Westminster Abbey contains the only surviving medieval Cosmatesque mosaics outside Italy. They comprise: the ‘Great Pavement’ in the sanctuary; the pavement around the shrine of Edward the Confessor; the saint’s tomb and shrine; Henry III’s tomb; the tomb of a royal child, and some other pieces. Surprisingly, the mosaics have never before received detailed recording and analysis, either individually or as an assemblage. The proposed publication, in two volumes, will present a holistic study of this outstanding group of monuments in their historical architectural and archaeological context. The shrine of St Edward is a remarkable survival, having been dismantled at the Dissolution and re-erected (incorrectly) in 1557 under Queen Mary. Large areas of missing mosaic were replaced with plaster on to which mosaic designs were carefully painted. This 16th-century fictive mosaic is unique in Britain. Conservation of the sanctuary pavement was accompanied by full archaeological recording with every piece of mosaic decoration drawn and coloured by David Neal, phase plans have been prepared, and stone-by-stone examination undertaken, petrologically identifying and recording the locations of all the materials present. It has revealed that both the pavements and tombs include a range of exotic stone types. The Cosmati study has shed fresh light on every aspect of the unique series of monuments in Westminster Abbey; this work will fill a major lacuna in our knowledge of 13th-century English art of the first rank, and will command international interest.

• Volume I
  • Cover
  • Title
  • Copyright
  • Dedication
  • Contents
  • Foreword by The Dean of Westminster
  • Preface
  • Acknowledgements
  • Summary
  • 1 The cosmatesque pavements and monuments: introduction and context
    • Historical and architectural context
    • The mosaic assemblage
  • 2 Historiography and the antiquarian record
    • Early references, 1269–c. 1700
    • Descriptions and illustrations of the pavements and monuments, 1707–1925
      • Descriptions
      • Illustrations
    • The pavements and monuments in recent scholarship
  • 3 The sanctuary and high altar pavements: past interventions, damage and repair
    • Paving the sanctuary: an historical overview
    • The cosmatesque sanctuary pavement
      • Impact of the Civil War, 1643
      • Repairs, c. 1660
    • Installation of the Whitehall altarpiece, 1706–07
    • Sir George Gilbert Scott’s restoration of the sanctuary, 1859–71
      • Sanctuary pavement
      • High altar pavement and its underlying archaeology
  • 4 Description of the sanctuary pavement
    • Purbeck marble matrix
    • Detailed description of the decoration
      • Panels 1–8: the central quincunx
      • Panels 9–16: background to the quincunx
      • Panels 17–20: large medallions (rotae)
      • Panels 21–32: background to the large medallions
      • Panels 33–52: medallions in the outer border
      • Panels 53–56: rectangles in the outer border
      • Panels 57–88: curvilinear bands
      • Panels 89–116: outer border spandrels
      • Panels 117–136: miscellaneous small compartments
    • The frame inscriptions
      • Inscription A. Central roundel of quincunx
      • Inscription B. Outer lobes of quincunx
      • Inscription C. Great square
      • Inscription D. Northern tomb-cover
    • Phasing: construction, alteration and repair
      • Summary of proposed phasing
      • Notes on the characteristics of each phase
    • Early repairs to the Cosmati pavement by Paul Drury
      • Phase 2: repairs in sympathy with the primary mosaic work
      • Phase 2–3: various interventions, probably between Phases 2 and 3
      • Phase 3: introduction of new designs and more stone types, probably c. 1660–62
      • Phase 4: interventions related to reordering the sanctuary, 1706–07
  • 5 Surveying, analyzing and evaluating the sanctuary and high altar pavements
    • Preparatory studies
    • Ground-penetrating radar surveys, 2004–05 by Erica Carrick Utsi
      • Some GPR basics
      • Planning the survey
      • The high frequency survey
      • The low frequency survey
      • Conclusions
    • Condition and conservation trials, 1993–98 by Vanessa Simeoni
      • Condition in 1993–94
      • Condition in 1997
    • The archaeology beneath the pavements: a brief assessment
  • 6 Conservation and repair of the sanctuary pavement by Vanessa Simeoni
    • Introduction
    • Recording and the sanctuary pavement archive
      • Photogrammetric survey
