Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Churchill War Rooms, and Westminster Abbey

We joined the throng at the gates of Buckingham Palace to catch a glimpse of the Changing of Guard, but we weren’t in a good position to watch or get pictures. We took a few pictures and then went on to see the Churchill War Rooms.

Font of Buckingham Palace with a guard standing in the foreground. — Buckingham Palace Changing of the Guard

Jodi and Kay outside of Buckingham Palace with the gates and statute in the background. — Buckingham Palace Changing of the Guard

Churchill War Rooms

Churchill Map Room shows the large world map on the back wall with labels and markings showing troop movements. Desks are facing the map and the center of the room. Desks are covered with files and papers. — Churchill Map Room

The Churchill War Rooms and Museum were a fascinating look back at WWII and the forces that shaped the war. These were the actual bunker rooms where Winston Churchill and hundreds other worked and stayed safe from air raids. Walking these hallways and seeing the museum allowed you to feel the intensity and the gravity of the situation. Seeing the ceilings reinforced against bombs trying to protect those within was a reminder of the life and death struggle faced not only by these people but anyone faced with the reality of war. For more information Visit Churchill War Rooms – Plan Your Visit | Imperial War Museums (iwm.org.uk)

Westminster Abbey

The site of Westminster Abbey has been used as a place of worship for over a thousand years. Starting in the 960s, a group of 12 monks established a monastic community here. From that early beginning, the Kings and Queens of England have continued to establish close links with a church on this site. In December 1065, King Edward dedicated a major stone church that was called West Minister. This was to distinguish it from St. Paul’s Cathedral that was known also as the “east minister”. Most of the church we see today was built between 1245 and 1272 by Henry III. During the turmoil of the reign of Henry VIII (1540), Westminster was dissolved as a monastic Abbey, but clergy continued to live and worship here. Then in 1560, Henry VIII’s daughter, now Queen Elizabeth I, re-founded the abbey as a collegiate church. It continues today as the Queen’s Scholars of Westminster School with around 750 students. For more information on Westminster Abbey: A royal church | Westminster Abbey (westminster-abbey.org)

As we walked around the church, visions of coronations and even funerals were ever present. Jodi immediately recognized the pew where Queen Elizabeth II sat alone during the funeral of Prince Phillip due to COVID concerns (April 16, 2021). Every nook and cranny of the Abbey has either a memorial to someone, elaborate tombs, or burial markers. Kings, queens, nobles, soldiers, generals, doctors, writers, are all buried within these walls. Some of the most famous are Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Robert Browning, and Rudyard Kipling to name a few of the writers. Commemorated here include William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Lewis Carroll, T.S. Eliot and more. Scientists buried in Westminster include Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawking.

I have always loved reading and learning about Mary Queen of Scots, so I was on the hunt to locate her tomb and it was worth it! For more information on Mary Queen of Scots: Mary Queen of Scots | Westminster Abbey (westminster-abbey.org)

Tomb of Mary Queen of Scots. White marble effigy with praying hands surrounded by an elaborate crypt and wrought iron fence.

Also in the same space as Mary Queen of Scots is the tomb for her mother-in-law Margaret Douglass, Countess of Lennox. She was the mother of Lord Darnley who Mary married and had one son. That son eventually became King James the VI of Scotland and King James the I of England. He also commissioned the writing of the King James version of the Bible! (More information King James Bible: How and Why the Translation Came to Be | Time)

Tomb of Margaret Douglass, Countess of Lenox grandmother to King Janes the VI of Scotland and Kings James I of England. The tomb is a bronze effigy of the Countess with bright red robes. She is laying on a bronze pillow with her hands in a praying position. Around the base of the tomb are kneeling men - one off which is her son Lord Darnley with a crest of the Douglass family. — Margaret Douglass Countess of Lennox

For more information on Margaret Douglass, Countess of Lennox (Grandmother to King James): Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox | Westminster Abbey (westminster-abbey.org)

We also had the good fortunate to hear an organ recital here at Westminster Abbey on June 19. 2022, by Charles Maxtone-Smith an Organ Scholar. Music included:

Walton Suite from Henry V,
i March
ii Passacaglia
iii Touch her soft lips and part

Harris Adagio espressivo (Sonata in A minor)
Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Greensleeves
Parry Chorale Fantasia on The Old Hundredth

On our way out of the Abbey, I happened to glance down at one of the grave markers on the floor and it said, “Beneath this stone was buried the blind scholar Ambrose Fisher 1617 Author of A Defense of the Liturgy”. Thousands of grave markers and I stumble onto the one for the “blind scholar from 1617”! For more information: Ambrose Fisher | Westminster Abbey (westminster-abbey.org)

Black stone marker insert in the floor of Westminster Abbey that reads, "Beneath this Stone was buried the blind scholar Ambrose Fisher 1617 Author of A Defense of Liturgy." — Stone Marker for Ambrose Fisher in Westminster

Large granite statue of Abraham Lincoln just across the street from Westminster Abbey. The bottom is a white granite with his name inscribed and the top is a life size statue of President Lincoln. — Abraham Lincoln Statue in London

As we were walking to Westminster Abbey just across the street, we found a statue to Abraham Lincoln!