Above this painting by Canaletto from about where the Savoy is now (Whitehall) looking east toward the old city and St Pauls
WESTMINSTER
…..where the bodies are buried.
Any trip to London has to start here. (Unless you are there just for the shopping).
It is the spiritual repository and social memory good or bad of over a thousand years of a nation
It is the spiritual repository and social memory good or bad of over a thousand years of a nation
and the individuals who helped shape it.
The area is named after the “west” Minster
as opposed to the “east” Minster of St.Pauls.
as opposed to the “east” Minster of St.Pauls.
There has been a religious site here for over a thousand years. There was a Druidic school here in pre-Roman times on what was once called Thorney Island.
Salmon ran swift in the river in those far off days and a fisher of these saw a vision of St Peter and thus the present abbey was begun. In realty the Church was simply building upon an existing power spot.Here is an image of modern day Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament superimposed on the ancient Thorney Island. The Thames has since been tamed and altered beyond all recognition.
Salmon ran swift in the river in those far off days and a fisher of these saw a vision of St Peter and thus the present abbey was begun. In realty the Church was simply building upon an existing power spot.Here is an image of modern day Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament superimposed on the ancient Thorney Island. The Thames has since been tamed and altered beyond all recognition.
This particular building was started in 1042 by
Edward The Confessor who was the penultimate Anglo Saxon King who died in 1066 just before the Norman Conquest. Apparently a pious man he was later canonized and until the mid 1300’s was England own patron saint.
His tomb is in the Abbey and has been the site of much pilgrimage through the years.
His tomb is in the Abbey and has been the site of much pilgrimage through the years.
The Abbey has been the coronation church since 1066 and is the final resting place of seventeen monarchs. It is also the place where some of the most significant people in the nation’s history are buried or commemorated.
In fact one has to move very slowly through the Abbey so as not to miss the many famous names inscribed on the pavement beneath one’s feet.
In fact one has to move very slowly through the Abbey so as not to miss the many famous names inscribed on the pavement beneath one’s feet.
Below-King Edwards Chair where every monarch since has 1308 been crowned including recently King Charles III.
Carved from oak in 1297 it was originally gilded and coloured. During its history many tourists and pilgrims have made their mark upon the wood.
It is said to be the oldest chair in the country.
Carved from oak in 1297 it was originally gilded and coloured. During its history many tourists and pilgrims have made their mark upon the wood.
It is said to be the oldest chair in the country.
Nearby The Houses of Parliament stands in its Victorian Gothic splendour.
King Richard the Lion heated stage outside Parliament
Queen Boadicea too who burned London down during Roman Times
Whitehall is the name of the road that connects Westminster with Trafalgar Square. The name comes from the old sprawling Whitehall Palace that once sat between these two spots.
The name is now synonymous with “government” as nearly all the major government institutions are here as well as 10 Downing Street.
Below-As one walks up that street many tourists pass by a white Palladian building called The Banqueting House.
It is all that remains of that old Palace. In its time it was very modern built in the new Italian Palladian style by Inigo Jones with its white stone standing out against the old dark wooden medieval Palace.
Charles the First loved the place and lavished much attention on it inviting the painter Rubens to paint at enormous cost upon it’s ceiling a scene depicting the Divine Right Kings to rule.
Ironically from one of these large windows and beneath that same painting Charles the 1st went out onto a scaffolding and lost his head in the cause of that Divine Right of Kings to rule. They have never had it since.
Eventually the monarchy accepted the notion that they ruled with the assent of the people and lived happily (and non politically involved) ever after.
The day were there it was the current Queen’s official birthday and from the very window he went to his fate from we caught the ceremonial red white and blue fly past.
The day were there it was the current Queen’s official birthday and from the very window he went to his fate from we caught the ceremonial red white and blue fly past.
Below-The Horseguards Parade ground across the road where the Trooping of The Colour by the Queen had just finished.
Stay calm and carry on….