      • Photographic record
      • Video documentary
      • Reports and other written records
    • Materials in the pavement
    • Cleaning
      • Solvent cleaning, 2008
      • Relative humidity and temperature
    • Laser cleaning
      • Equipment, settings and mechanism
      • Cleaning the tomb-covers
    • Removal of cement patching
      • Emergency stabilization and temporary repairs
      • Removal methods and techniques
      • Laser removal of cement
      • Case studies
    • Purbeck marble: deterioration and treatment
      • Bed type and deterioration patterns
      • Conservation treatment
      • Purbeck marble matrix replacement
      • Sub-structure delamination
    • Stone tesserae: damage and treatment
      • Stone types
      • Cocciopesto mortar
      • Condition of stone tesserae
      • Treatment programme
      • Mosaic reintroduction
      • Repairing historic restorations
      • George Gilbert Scott’s restoration
    • Glass tesserae
      • Opaque glass
      • Translucent glass
      • Survey of remaining glass inlays, 2005
      • Deterioration and condition
      • Treatment
    • Restoration of the western border panel
      • Treatment
      • Method of tessera production
    • Case study: the central medallion
      • Repairs to the central stone
    • Surface finish
    • Conclusions and post-conservation care
  • 7 St Edward the Confessor’s chapel pavement
    • Past interventions and damage
      • Present condition of the pavement
    • The Purbeck marble matrix
      • Paving zones
      • Setting out the design
    • Detailed description of the pavement
      • Designs in the medallions
      • Small roundels
      • Curvilinear bands
      • Concave-sided triangles
      • Discussion
    • Ground-penetrating radar surveys of the high altar and St Edward’s chapel pavements, 2005 by Erica Carrick Utsi
      • High altar pavement and steps
      • St Edward’s chapel
      • Conclusions
    • The archaeology beneath the chapel floor
  • 8 Materials employed in the pavements and monuments
    • Antiquarian petrology
    • The stone types by Kevin Hayward
      • Introduction
      • Primary materials
      • Restoration materials, Phases 2–5
    • Glass: analysis of samples from the sanctuary pavement by Ian Freestone
      • Opaque glass
      • Translucent glass
    • Metals employed in the pavements and monuments
      • Wrought iron
      • Latten (brass)
    • Analysis of ‘mastic’ resin on the sanctuary pavement by Ruth Siddall
      • Sampling and analytical details
      • Discussion and conclusions
    • Analysis of the paste-inlaid tesserae by Ruth Siddall
      • Sample preparation and analytical techniques
      • Composition of the tesserae
      • Composition of the pigment
      • Conclusions
    • Mortars used in the sanctuary pavement by Ruth Siddall
      • Recording and sampling the mortars
      • Construction mortars
      • Restoration mortars
      • Cement repairs
      • Discussion
  • Notes to chapters 1 to 8
  • Plans 1 and 2 (fold-outs at end of volume)
• Volume II
  • Cover
  • Title
  • Copyright
  • Dedication
  • 9 St Edward’s chapel and the context of the shrine
    • Introduction
    • Chronology of St Edward’s enshrinement
    • Evolving topography of St Edward’s chapel
      • Elevating the shrine
      • Pilgrim access
      • Proliferation of royal tombs and its consequences
    • Monuments in the chapel: post-medieval interventions and antiquarian investigations
    • Impact of pilgrims and tourists on the chapel and its monuments
  • 10 The shrine-tomb of St Edward the Confessor, I: description and primary fabric
    • Introduction
    • General description of the shrine-tomb
    • Detailed descriptions of the components
      • Plinth
      • Cornice
      • South elevation
      • East elevation
      • North elevation
      • West elevation (incorporating the altar retable)
      • Niches
      • Columns and colonnettes
    • Reconstructing the original form of the shrine-tomb
      • Location, steps and plinth
      • Lower stage of the pedestal and niches
      • Upper panelled zone and chest
      • Detached architectural fragments from the shrine
    • Method of construction and assembly
    • The primary inscription: an assessment
    • Concluding observations
  • 11 The shrine-tomb of St Edward the Confessor, II: Tudor reconstruction and later history
    • The feretory canopy (capsella or cooperculum)
      • Description
      • Discussion and dating
