Westminster Abbey

This and the photo of myself in front of the Houses of Parliament should have come before the photos of Trafalgar Square...but such is life!

This is a photo of me standing in front of the western side of Westminster Abbey. The name, Westminster Abbey, is the original name of the Gothic style cathedral. However, it is actually named the Collegiate Church of St Peter and is the traditional coronation and burial site for British monarchs.

You enter the church from the northern side, and come out the western side, having walked all around the inside, viewing the different tombs of past monarchs and notables. You also see the Coronation Chair, with the Stone of Scone not there...it is in Scotland (where it should be)...And we all know about Hamish Macbeth's involvement in that one!

There are many tomb stones on the floor that have been worn away through the number of people who have walked around the church. You can not make out quite a number of them any more due to the age they are and the wear and tear. The Church can date back to 616AD. The stone abbey can be dated to being built by Edward the Confessor and was completed in time for his burial (he died a week after it was consecrated), and the coronation of Harold (which started problems with William the Conqueror), in 1066. However, Norman monarchs were not buried there until the time of Henry III.

Also buried in the Abbey include: Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Robert Browning, Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Lord (Alfred) Tennyson, Rudyard Kipling, Laurence Olivier, Henry Purcell, and Ralph Vaughan Williams. People commemorated in the Abbey include: Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. One of the people removed from the church by Charles II was Oliver Cromwell. I don't blame Charles for doing that at all.

Anyway...enough about the Abbey, I think...Pity you can't take photos inside the Abbey, but I can understand that - flash photography might hurt some of the things...or something.

Bibliography: Wikipedia