Westminster Abbey, Parliament and Big Ben

On Tuesday we got up went out to lunch at a little middle eastern place down the block from our hotel.  I was OK, but nothing special.  Our two favorite Lebanese places are Zankou Chicken in the greater Los Angeles Area and Mediterranean Kitchen here in Belleuve, WA.  We had a side order of falafel and some lamb pitas with turnip pickles and tomatoes.  Then we headed out on the tube to Westminster station as this was the day we set aside to visit Westminster Abbey and walk around the Houses of Parliament and see the Big Ben clock tower.

We checked on the visitor’s hours at Westminster Abbey and when the evensong service was to begin, as I wanted to stay afterward for this highly recommended service of prayer and song.  We also wanted to visit the Abbey while the sun was still shining so we could appreciate the exquisite stained glass windows.  We had an hour or so to spend walking around before we went to the Abbey, so we decided that since the sunlight was really beautiful this time of day that we would walk around and take a few photos.

We started by walking around the side of the Abbey and through the Victoria Tower gardens park taking pictures and enjoying the day.  The sun had broken from the clouds and bathed Victoria Tower in golden sunlight. I have to admit it is an excellent photograph.

 

In the garden is a cast (1 of 12) of the original “Burghers of Calais” sculpture by Auguste Rodin. A marvelous piece, I wish I knew the story it depicted before viewing the statue.  I only found out its context after writing this page.  Yet another astonishing thing about being in London, this sculpture by Rodin is just sitting out of doors in the elements for anyone to see for free.  Wow.  In the US it would be considered so rare it would be inside a museum.  After walking through the park, we walked past the sovereigns entrance to Victoria tower, past some more great statues and finally to the end of the street where stands the Big Ben clock tower.

INSIDE WESTMINSTER ABBEY

Westminster Abbey is a grand gothic church owned by the royal family in England.  It is a working church with several services daily.  Within its walls the royal coronation takes place, state and important funerals are held here, and it serves as a final resting place for kings, queens, statesmen, soldiers, composers, poets, writers, and scientists (but to name a few).  We arrived and were greeted by an Abbey Verger who recommended we use their free audio tour (included with admission and narrated by Jeremy Irons).  Since the Abbey is a church with worshipers, public photography of the inside of the church is not allowed. The few pictures I will post are from an excellent book, “The Treasures of Westminster Abbey” or embedded from the church’s website.  Here is a map that shows the layout of the Abbey.

When you first walk in the visitors entrance, the light coming through the stained glass window in the South Transcept is the first thing to catch your attention.  It is so beautiful and colorful.  Make sure to see it during the day so the sun can backlight the glass.  Later in the evening it loses its luster and you can’t appreciate it.

You walk in through the visitors entrance and are inside the area called “The North Trancept”.  There are large statues and gravestones dedicated to statesmen and prime ministers throughout England’s history in this place.  You walk a little way into the church and come to the center of building in an area called The Crossing.  It is the intersection of the four wings and from above the layout looks like a cross.

At the center of the crossing, you enjoy a marvel of architecture and craftsmanship.  It is astounding and takes your breath away.

facing north (north Rose window above statesmen corner)

  east (Quire with Nave in the background)

west (the high altar and apse roof)

facing south (south rose window above poets corner)

We stood in that central court area for quite a while, taking it all in. The whole place was also very quiet.  Since we were not there in the height of tourist season, there were only a few dozen people in that area taking in the grandeur, being silent and respectful. I was very happy that we chose to include this in our visit to London.  We continued our tour by visiting the chapels and looking at the different tombs and monuments.  There is so much history, so many people.  It’s hard to describe and I can’t include everything we saw, but here are some links to a few notable places and people.

The ceiling of the Lady Chapel, commissioned by Henry VII in (who is buried there with his wife, Elizabeth or York) is a work of stonecutting art that I could never before imagined.  High above your head is a matrix of delicately carved pendants.  Also in the ladies’ chapel is the tomb of Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) and her half-sister, Queen Mary Tudor, (1516-1558), daughter of Henry VIII by Catherine of Aragon, is buried underneath her. On the base of the monument reads: "Partners in throne and grave, here we sleep, Elizabeth and Mary, sisters, in hope of the Resurrection."  You can read more about their shared tomb and inscriptions translated from latin here.

On the opposite side of the chapel is the resting place of Mary Queen of Scots.  Behind King Henry VII’s tomb is the fine chapel dedicated to the RAF fighters killed in the Battle of Britain in WWII.  This area of the chapel was bombed during WWII and this area had to be reconstructed they worked on a special dedication to “the few”.

The south transept is also known as Poet’s Corner, an area of the chapel where many famous artists, writers, poets and musicians are buried or a monument erected in their honor.  They have memorial tributes to William Shakespeare (pic), T.S Eliot, John Milton (pic), John Keats and many others.  Buried here are famous authors such as Geoffrey Chaucer, Rudyard Kipling, Charles Dickens, the musician GF Handel (pic), and poet Alfred Tennyson (pic) are actually buried at the abbey and you can read their memorial above where they are buried.

 THE NAVE

The Nave has many important monuments and burial sites.  It is where the tomb of the unknown warrior from WWI is placed.  There is also a memorial to Winston Churchill (pic) located close to it.

In the Nave is also buried Sir Issac Newton (pic) – An excellent monument above his burial place bears the inscription:

Here is buried Isaac Newton, Knight, who by a strength of mind almost divine, and mathematical principles peculiarly his own, explored the course and figures of the planets, the paths of comets, the tides of the sea, the dissimilarities in rays of light, and, what no other scholar has previously imagined, the properties of the colours thus produced. Diligent, sagacious and faithful, in his expositions of nature, antiquity and the holy Scriptures, he vindicated by his philosophy the majesty of God mighty and good, and expressed the simplicity of the Gospel in his manners…

Very close to Newton is buried Charles Darwin (pic).  Brooke was very happy to see a memorial to Michael Faraday.

EVENSONG SERVICE AT WESTMINSTER ABBEY

After the Abbey is closed to visitors at 6:00 p.m., a service is held.  You can stay and enjoy the choral service called “Evensong” several days per week (check their schedule before visiting).  Brooke and I were one of the first people in line and to our surprise, we were taken to seats in to the Quire and sat right next to the choir and members of the church and school.  They was a special part of this evenings service that included a swearing in of four gentlemen to posts within the institution. 

The music was beautiful and ethereal, you can listen to Evensong- The Responses this is part of the service we attended.  I hope you enjoy it.  I loved that the service was entirely in English, instead of Latin as you were able to appreciate the words and meanings not just the sound.

After our glorious day at Westminster Abbey we walked around and took a few photographs at night, including of Big Ben.  You can see all of the photos by going to my photo gallery (jump to slideshow).  But as a preview, here is the best photograph of the whole trip:

Westminster Abbey in the Moonlit Night