    • Shrine of St Edward: historical context of its Tudor reconstruction
    • Abbot Feckenham’s reconstruction of the shrine pedestal and altar, 1557
      • The pedestal and sarcophagus chamber
      • Decoration and defacement
    • The secondary inscription
    • Accident and intervention, 1685
      • St Edward’s coffins
    • Fragments of silk from the tomb of Edward the Confessor by Lisa Monnas
      • Dating, weave and design
    • Dilapidation of the shrine canopy and its restoration, 1958–60
  • 12 Tomb of King Henry III
    • Introduction and antiquarian descriptions
      • Summary of historical evidence relating to the burial and tomb of Henry III
    • Architectural form of the tomb
      • Stepped podium
      • Lower chest
      • Upper chest
      • Effigy
      • Canopy and accoutrements
      • Summary list of the mosaic-decorated components of the tomb
    • Detailed description of the mosaic decoration
      • South elevation: upper chest
      • South elevation: lower chest
      • East elevation: upper chest
      • East elevation: lower chest
      • North elevation: upper chest
      • North elevation: lower chest
      • West elevation: upper chest
      • West elevation: lower chest
      • Tomb colonnettes
    • Later interventions
      • Restoration, 1557
      • Archaeological investigation, 1871
      • Restoration, 1873
  • 13 Child’s tomb in the south ambulatory
    • Identity of the tomb and its occupants
    • Date and primary location of the tomb
    • Relocation of the tomb in the south ambulatory
    • The tomb-chest
    • Detailed description of the decoration
      • North elevation
      • East elevation
      • West elevation
      • Top slab
    • Discussion
      • Design and execution
      • Decorative materials and their deployment
      • Architectural setting of the repositioned tomb
      • Post-medieval interventions
      • Archaeological investigations, 1937 and later
  • 14 Related monuments and furnishings
    • The ‘de Valence’ tombs
      • William de Valence, Earl of Pembroke
      • St Edward’s chapel: northern tomb-cover
      • St Edward’s chapel: southern ‘de Valence’ tomb-cover
      • Identifying the occupants of the two tombs: a reappraisal by Matthew Payne
      • Discussion
    • St Edward’s shrine altar
    • Fragments of cable-moulded colonnette-shafts
    • Statue pedestals and candelabra
    • High altar and the Westminster Retable
    • Inscription fragment in the floor of St Edward’s chapel
  • 15 The Westminster mosaic assemblage: summary, assessment and dating
    • The Cosmati episode: embracing the academic challenge
    • Luxury paving and mosaic decoration: Westminster in context
    • The sanctuary and its pavements
      • Abbot Richard de Ware, 1258–83
      • Aspects of the pavement’s design and construction
      • Four rectangular border panels
      • Inscriptions
      • The primary design and materials
      • Later history of the pavement
      • Altar pavement and screen
    • St Edward the Confessor’s chapel and its pavement
      • The underlying topography of the chapel, 11th to 13th centuries
      • Demolition and preparations for reconstruction: some logistical considerations
      • Laying out the chapel in the early 1250s
      • The shrine pavement
    • St Edward’s shrine-tomb and altar
      • Making liturgical provision during the structural interregnum
      • Aspects of the design of the shrine pedestal
      • Dating the construction of St Edward’s shrine
      • St Edward: housing the corporeal relic
      • The shrine dismantled and reassembled
    • Henry III and his tomb
      • Historical context
      • The upper tomb-chest
      • The lower shrine-like chest
      • Effigy
      • Canopy
      • Constructional logistics
      • The coffin
      • A failed cult?
      • Dating the construction of the tomb
    • Other tombs
      • The child’s Cosmati tomb (John of Windsor)
      • The ‘de Valence’ tombs: a conundrum resolved
    • Logistics and chronology of the Westminster Cosmati episode
      • Logistics of introducing Cosmati work into Westminster Abbey
      • Chronology of the Cosmati assemblage
    • Attribution of the Cosmati authorship
• Appendix 1. The shrine in the records by Matthew Payne
  • Archival references
  • Chronicles
• Appendix 2. Quantification of tesserae in the mosaic pavements and monuments
• Notes to chapters 9 to 15
• Abbreviations and bibliography
• Plans 3 and 4 (fold-outs at end of volume)