The Monuments of Westminster Abbey, with Peter Sherlock and Christopher Waterhouse

The Monuments of Westminster Abbey is the first critical history of the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century monuments of Westminster Abbey, describing how, largely during the Reformation and English Civil Wars, the Abbey was transformed from a monastery with royal tombs into one of the most popular sites of commemoration in early modern Europe. With close accounts of the royal tombs, Poets’ Corner, and monuments to soldiers and sailors, the book traces the rise of tourism at the Abbey and asks how it continues to influence public memory at treasured sacred sites.
Join us for an afternoon of lively conversation, visual delights, and refreshments, as Peter Sherlock shares insights from the book and Rev'd Christopher Waterhouse responds from his own deep knowledge and love of the Abbey.
Professor Peter Sherlock is Executive Director, Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture and also Executive Director of Yindyamarra Nguluway, at Charles Sturt University. He is a distinguished historian and theologian whose academic work focuses on the cultural and religious life of Renaissance and Reformation Europe. His research explores how communities remember the dead, the use of monuments and tombs in shaping historical consciousness, and the intersections of memory, theology, and identity. His most recent books include (with Daniel Nellor) Theology Matters: How Thinking About God Shapes Australia (2024) and The Monuments of Westminster Abbey: Power and Memory in Early Modern Britain (2026). At Yindyamarra Nguluway he supports Distinguished Professor Stan Grant Jr in shaping national conversations about democracy, belonging, truth-telling, and justice that create a world worth living in.
The Rev’d Christopher Waterhouse is the Rector of St James’ King Street, Sydney. Prior to this appointment he was Precentor and Chaplain for the Arts at St David’s Cathedral in Hobart. With over 20 years of experience as a radio presenter and arts administrator in Hobart, London and Sydney, Christopher is committed to reclaiming the church’s role as a patron for the arts, including the commissioning of new artworks and new compositions. He serves as a Board Member of the Anglican Board of Mission, as a Councillor of St Andrew’s College, and is a member of the Theological Reflection Commission for the NSW Ecumenical Council. He has previously served as Deputy Chair of the Board of Directors of 2MBS Fine Music, Sydney, as Vice President of the Friends of the Theatre Royal, Hobart, and as Honorary Chaplain to the Tasmanian Division of the Royal Australian Air Force Association.
Image: East side of the interior of the North Transept of Westminster Abbey, via Wikimedia Commons [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:East_side_of_the_interior_of_the_North_Transept_of_Westminster_Abbey,_London_01.jpg]