A Final Day in London

On my final day in London, I boarded the district line train in Hammersmith and headed into the heart of London’s city center to visit the one site that several people told me beforehand I had to visit. The Tower of London is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it did not disappoint.

Just outside the outer wall is a wildflower garden but was once a moat. William the Conqueror had the moat dug out for protection around the western and northern walls. It was King Henry the III who had the moat dug out completely in the 1240s to surround the entire tower. In 1270, Edward the I built a deeper and wider moat that was effective enough that it still has the same shape today, although it was filled in in the 1840s on orders from the Duke of Wellington because it smelt so terrible.

I walked around the perimeter before entering and finally got my first glimpse of the Tower Bridge. Of all the bridges in London, this one is probably the most recognizable for its large spires. The center can be raised to allow larger ships through.

I circled back around and entered the tower gates and veered toward the building housing the Crown Jewels. I was in the first time slot entry so there was no line yet, but later in the day, the line wraps around so long there are ropes for people to queue up in. Photography is not allowed inside, but the building itself is pretty impressive. In the collection are various crowns and sets of jewelry worn by various monarchs as well as different armor and swords from different eras. They even have royal china on display for you to see how they dine in splendor.

You can also tour the stone building where people were held before they were executed, including Anne Boleyn, wife of Henry the VIII, who was beheaded for adultery with four men and incest with her brother, charges she denied to her dying breath. Also in that building was where many a prisoner were tortured into giving up information on who was working against the Crown, including Anne Askew who was accused of being a heretic by Henry the VIII and burned at the stake. She was tortured so brutally on The Rack that she had to be carried to her execution because she could not walk. As you can tell, Henry the VIII’s reputation as a terrible, ruthless Tudor was well earned.

The White Tower, the center building with four spires on its outer wall, was built by William the Conqueror.

This building has been many things including residence to Henry the VIII, Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Walter Raliegh, and the Duke of Wellington. Today, it is a museum that includes various armors worn by armies and monarchs over the centuries, as well as gifts given to the Crown from other countries. Mind the spiral staircases, though. I believe there were 209 total along the path of the tour they wind you through.

After the Tower of London, as the stubborn rain decided it wasn’t going to let up anytime soon, I decided I needed to see Westminster one more time because the morning bus tour from the day before was such a disappointment. I also, finally, saw Big Ben.

Of all the places I toured in London, the throngs of tourists were worst here. So. Many. People. But I endured it to see the interior and I was not disappointed. A beautiful building made from stone and marble. Midday prayer services were being held while I was there which threw me back to my childhood of attending mass, a practice I did not continue as an adult. At least it kept the tourists mostly quiet while the service was going on.

There are many people interred or have memorials in Westminster Abbey, including Jane Austen, Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, and Queen Anne. Below are some of the memorials depicted around the Abbey, not necessarily for the people I just mentioned.

In the St. Michel’s Chapel section of Westminster is a monument dedicated to Lady Elizabeth Nightingale and her husband, Joseph. She died after a premature birth caused by getting hit by lightening. True story, and the baby survived and was also named Elizabeth. Anyhoo, the memorial has this awesome skeletal depiction of Death and I could not stop admiring it. Both Elizabeth and her husband are buried there.

Here is where the coronation takes place when a new monarch comes forth:

And it is hard to look away from the ceiling and the many stained glass windows:

As I made my way to the end of the path they have set up around the Abbey to keep tourists moving forward instead of aimlessly, I headed through the Jerusalem Chamber into the College Hall which has windows that overlook a courtyard and gives the view of the Abbey you can’t see from the street.

After an hour and a half of Westminster, I exited the Abbey into the rain which had let up considerably. I decided to check out Highgate Cemetery, but my adventure there can be found in another section of my blog, here. It’s a long, good story if you want to follow along, it was just too long to put in here too.

Thank you, friendly reader for following my adventures across Ireland and Great Britain. You can find prints of some of my photography and other artwork at my Etsy Store.