Feel the spirit of Elizabethan era; Days Out GRAHAM YOUNG VISITS WESTMINSTER ABBEY.

Byline: GRAHAM YOUNG

HAVING served as the coronation church of 38 kings and queens for more than 1,000 years, Westminster Abbey has always been a must see.

Recreated in Gothic style by Henry III in the 12th Century, more than 3,000 people are now buried there.

But now there's another, up-to-the-minute reason to go - Elizabeth The Golden Age, starring Cate Blanchett.

The lavish sequel is set to deliver history with the production quality of blockbusters like Pirates of the Caribbean and Gladiator.

Complete with an epic score, the screen is so alive with Elizabeth I's vitality that it appears to be as close as we can ever get to one of England's great queens.

Or is it?

Go to Westminster Abbey where she's buried and you'll certainly feel the spirit which fought the fundamentalist Catholicism sweeping across Sixteenth Century Europe.

She also refounded the Abbey in 1560 as the Collegiate Church of St Peter in Westminster, once more with a Dean and Chapter.

Constitutionally, the Abbey has not changed since.

Most churches come under the jurisdiction of a bishop, but this remains a special 'Royal Peculiar' church under Queen Elizabeth II, herself crowned here in 1953.

Born on September 7, 1533 and crowned on January 15, 1559, Elizabeth I died in Richmond on March 24, 1603.

Her coffin is tucked away in the North Aisle, above that of her half sister Queen Mary I (1516-1558).

A Latin inscription at their white-marble tomb erected by James I says: "Partners both in throne and grave, here rest we two sisters, Elizabeth and Mary, in the hope of one resurrection".

According to Westminster Abbey's brilliant Official Guide, Elizabeth I's funeral included "such a general sighing, groning, and weeping as the like hath not beene seene or knowne in the memory of man".

George II (1693-1760) was the last monarch buried here, but royal funeral services like that of Diana: Princess of Wales (1997) and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (2002) are still held here.

In an age of cheap celebrity, it's incredible to feel the presence here of hundreds of other great names who've earned their place in history.

Take your pick from Sir Winston Churchill to Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, William Pitt, Franklin D Roosevelt, David Livingstone, Thomas Telford, Robert Stephenson, Sir Isaac Newton and Oliver Cromwell - not forgetting the tomb of the Unknown Warrior (November 11, 1920).

Over in Poets' Corner, there's more tombs and/or references to Geoffrey Chaucer, Robert Browning, Alfred Tennyson, Lewis Carroll, William Wordsworth, Jane Austen, Sir Walter Scott, Sir John Betjeman, George Frederick Handel, Charles Dickens, and of course, Stratford's very own William Shakespeare.

Other Abbey names with great Midland connections include Edgbaston-born The Rt Hon (Arthur) Neville Chamberlain (1869-1940), the former Lord Mayor of Birmingham turned Prime Minister who declared war on Nazi Germany in 1939; his father, Joseph Chamberlain (1836-1914); Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934); Charles Robert Darwin 1809-1882); Sir Adrian Cedric Boult (1889-1983); James Watt (1736-1819); Sir Frank Whittle (1907-1996) and Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-1784).

The Abbey's material treasures include the oldest door in England. It's in the chapter house vestibule and dates back to 1050.

Best of all, the 1257 Coronation Chair, now housed in the ambulatory at the foot of the tomb of Henry V.

Since at least the days of Henry IV, only the Roman Catholic Queen Mary has not been crowned and anointed while sitting in what remains Britain's oldest piece of furniture still being used as intended.

Such is the Abbey's appeal, go early.

Even though we'd arrived in time for the 9.30am Saturday opening, there was a substantial queue.

Bizarrely, given today's increasingly cashless society, we were able to waltz straight in through another door after using a credit card to pay the standard pounds 10 admission fee for adults (no booking fees here!).

Pamphlet guide in hand, we were off on England's most incredible 'celebrity' tourist trail.

Elizabeth The Golden Age will be reviewed in the Birmingham Mail on November 2.

Visitor info

Westminster Abbey is open from 9.30am-3.45pm (last admission, closing one hour later) every weekday except Wednesday (last admission 7pm). Saturday last admission, 1.45pm. Worship only on Sunday, from Holy Communion (8am) to Evening Service (6.30pm). Telephone: [phone].

Website: www.westminster-abbey.org

For a full day in Westminster see also the Houses of Parliament (0870 906 3773/www.keithprowse.com/uk) and the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms on King Charles Street (020 7930 6961 / www.iwm.org.uk/cabinet)

CAPTION(S):

REGAL... the tomb of Elizabeth I in Westminster Abbey and (inset) Cate Blanchett in new film Elizabeth The Golden Age.