Today in History

December 28, 1065
Paying Penance
When the original abbey is consecrated, its benefactor, King Edward the Confessor, who had commissioned it to redeem himself for failing to keep his vow to make a pilgrimage to Rome, is too ill to attend the service. He dies eight days later. Rebuilt in the Gothic style between 1245-1517, the church retains some elements of the old Romanesque building. Owned by the royal family, the church is the traditional place for coronations and burials of monarchs and notables such as William Shakespeare and Charles Darwin. The church contains a stone statue memorializing Martin Luther King Jr.; it is also the setting for a dramatic scene in The Da Vinci Code, a novel by Dan Brown, and a top tourist attraction.



Today's Feature History Article

Yorkshire Dales National Park

A Walk Across England

In the 1970s, British accountant Alfred Wainwright linked back roads, rights-of-way and ancient footpaths to blaze a beguiling trail across the sceptered isle




 



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