4 Sept 2013 ~ Westminster Abbey

Listening to: Bonnie Raitt ~ Pride and Joy (Tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughn)


I spent some time walking around Westminster Abbey.

Westminster Abbey is one of the world’s greatest churches, a designated World Heritage Site and ‘Royal Peculiar’, which means the Dean is directly answerable to the monarch. The coronation of Kings and Queens has taken place here since 1066, and many of the nation’s Kings and Queens are buried in the Abbey. Principal among them is St Edward the Confessor, King of England from 1042 to 1066.

 



Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and often extended to refer to the clock and the clock tower.



 

 

 



 

We arrived just in time to hear the 10 o'clock chimes.

http://youtu.be/7b73UOlATkE

St. Margaret's Church was consecrated in 1523, but is the third church to reside on the site. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch.







Notable features include the east window of 1509 of Flemish stained glass, created to commemorate the betrothal of Catherine of Aragon to Henry VIII. Other windows commemorate William Caxton, Britain's first printer, who was buried at the church in 1491; Sir Walter Raleigh, executed in Old Palace Yard and then also buried in the church in 1618; and the poet John Milton, a parishioner of the church.

I did not go inside as it was Sunday, so tours weren't allowed.