Westminster Abbey was, obviously, on my to-visit list for a long time. It’s such a fascinating place to see, from a historical point of view. I should mention that the abbey is not exactly inclusive in how is presented as in both the audio guide and booklet they invite visitors to pray, disregarding that visitors might have a different denomination, a different religion, or no religion at all. Saying to a Muslim, for example, why don’t you pray in this Anglican church is rather crass.
Westminster Abbey’s history makes it a very important place in England, but also in UK and abroad. I will share a few highlights and, due to the limited time, I will make short remarks for some of the pictures.
William Wilberforce’s statue
I picked only 5 plaques to highlight from the abbey. There are many more, of politicians, of queens, of scientists, and poets and so on. I don’t think it’s particularly surprising that I picked Darwin, Chaucer, Herschel, and Telford.
I was keen on seeing Aphra Behn’s plaque, which is not located in the poet’s corner of the abbey, but in the inner courtyard. Because of its location, of the funny and witty epitaph, which is so Aphra Behn, I’ve decided to include it on its own. She deserves the extra attention.
The only grave/memorial in the abbey that is never walked on.
This is the place where monarchs have their coronation ceremony. The first king to be crowned at the Abbey was William the Conqueror in 1066, which was not exactly a success, but it marked the point of Westminster becoming the coronation church for all the monarchs.
There are wonderful statues all over the church. Including this one, of Florence Nightingale.
Henry VII and Elizabeth of York
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries are interesting and worth spending a bit more to get a ticket for them. There are effigies of royals, details about the abbey, and stunning views of the abbey from above.
the oldest door in Britain, dating back to the 1050s
This oak chest from 1450s is one of the six remaining in the country. Its shape is indicative of what was stored inside, circular capes.
This is the coronation chair, just beside the exit. It was made by King Edward I and it was used in every ceremony since 1308.
Tickets for Westminster Abbey are £24 for adults. Tickets for Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries are £5.
Westminister Abbey is absolutely stunning. I’d love to visit it some day. Thanks for sharing your experiences and photos. It’s always lovely being able to visit some place virtually with a help of a fellow blogger. 🙂
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It’s a pretty stunning place, isn’t it? I’ve never done the tour — that’s for next time. But I did attend the Evensong services and that was really quite powerful with the gorgeous music in that space and one did see a fair amount of it. We weren’t allowed photos (2018) so it’s nice you could do that.
I think there’s a huge difference in being invited to pray if one wants and more or less having it forced upon them. I hope it’s more the former than the latter.
During service photographing is still not allowed and they enforce that, which I liked a lot. If anyone wants to pray, they should have the privacy to do so without being bothered by visitors. Where the service was taking place was cordoned off. Maybe that was the case when you went to Westminster, I don’t know though, this was the first time I went there.
I agree that it’s a huge difference between saying “anyone is welcomed to pray or contemplate” and “why don’t you take some time to pray”. Unfortunately they went with the second option, which is why I said it’s not inclusive. This happened more than once in the audio guide and it was similar in the booklet too.
It looks like such an interesting place to visit, and you got some wonderful photos of your time there! there aren’t many churches like this here in Australia with that much history!
Hope you’re having a great weekend. I spent a lot of time this weekend at playgrounds with the kids! 🙂
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Thanks for sharing your visit with us. I’ve been meaning to visit Westminster Abbey for years, but somehow my trips to London are always filled with other activities. I’ll get round to it some day (hopefully!).
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Wow it’s absolutely gorgeous! I have to go and visit someday as well.
You shared some wonderful photos and I really enjoyed this post. I’ve been to Westminster Abbey twice in my life and would love to go back again.
I didn’t remember the memorial for WWI. It reminds me somewhat of our Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
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It’s a very special place, isn’t it? The galleries are also so interesting, it’s a shame I was not allowed to take pictures.
I’ve actually been three times: 1972, 1977, and 2003. Of course the Diamond Jubilee Galleries were not an option then and I think they would be fascinating to visit! I’ve just visited the page on the Abbey’s website to learn more about them.
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