Good afternoon, Westminster Abbey

Kor, Pat, Geoff and Christy joined us at Westminster Abbey after their visit to the Churchill Rooms. Pat thought that a single tour to a church was all the younger ones could cope with.

Good morning, Abbey!

Westminster Abbey is another jewel in London that cannot be missed. It was originally a Catholic Abbey built in 1050 by Edward the Confessor who had not gone on his pilgrimage and was told by the Pope to build an abbey to redeem himself. As it was an abbey, it housed Benedictine monks until King Henry the VIII decided to break with the Catholic Church. Because of the Abbey's close ties with the royal family, it escaped destruction. 

The twin towers of the Abbey designed
 by Sir Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor
between 1722 and 1745

The quadrangle within- a medieval abbey

The only place we were allowed to take photos-
the cloisters outside

Fiona pointing out architectural features

So much history packed into one ancient building

The Abbey has seen the coronation of most of the English monarchs, the most recent being Queen Elizabeth II's in 1953. There is a coronation chair which dates from 1308. A seven hundred-year-old wooden chair! The Stone of Scone lies beneath the wooden seat and was stolen by Scottish nationalists in 1950. It now sits in Edinburgh Castle, Scotland and will most likely return to England for the next coronation. I wonder how it will turn out as Scotland is currently going to vote whether to remain in the United Kingdom.

The Coronation Chair
Taken from
http://www.ajhw.co.uk/books/book393/book393.html

There are 46 people buried in the Abbey.

Queen Elizabeth I (picture from BBC website)

The tombs of Mary I (Died 1558) and Elizabeth I (Died 1603) are placed together in death though their beliefs are different. Mary was a Catholic and Elizabeth, a Protestant.

Mary I (picture from BBC website)

We saw the memorial stone to David Livingstone in the main sanctuary and Dad asked for permission to take a photograph of it as no photographs are allowed in the Abbey as it is a place of worship.

Final resting place of David Livingstone

 I think the most ironic inclusion in this hallowed place of worship is Charles Darwin's memorial! This gentleman did not believe in God after he wrote The Origin of Species so why include him in God's house?

David Livingstone, Explorer, Died 1873
(picture from National Portrait Gallery)

We saw a memorial stone to CS Lewis at the poets' and writers' corner. He is buried in Ireland though.

Sir Isaac Newton's remains also lie in Westminster Abbey. The father of modern mathematics and science. He died in 1727. George Frederic Handel, a German composer who worked in the English court and gave us Handel's Messiah is buried here too. We saw his tombstone. He died in 1759.

Another famous person who has a memorial stone right at the entrance to Westminster Abbey is Sir Winston Churchill who was the war-time Prime Minister. He died in 1965.

The tomb to the unknown soldier had a fresh border of poppies as the 6 June commemorates the both anniversary of the D-Day landings in France.

Memorial to Edmund Haley who spotted the comet

Memorial to those who have perished in armed conflict since
the Second World War

Plaque commemorating Captain James Cook's adventures

The children trying to make sense
of hundreds and hundreds of years
of information

The last event that was held at Westminster that captured the world's attention was the wedding of William to Kate in 2011. 

We made an attempt to see the statue of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles which I had visited in 1989 when I come to England with the Raffles Players from Raffles Junior College. But apparently it lies in a corner not accessible to the general public now and they were setting up chairs for the evensong service so we were not given permission to see the statue. A pity.

References: Wikipedia
BBC Website
http://www.ajhw.co.uk/books/book393/book393.html