Westminster Abbey

Thursday morning dawned so we decided to treat ourselves to breakfast out. The independent cafe that we had chosen was not like the online presence, but the buttered thick white toast had me nostalgically reminiscing about the days of making toast on the wards in the middle of on call, something not allowed these days. Dorothy looked horrified at my obvious enjoyment!​​​​​​​

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Thus, fortified we walked from Southwark to the Thames crossing Westminster Bridge to

arrive at Westminster Abbey. Big Ben was sparkling in the winter sunshine, and I was

behaving  like a true tourist snapping pictures of the great and the good, well their statues

at least.

 

​​​​​​We had been told to report to Simon by the Dean’s PA, Ruth. We were so impressed

when we asked Howard, the Marshall at the gate where we should meet Simon as he said,

“you must be Dorothy and Clare” and spoke into his cuff and Simon appeared.

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​                                             As it is winter the Marshalls wear a very splendid Navy Coat with Red Detail.

                                             Simon gave us wrist bands and took us straight into the Abbey circumnavigating the queue. On                                                           hearing that we were from Yorkshire showed us the Hockney stained glass window and advised us                                                     where to meet the Dean later explaining that it was a suitable time to come as in November, they only                                               get 6,000 visitors a day!

                                             Simon happily posed with Dorothy.

                                             We started to walk round the Abbey, noting the memorial stones to scientists, politicians, and poets                                                 when we were greeted by another Marshall, Hannah. She had been advised to see us as we were from                                               Yorkshire and so was she, describing herself as the Token Northerner! Hannah explained all about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

He came from Flanders, the soil from France, the Black stone from Belgium and the lettering made of metal from bullet cases  surrounded by poppies.

Nearby is the bell from the ship that brought the body. I found it very moving.

Westminster Abbey is also the burial place of Kings and Queens from Edward the Confessor to Elizabeth the First and her sister Mary Tudor. Mary is buried underneath Elizabeth which explains the plaque beside their tomb.

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Mary, Queen of Scots is also buried in another chapel, brought from Peterborough Cathedral by her son James the First, completing our new found historical interest in her having been to to the burial places of her jailers, the Earl of Shrewsbury at Sheffield and Bess of Hardwick at Derby Cathedrals.

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These pictures show a glimpse of Edward the Confessor’s tomb and Elizabeth the First’s.

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We were allowed into the Diamond Jubilee galleries which are up high above the Nave with amazing views, containing information on the building of the Abbey and life-sized funeral effigies. We walked up, there is a lift and worth the extra cost.

We then went downstairs and met with Dean David, who as the Dean to a Royal Peculiar is answerable to the King, as Westminster Abbey is owned by the monarch and not the Church of England. He was generous with his time but explained that he could not advertise us in his social media but had a photo taken with us.

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I must confess that I was slightly dubious about Holy Communion in such a busy place but there was a quiet respect, by visitors, for the area around the service. Dorothy and I chatted to a nurse, stepping out from a conference for an hour, discussing Jeel and the Assisted Dying Bill which was due to be debated the following day. It was a said Holy Communion and there was a diversity of congregants.

Having experienced the busyness of a Royal Peculiar we followed the signs to the Cloisters and the Cloister Garden. An oasis with a couple of others in it, grass, and trees!

Lunch beckoned and in the interest of information we ate in the Cellarium Cafe, homemade squash and tomato soup with a roll, excellent and appropriately priced. Moving onto the shop we felt that Back Up Team in Yorkshire deserved a present. The jams were on the small size, and we declined them on discovering that they were packaged by Farrahs! Tea towels of the Kings and Queens of England bought for educating offspring and shortbread with the Abbey on the tin for back up at home. Later, we discovered where the shortbread came from. Yes, you guessed correctly, Harrogate too!

I do not think that we are natural shoppers as it was so crowded that those who know me will not be surprised that we spent a truly brief time in there, so I am unable to comment on whether they had Abbey Gin or Beer.

Despite being a Royal Peculiar I can report that the Westminster Abbey Stamp for our Passports is one of the smallest of any of the Cathedrals!

We really enjoyed our visit to Westminster Abbey and would like to thank Ruth for facilitating it and when we were on the train home we had an email from the Dean’s Almoner with a very generous donation for the Tuition Fees for the students. Thank you!​