Friday, July 6, 2012

Anglophile Friday - Favorite Photos of England

St. Margarets Church with Westminster Abbey in the background

In the near center of the photo is the rose window above the north door of WMA. The two towers at the right of the photo flank the west door of the abbey. Those are the doors that Prince William and Catherine (and their guests) walked through as they entered the abbey to get married.

This photo was taken at the end of the 'Westminster by Gaslight' tour from London Walks. Starting at the Westminster Tube Station and walking across Westminster Bridge, we then walked south along the river to Lambeth Bridge, turned west, went through the neighborhood of many MPs and ended up here, at the south end of the Palace of Westminster. And just across the street is this church - St. Margaret's Church where Winston Churchill was married. I'd never put this photo on my Cranberry Morning blog before because I didn't like that green wall. But since then, it's grown on me and I'm okay with it being in the photo.

From westminster-abbey.org:

'It may seem surprising to find another large church standing so close to the might and magnificence of Westminster Abbey. Why was an additional church needed in such a position? To answer that question we have to recall that Westminster Abbey was originally a Benedictine Abbey. In 1065 Edward the Confessor gave orders for the consecration of the abbey church of the Benedictine monastery. That great church was to be the centre of life for the monks of Westminster. Following the Rule of St Benedict, they would assemble at fixed times throughout each day to worship God by singing what is known as 'the Divine Office'. That was their duty - 'office' comes from the Latin word for 'duty'. This was their main task in life, so they called it Opus Dei - 'God's work'. Nothing was allowed to disturb them in carrying out this basic duty.

However, the monks of the newly-founded monastery of St Peter in Westminster were disturbed by the people of Westminster who came to hear Mass. So the monks set about building a smaller church next to the Abbey where the local people could receive all the sacraments and ministrations of the Church, thus leaving the monks in the Abbey undisturbed. The church was dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch about whom little is known, though her cult was extremely popular in the middle ages.
It seems that St Margaret’s was built in the latter part of the 11th century, although we do not have a precise date. From then until the dissolution of the monastery by Henry VIII in 1540, ministry to the ever-growing population of Westminster was undertaken by the monks of the Abbey. This arrangement was the basis for the close relationship between St Margaret's and Westminster Abbey which has existed ever since.' Read more of this interesting article.

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When my daughter took me to England, we were able to get into the gallery of the House of Commons. In the late evening, we stood in line in front of St. Stephen's entrance, then walked up some steps and were greeted by security, who took our bags and made sure we weren't carrying anything threatening. Watching the proceedings was a fun and fascinating experience. I don't watch C-Span because I don't have cable, but I did see it a few times while my dad was still alive. (He could've watched C-Span all day.) Anyway, nothing I saw on C-Span was nearly as interesting as the raucous debate that took place in the House of Commons. They make a lot of noise, yank on coattails, and generally give a good show for onlookers in the gallery. It was definitely worth attending.

I realize that this is serious business, but still, I can't help it that it was entertaining as well as interesting. :-)



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This post is linked to:
G'Day Saturday

Have a great weekend, everyone!
 
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20 comments:

Paulette said...

Your post makes me want to take a trip to England.

Lois Christensen said...

My hubby could watch C-Span all day as well! What a beautiful picture! Enjoy your weekend!

Deanna said...

Yours is the second blog I've read this morning about England. Oh, how I want to go!

MadSnapper said...

i watched the wedding and did not realize how beautiful the building is until your photo. this is really a beautiful shot. love it. and i like the green building all of it. the lighting is fantastic.

RURAL said...

Great shots, never been there, and I do hope to one day....

But seeing your blog photos was the next best thing.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Mary said...

That's a great tour, gaslight, a nice way to see a place. Good you could go. I always had a head turning problem crossing the streets, hahaha, my head would always turn back to check the wrong side of traffic, then I had to look again, and again and again.

Debra Hawkins said...

Is it weird that your photos make me homesick, even though I live in the states?

Amy Burzese said...

That night shot is just wonderful. And, what a great tour "by gaslight". Love it! I've gotten behind in blogging and so afraid I've missed something good!

Rachael said...

Ah, I live in England and always dream of living somewhere with a more reliable climate with set seasons. Our weather is always all over the place although rain, grey and drizzle seems to be the default setting.Rx

http://sandersonsmithstory.blogspot.co.uk/

Ruth Kelly said...

We never got to do a London Walk. By evening we were so exhausted from walking and taking the tube that we just stayed in.

Carla from The River said...

Very interesting article. Thank you for sharing.

Mama Hen said...

That picture is beautiful! I always love when you post about England. Our adventures here in New Hampshire are so much fun! I know you would love it here! The apple peel is great! I love all of your soaps. Have a great night!

Mama Hen

Virtual Essence said...

Now you're making me want to browse through all my photos of London! It's such a beautiful city, I think trips there are never long enough. I love just aimlessly wandering the streets, ever nook and cranny seems to hold a new surprise! *Sigh* I love London!

laurie said...

Wonderful photo and a great post!

Empty Nester said...

I can't wait to see if Birdie comes back with any of the same pictures as you!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

It's so wonderful to see the photos you took while visiting there...it's almost as good as going there myself! Well...almost! What a fabulous trip!

Bossy Betty said...

Well, now I've got to go back!!!!

Joyce said...

I just love this magnificent corner of England. Once upon a time I was a VIP guest at a luncheon in the House of Lords. There were about 20 people there including-David Cameron. It was a definite highlight of my years in the UK!

J_on_tour said...

Wow, such a lot from one great photo, wish I could do that ! haha, it would certainly save on my photo storage space !

WMA ... LOL, wish I'd thought of that, I've only ever been to SPC in more recent times !

Sometimes when I take a photo, I have a similar feeling on whether I should crop an unwanted object at the time but usually have to accept it. I remember disappointments of small blemishes that I didn't notice through the viewfinder at the time ... to the extremes of York Minster being covered in scaffolding for years as the West Front was restored.
Nice text from WMA site and the St Margaret's church link, I didn't know anything about that. Once you smell the scent of a big tourist site in a large location, surrounding things can get forgotten about in the time schedule pressure of the next location.

Yea, those H of C people get good money for waving papers and noise around !

debbie bailey said...

I know what you mean. The times I've watched them on C-span I was shocked. I expect the English to behave like proper gentlemen not yelling and such wild things. Entertaining is putting it mildly!

Your apple soap sure sounds good. I'm putting in another order pronto. I've given away all I ordered before as gifts.

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