Westminster Abbey

 THE LADY CHAPEL, WESTMINSTER ABBEY

I'm plugging another mini-series which starts this evening on BBC2 and BBC HD at 9pm; and I am not receiving a penny for it, either.

Westminster Abbey. Or, to accord the venerable place its full name, The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, a royal peculiar, viz. it comes under the jurisdiction of the Sovereign.

The programme features interviews with members of the 250 staff who oversee the Abbey’s spiritual mission, to ensure the upkeep of a World Heritage site and coordinate 1,500 services a year.

These services range from regular daily worship to high-profile events like royal weddings, revealing the Abbey’s iconic role at the heart of national life.

The Lady Chapel, top, contains the banners and stalls of the knights grand cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath.

The first programme features the Dean, The Very Rev Dr John Hall, who describes its thousand-year history, its intimate relationship with the monarchy, and its status as a Royal Peculiar - and offers an insight into its spiritual life.

The programme follows the architect Ptolemy Dean as he is installed as the latest Surveyor of the Fabric, treading in the footsteps of Sir Christopher Wren.

We gain an insight into the often unusual daily life of the 30 boy choristers who attend the Abbey's choir school, as they rehearse and perform in moving musical events.