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Pub Lunch, Westminster Abby, Jewel Tower
Tuesday, Jan. 20th - Pub Lunch
 It
was mid-day by the time I got underway, so my first stop today
was a Pub lunch in the center of the city. I picked the
"Albert" on Victoria Street -- a lovely choice. The place was
all you would want a London Pub to be. Friendly, cozy
and warm and very good food. I had the beef and
vegetable pie, a delightful beef stew in pastry. The
manager also helped me choose a very good English bitters to
accompany the meal.
Westminster Abby
 My
primary visit today was to
Westminster Abbey, an architectural masterpiece of the
thirteenth to sixteenth centuries. It presents shrines,
tombs of Kings and Queens, and countless memorials to the
famous and the great. It has been the setting for Coronations
since 1066 and for numerous other Royal occasions. Today it is
still a church dedicated to regular worship.
It is filled with burial place of kings, statesmen, warriors,
scientists, musicians and poets. It was consecrated on 28
December 1065 by Edward the Confessor, the last of the
Anglo-Saxon kings. His remains were entombed behind the High
Altar. A year later, in 1066, it saw the coronation of
William the Conqueror on Christmas day, 1066.
 Every
monarch, since then (with the exception of Edward V and Edward
VIII) was crowned in the Abbey. Over three thousand people are
either buried or memorialized in the Abbey. I particularly was
struck by the Unknown Warrior, whose grave is close to the
west door. Queen Mary I, her half-sister Queen Elizabeth
I and Elizabeth 's rival, Mary, Queen of Scots, are
buried near one another in one of the chapels.
St. Margaret's Church
 Next
to the Abby is St. Margaret's Church, the "parish church of
the House of Commons".
Several of the Commonwealth (or
'Roundhead') party are buried in the parliamentary churchyard.
In a niche over a doorway in the east wall of the church is a
bust of King Charles I who was executed after the
Parliamentary civil war. He defiantly faces the statue of
Oliver Cromwell, the leader who defeated him, who's statue
stands outside Westminster Hall on the other side of the road.
Jewel Tower
 Last
stop today was the Jewel Tower, built in 1336 as a treasure
house. It was part of the medieval Palace of Westminster, used
to house the personal treasure of Edward III. It is one of
only two surviving buildings of the original Palace of
Westminster. When a great fire engulfed the Palace of
Westminster in 1834 only the Jewel Tower and Westminster Hall
survived.
From 1621 to 1864 the tower was used as a government office
and to store records of the House of Lords. Today the Jewel
Tower has been restored. Alongside are the remains of the moat
and a medieval quay.
On the inside there is a small museum where there are relics
relating to the Palace of Westminster and items of pottery dug
from the moat .
Windsor Castle...» |
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