Editing Waltham Abbey Church (section)

===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>