The Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula ("St. Peter in chains") is the parish church of the Tower of London, dating from 1520, and is a Royal Peculiar. The name refers to St. Peter's imprisonment under Herod Agrippa in Jerusalem. The Chapel is probably best known as the burial place of some of the most famous prisoners executed at the Tower.
The existing building was rebuilt for Henry VIII by Sir Richard Cholmondeley in 1519–20, but a chapel sto...
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The Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula ("St. Peter in chains") is the parish church of the Tower of London, dating from 1520, and is a Royal Peculiar. The name refers to St. Peter's imprisonment under Herod Agrippa in Jerusalem. The Chapel is probably best known as the burial place of some of the most famous prisoners executed at the Tower.
The existing building was rebuilt for Henry VIII by Sir Richard Cholmondeley in 1519–20, but a chapel stood in its position since before the Norman conquest. At the west end is a short tower, surmounted by a lantern bell-cote, and inside the church is a nave and shorter north aisle, lit by windows with cusped lights but no tracery, a typical Tudor design.
The Chapel contains many splendid monuments. In the north-west corner is a memorial to John Holland, Duke of Exeter, a Constable of the Tower who died in 1447. Under the central arcade lies the effigy of Sir Richard Cholmondeley, a Lieutenant of the Tower who died in 1521. In the sanctuary,...
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