The interior splendour of Westminster Abbey has been captured for the first time on film by a drone. The footage includes a trip up into the abbey’s triforium – an elevated gallery or “attic” (above), which is being transformed into a new museum and gallery.
The film starts at the abbey’s entrance, the west door, and moves through the nave and side aisles to the high altar. It then soars upwards, providing an unusual glimpse of the roof space where the new galleries will be located. Once inside the triforium viewers get a bird’s-eye view of the beautiful leaded light windows and the deep vaults which were installed by Sir Christopher Wren when he was at the Abbey.
The Dean of Westminster, Dr John Hall, said: “Westminster Abbey was built by the most skilled medieval craftsmen using the most modern techniques of their age. So it seems only appropriate that we should choose the latest technology to tell the story about the next chapter in the abbey’s history.”
The film was released to mark World Architecture Day on 2 October and it is hoped it will inspire members of the public to get involved with the creation of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries, due to open next June.
The drone footage was captured by aerial film specialist, Spider Films, which usually works on Hollywood films and TV shows. The company made a bespoke “hexacopter” – a six-propeller drone with increased manoeuvrability – to ensure there was no damage to the fabric of the abbey.
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