1 post tagged “westminster abbey”

We had a day to spend in London, before flying on to Inverness in Scotland. We stayed at the Jury's Inn Hotel near Heathrow Airport. Hatton Cross tube station is within walking distance, and is the first stop from Heathrow Terminal 3. We were happy with the Jury's Inn, Heathrow.

First day, we went into London by tube to look through Westminster Abbey. We had seen it from the outside on a previous visit, but it was too late to go inside, so we were pleased to have the opportunity to do so this time. Kings and Queens are crowned and buried in Westminster Abbey, as are buried so many famous people, including Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. Unfortunately, photos are not allowed inside.

I remembered the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, so it was quite a thrill to see the Coronation chair, or King Edward's chair. Nearly every English monarch since 1308 has been seated in this chair at the moment of coronation. I had to smile when I noticed that some medieval vandals had carved their initials in the chair.

As we wandered around we saw the tombs of Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots, among many, but to me, the tombs of Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin were of most interest. I wondered how they must have felt when they realised that their discoveries would change mankind's thinking forever. I also smiled at the thought that even though their scientific discoveries further weakened the power of religion over men's minds, here they were buried in a Christian Abbey.

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After leaving Westminster Abbey we looked again at that other London icon, Big Ben, and then proceeded towards 10 Downing St. Before we arrived there, we noticed a sign pointing to the War Cabinet Rooms. These were the underground rooms where Churchill directed operations during the Second World War. I was pleased to learn that photos were allowed. Below is the War Cabinet Room left exactly as it was when the cabinet left it at the end of the war. It was only a few days before that I had seen the room at Fort Canning where the decision was taken to surrender Singapore. I was now looking at the room where that news would have been received in stunned disbelief. How devastated those men must have been. The round backed chair in the centre was where Churchill sat.

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The operations room complete with pins in maps as they were left in 1945.

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And the Churchill's kitchen.

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There is also a room dedicated to the life of Winston Churchill. He was quite a man.