It was still fairly early when we crossed the Westminster Bridge. We had afternoon tea scheduled for 230pm, back at the hotel where we were staying.
I had always wanted to check out Westminster Abbey It was just before 10am. Because I wasn't sure what our schedule would be, I didn't purchase advanced tickets. It was just past 10, the line to get in didn't seem very long, so we decided to see if we could get tickets. Surprisingly, there were tickets available. I went ahead and got us tickets for 1030 entry into the Abbey. We decided to check out St. Margaret's Church which is on the grounds of the Abbey.
According to Britannica, there had been a church on this site since the mid-12th century. But that structure was demolished and this church was built between 1486 and 1523. It is the "official" church of the House of Commons (i.e. the Parliament), which happens to be right next door. In fact, Winston Churchill married Clementine Hozier in this church in 1908. They were married for 56 years, until Churchill's death in 1965.
The church is also known for it's windows. The famous East Window has quite a story.
It was also interesting to see who's been entombed here.
Speaking of entombed. Well, according to Wikipedia, there are over 3,300 people buried or commemorated in the Abbey, which was housing Benedictine Monks back in the 10th Century!
There's so much that has happened here; every coronation, since that of William the Conquerer in 1066 has taken place here; the High Altar is where those take place. This post could be many pages long; so I'm just going to keep it simple.
Of course, I was much more interested in who was buried here. It's a who's who of history.
There are a total of 17 monarchs entombed here. For instance, Elizabeth I and Mary I are buried next to each other.
There are familiar names everywhere and folks seemed to be entombed together in sections.
Poet's Corner features some familiar names.
Remember I used the term buried or "commemorated" above? Well, I found it even more interesting folks who have memorials or statues here, but are not buried at Westminster.
Like this rather well known fella'…….
I really appreciated some of the "pairings"….for instance, Stephen Hawking.
Is buried next to…..
And nearby resides….
From people I've read about in history class.
To those who future generations will read about in their history classes.
And even those whom I just remember for certain things; like the quote "Doctor Livingston I presume?"
I really enjoyed just wandering thru Westminster Abbey. There's an Audioguide available, but we just decided to "wing it".
I'm thinking we'll return and perhaps do a private or Verger tour. This was a lot of fun.
Exiting Westminster Abbey, we headed up Parliament Street.
Passing the Cenotaph, a memorial to those who died in the First and Second World Wars. Unfortunately, those photos didn't turn out.
My photo for the Monument to the Women of World War II did.
As did that of the Field Marshal Earl Haig Memorial.
Whitehall is indeed a street with so much too see.
At the intersection of Whitehall and Horse Guards Avenue is a very popular gate. This is where one of the ceremonial entrances to Saint James and Buckingham Palace is. This is also where the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment guards the gate. You can figure out what the draw here is, right?
Everyone wants a photo with the Equine Soldier, but like they say for the Tube, you need to "mind the gap" as some of the horses, like the one above enjoy their "personal space". It was quite a crowd.
This is also where the entry to the Household Cavalry Museum is located, along with the Horse Guards Parade. It had quite a line on this day.
We walked thru the passage to Horse Guards Avenue. And came upon the Guards Memorial.
Like I said. There's so much to see that it can be overwhelming. By this point we had seen so much that it was time to head back to the hotel and take a short break before Afternoon Tea.
I put my phone away and we took a nice stroll back to the Dilly.
I had made reservations for Afternoon Tea at the hotel's restaurant, the Terrace. One thing I did learn was the difference between High Tea and Afternoon Tea. Afternoon Tea is earlier with supposedly lighter fare….you'll see why I say "supposedly" soon. The Terrace is a lovely, somewhat stylish, very bright restaurant.
Since we wouldn't have time for dinner until later this evening; I thought 230 might be a good time for Afternoon Tea. The restaurant was busy, but not super crowded. We thought the prices were quite reasonable as well.
We really weren't prepared for how much food this was. That said, nothing was memorable; the sandwiches dull, the scones quite bland….
The "sweets" tasted like mass produced chocolate; though we thought the theme and presentation was charming.
The service was quite attentive; though we were underwhelmed at the quality and flavor of the food. Still, you were in London, you had to do Afternoon or High Tea, right?
Terrace at The Dilly
21 Piccadilly
London, United Kingdom