Cleaning The Graffitied Coronation Chair | Westminster Abbey: Behind Closed Doors | Channel 5

Do you know how many monarchs have sat in the #CoronationChair? The momentous piece of furniture is rich in history and even has 18th century graffiti carved into it by schoolboys. Expert cleaner Krista Blessley has the job (and pressure) of cleaning the chair.

Westminster Abbey: Behind Closed Doors: Westminster Abbey is opening its doors to reveal their inner workings of the staff.

#Channel5 #Documentary #History #Coronation #WestminsterAbbey

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[deadpool]

They should 3D scan this chair to keep every single detail and character accessible for the public online.

[xHawkx]

It may well be graffiti, however it's now part of the chairs history, and should be preserved as such. P. Abbott will come to mind at the kings Coronation.

[lucielessard]

Quelles autres facéties pour amuser la galerie y aura-t-il? Roi=service à sa communauté surtout si c’est un roi d’opėrette comme les royautés d’aujourd’hui. Alors de grâce make it simple! Comme Québėcoise, je ne vous suis pas dans toute cette mascarade coûteuse. Tant d’enjeux importants sont au centre des dėbats… dommage que vous n’ayez pas utilisé ce moment-ci pour ėvoluer!

[lucyguiland-ntvu]

Isn't this chair from Africa it was given or taken right I thing fron Ethiopia 😊

[baybarshan]

Even the GRaffitti is ancient and historical artifact, I saw a graffitti dating 1773 => 250 years old thats antique graffitti.

[HMFan]

It might be graffiti but as a typographer, I have to say: that is some of the most beautiful and artfully crafted graffiti I’ve ever seen. That “J.G.” @2:16 is impeccably incised! Be thankful the students didn’t have cans of spray paint back then...

[mm-ytsf]

some of the graffiti looks like scratches but some are so nice it looks like a professional with tools and super neat handwriting went at it (i wonder how long those took..they really must have turned a blind eye to protecting the chair in the past 🙂)

[Robby]

I am amazed that the chair is not stored behind glass to protect it from dust

[bobwestwood]

My brother restored the gilt and paint on it in 1952 ready for QE 2 to sit on it.

[mike-waynedjangoii]

P. Abbott. The man, the myth, the legend

[susanheath]

I am frequently amazed by the quality of the handwriting and carving of these historic graffiti. Quite different from the damage done these days.

[northamericanintercontinen]

Those graffiti add to the character of the chair if you ask me

[krisbrennan]

Some want us to respect their cultural traditions yet forget this is Britains cultural tradition set over the course of 1000 years, before they even considered empire in the early 1600’s. Remember the British isles were invaded themselves by the Normans in 1066, you had the Ottomans invade Turkey and change their religion from Christianity then there were the Spanish Conquistadors who annihilated the Aztec empire.
This is the only European monarchy to celebrate a coronation of a monarch. Yes the institution may be outdated and somewhat out of reach but how much does the US President cost each tax-paying citizen when he travels around the world in that private jet or surrounded by those men in suits.

[Maria_Barcelos]

So.... Charles III will sit in a chair made in 1300?

[carolinecollett]

The chair should be re guilded and the graffiti could still remain underneath as a historical record.

[redmi]

So you could say that she is the chairperson for the king's coronation.

[BritainiaNumberOne]

the original throne of the Game of Thrones

[rchlletters]

They should create a replica and put it in the abbey where people can sit on it

[sisirkattempudi]

If it's fragile, are they going to reinforce it? I hope it holds him up. It kind of making me nervous thinking of what mishap could happen. I hope everything goes well with the coronation.

[Dlt]

When I was there on a Wednesday evening in June of 1996 (I think), before the stone was sent back to Scotland and when everyone could still enter St. Edward’s Shine, the guard/guide offered us a folding chair to stand on to better photograph it. And then he offered to let us sit on THE CHAIR. I kind of wish we had in retrospect, but at the time it felt as if the entire abbey might collapse in on us if we dared defile such a sacred object.