The view of the West Front of Westminster Abbey (below)is one of the best known in the world. Comprehensive restoration of the exterior of the Abbey (a twenty-five-year programme) was completed in 1995. Four allegorical figures were placed in the niches on either side of the Great West Door: Mercy, Truth, Righteousness and Peace. These traditional virtues (from Psalm 85 verse 10) represent the values for which countless innocent men and women have been prepared to give their lives. The row of ten statues immediately over the door are of individual martyrs; but they are intended to represent all those others who have died (and continue to die) in similar circumstances of oppression and persecution. They are drawn from every continent and many Christian denominations.
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