Westminster Abbey: Behind Closed Doors

It costs £24 million a year to run and maintain Westminster Abbey and it relies almost entirely on the money it makes from selling tickets to tourists. However, the Covid pandemic forced the Abbey to shut its doors for the first time in 70 years, creating a major financial black hole. Now, huge recovery efforts are attempting to recoup some of these lost funds and open the doors once again.

With the Abbey hosting memorials of national importance, it's crucial that its ancient structure is in perfect working order as a flurry of Royal guests, including Her Majesty the Queen, are expected. Thirty Kings and Queens have been laid to rest in the Abbey and preparations are made to hold a very special memorial service for His Royal Highness, Prince Phillip, The Duke of Edinburgh.

It's Holy week at Westminster Abbey and prep has begun for the most important week in the Christian calendar. Kicking off Easter week is the Abbey's very own Choir School, who over history have sung in Easter services for at least 450 years. Meanwhile, a concealed doorway unearths potential to be a medieval strong room, but what treasure was kept there and does any of it still remain?

The Abbey’s bell ringers are poised to ring for the Queen's birthday, and nerves are brewing as an intrigued crowd gathers outside to listen. Elsewhere, the tomb of a single unidentified soldier, killed on the Western Front during the First World War, needs attention. The black marble stone seen in the Abbey today is not the one laid in 1920 and a mission to find the original begins.

In an ever-changing modern world, the Abbey remains the one constant. With the recent changes in the monarchy and parliament, how does the Abbey remain an evolving but reliable presence for the masses? Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons, pays a visit to the Abbey and tries out the acoustics in the Chapter house where, in 1257, the first ever English Parliament was established.

Christmas is the Abbey's most intense time of year, with services, celebrations and choral concerts. Lorraine, head of the Abbey's inhouse restaurant, is looking for inspiration for her Christmas lunch selection. Details of the Abbey's seasonal celebrations in Tudor times are uncovered. But will geese, capons, spices, and gallons and gallons of ale really make it onto this year's menu?