|pp=|p=56}} The abbot, William Benson, became [[Dean (Christianity)|dean]] of the cathedral, while the [[Prior (ecclesiastical)|prior]] and five of the monks were among the twelve newly created [[Canon (clergy)|canons]].{{sfn|Horn|1992|pp=65–67}}

The Westminster diocese was dissolved in 1550, but the abbey was recognised (in 1552, retroactively to 1550) as a second cathedral of the [[Diocese of London]] until 1556.{{sfn|Jenkyns|2004|p=56}} Money meant for the abbey, which is dedicated to St Peter, was diverted to the treasury of [[St Paul's Cathedral]]; this led to an association with the already-old saying "[[To rob Peter to pay Paul|robbing Peter to pay Paul]]".{{sfn|Brewer|2001|p=923}}

The abbey saw the return of Benedictine monks under the Catholic [[Mary I of England|Mary I]], but they were again ejected under [[Elizabeth I]] in 1559.{{sfn|Wilkinson|Knighton|2010|pp=45–47}} In 1560, Elizabeth re-established Westminster as a "[[royal peculiar]]" – a church of the [[Church of England]] responsible directly to the sovereign, rather than to a diocesan bishop – and made it the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter, a non-cathedral church with an attached chapter of canons, headed by a dean.{{sfn|Wilkinson|Knighton|2010|p=7}}{{sfn|Wilkinson|Knighton|2010|pp=49}} From that date onwards, the building was simply a church, though it was still called an abbey. Elizabeth also re-founded [[Westminster School]], providing for 40 students (the [[Queen's Scholars|King's (or Queen's) Scholars]]) and their schoolmasters. The King's Scholars have the duty of shouting ''Vivat Rex'' or ''Vivat Regina'' ("Long live the King/Queen") during the coronation of a new monarch. In the modern day, the [[Dean of Westminster|dean of Westminster Abbey]] remains the chair of the school governors.{{sfn|Wilkinson|Knighton|2010|p=7}}

In the early 17th century, the abbey hosted two of the six companies of churchmen who produced the [[King James Version]] of the Bible. They used the [[Jerusalem Chamber]] in the abbey for their meetings. The First Company was headed by the dean of the abbey, [[Lancelot Andrewes]].{{sfn|Merritt|2019||p=187}}

In 1642, the [[English Civil War]] broke out between [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] and his own [[Parliament of England|parliament]]. The Dean and Chapter fled the abbey at the outbreak of war, and were replaced by priests loyal to Parliament.{{sfn|Wilkinson|Knighton|2010|p=53}} The abbey itself suffered damage during the war; altars, stained glass, the organ, and the [[Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom|Crown Jewels]] were damaged or destroyed.{{sfn|Jenkyns|2004|p=64}} Lord Protector [[Oliver Cromwell]] was given an elaborate funeral there in 1658, only for a body thought to be Cromwell's to be disinterred in January 1661 and posthumously hanged from a [[Gibbeting|gibbet]] at [[Tyburn]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Ashley |first1=Maurice |last2=Morrill |first2=John S. |title=Oliver Cromwell: Administration As Lord Protector |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Oliver-Cromwell/Administration-as-lord-protector |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221033722/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Oliver-Cromwell/Administration-as-lord-protector |archive-date=21 February 2023 |access-date=2 March 2023 |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica}}</ref> In 1669, the abbey was visited by the diarist [[Samuel Pepys]], who saw the body of the 15th-century queen [[Catherine of Valois|Catherine de Valois]]. She had been buried in the 13th-century Lady chapel in 1437, but was exhumed during building work for the Henry VII Chapel and not reburied in the intervening 150 years. Pepys leaned into the coffin and kissed her on the mouth, writing "This was my birthday, thirty-six years old and I did first kiss a queen." She has since been re-interred close to her husband, Henry V.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2013|p=19}} In 1685, during preparations for the coronation of [[James II of England|James II]], a workman accidentally put a scaffolding pole through the coffin of Edward the Confessor. A chorister, Charles Taylour, pulled a cross on a chain out of the coffin and gave it to the king, who then gave it to the Pope. Its whereabouts are unknown.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2013|p=16}}