2 JULY 1921, Page 31

Westminster Abbey : The Last Days of the Monastery. By

H. F. Westlake. (Philip Allan. 5s. net.)--The great merit of Mr. Westlake's writings about the Abbey, of which he is the Custodian, lies in the fact that he works from the Abbey muni- ments, which are abundant but have been little used. This short biography of Abbot John Islip, who was elected in 1500 and died in 1532, is fresh and interesting because it is based on the records and contains quotations illustrating the daily life of a Westminster monk in the Early Tudor age. Islip completed the rebuilding of the nave, begun about 1365 by Langham ; he also supervised the building of the Lady Chapel (Henry the Seventh's Chapel), which was apparently finished just before the King's death and which cost more than £21,000. Mr. Westlake has been unable to discover the name of the architect who designed that supremely beautiful chapel, but he points out that King Henry's will mentions only one person in oonnexion with the chapel—namely, Bolton, Prior of St.. Bartholomew's, who was the master of works. Professor Lethaby assumed that the senior royal mason, Robert Vertue, was the architect, but Bolton, as the author suggests, may have been the guiding genius.