Today is a bank holiday. The whole country takes a day off work for no particular reason – to celebrate banks? To enjoy a three-day weekend? Not sure. But everyone in Oxford Street was sure taking advantage of the sunny day to shop, shop, shop! We took some stuff back and then headed off to Westminster Abbey in a long-awaited touristy day.
We caught a bus from Oxford Circus and walked a little way past some uniformed-people on horses:
Just past this was the very famous Downing Street (where the Prime Minister lives):
And some very interesting War Memorials:
And then just around the corner…
Millions of people! And a whole lot of famous sights too. Like last weekend, the lines to Westminster were down so we took a bus. That didn't deter all the other tourists though!
And then the Main Attraction:
And, us, posing:
We weren't allowed to take photographs inside the Abbey, but we could take photos inside the Cloisters.
This passageway was called the "Coffee Club", and had a mini gift store.
This archway leads to the Chapter Room, an early Medieval room lined with beautiful handpainted murals of the apocolypse. The floor is also tiled with intricately-crafted tiles which are patterned through a double-clay glazing process. I've tried to rotate this image twice, and in my "Photos" tab it is correctly aligned…. no clue. So it is sideways. Hm.
After walking around the Cloisters you get to head back into the Poets' Corner (my main attraction!).
As far as I can tell, a lot of the stained windows were destroyed during the wars, so much of it was reclaimed and restored in windows like these. You can see bits and pieces of other stained window designs incorporated into this one.
Here's the scan of our map! It's not quite what I expected. All of the tombs and statues are out in the open for everyone to see, at ground level. I realise that there is quite an extensive section underground that is not accessible to the public, but we only got to see the bits above ground. It was absolutely fascinating, and so strange to be so involved in the here and now, but also the past in only one moment.
On the way out I bought some postcards, so I'll share them here with you.
This is the Cosmati Pavement which is a beautiful, intricate medieval mosaic leftover from the 13th century. Jeremy Irons guided us through the entire Abbey Audio Guide Tour (he's a fantastic narrator! Although I couldn't help but think of Scar from the Lion King. Hm). Anyway, he (& the Abbot) said that this is the most precious thing in the church.
This is the stone vaulted ceiling in Henry VII's chapel. It's very beautiful, and you can see all the intricacies when youre standing underneath. (Also, there's a book on display illustrating the names of various important people including Thabo Mbeki).
This is the ceiling of the Chapter House I mentioned earlier. It's magnificent!
This is the quire inside the Abbey. Everything is gilded and decorated to really make you stop in your tracks when you see it all at once!
This is the tomb effigy of Queen Elizabeth 1. I've just finished reading a few books about her – it's amazing to see her "in person" as it were. Her effigy is made from her death mask, and is said to be the most accurate likeness. It's quite interesting to consider that she is buried here above her sister Mary, whom was only recognised later in effigy by her son (her effigy resides in a different room).
Here is Shakespeare (not buried here). I always imagined him to be rather fatter. Not sure why. He points to a speech from the Tempest. I couldn't help but think of those books I read a little while ago – The Shakspeare Secret and The Shakespeare Curse. They reference this statue extensively.
And finally, the scene I was waiting for forever! This is "The Poets' Corner". That's Shakespeare on the right. On the far left, in the dark corner is Chaucer.
Yes, Chaucer.
:)
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