A NEW WESTMINSTER? • SIR,-1 have only just seen your
issue of December 26, but I hope it is not too late to write and say how glad I am that someone—Mr. Fitchen, of Hamilton, NY—has at last protested against the scheme to demolish Westminster Abbey that was re- vealed in the letter signed 'J. Betjeman' that you printed on November 21.
'J. Betjeman' was not, of course, the author of the scheme. He merely signed the PRO's letter, as he admits, for money. This, like the scheme itself, is all too probable. I know 'J. Betjeman.' He is capable of anything. He may even have written Mr. Fitchen's letter; but I think not. It rings a note at true alarm, and it is. alas, all too characteristic of England today that the only protesting voice should be that of an American living in the United States. All honour to him, say I.
Mr. Fitchen has demolished the arguments for demolition : but the demolishers themselves he can- not get at. They are still there, and all experience shows that they will get their way. We must therefore be practical. We shall not save the Abbey; and I am bound to admit that the view of the Army and Navy Stores from the foot of Big Ben will be very fine. I suggest there are still two worth-while things that we can do if we agitate enough : (a) we can get the monuments from the Abbey better housed than at Brookwood Cemetery, which is really rather far for tourists to go. The earlier ones (which, of course, commemorate Roman Catholics) might be welcome at Westminster Cathedral—which is still a little bare; and the later ones might be offered for sale (proceeds to the Treasury, of course) to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York; (6) we should seek the permission of the Governors of the BBC for the next Coronation to take place at Lime Grove or wherever, at that happily remote date, the Corporation's main television studios may be.
In this way, I think, comfort may well be brought to those (and they may be many) to whom, as to myself, the dear Abbey is something of a landmark. It is sad that the late Colonel Kolkhorst is no longer with us to give a lead. Will not someone like Lord Altrincham do so? From Mr. John Betjeman there is, I fear, little to be hoped for in this case. All he would wish to save are the Victorian refacings.— Yours faithfully, WES1 MONASTER [ENS'S
Tunis
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