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Did you know……..

That the Westminster Abbey that we tell you has been there for 900 years has not
really been there, as you see it, for that long at all? The original Abbey, as created by
Edward the Confessor, was completely different and was built in the Norman style. And
did you know that this great man was for a long time England’s patron saint? And did
you know that Westminster Abbey, as you see it today, took almost 500 years to build? In
fact, the famous West Towers designed by Christopher Wren’s pupil, Hawksmoor, in
1745, are actually among the last major structures to be added around the nave and central cross.

So today’s Abbey started life with the idea that Henry III had: in order to properly revere his hero, Edward the Confessor, it was necessary to modify his Abbey and have himself buried next to the saint. This idea rolled on through the centuries, with various kings leaving their mark by making special additions. For example, during the reigns of Henry V and Richard II, the nave was completed - and Henry VII helped to establish his authenticity by making the Lady Chapel his Henry VII chapel, with a huge mausoleum bronze effigy of himself and his dear lady wife Elizabeth of York. So finally we have today’s image of our great coronation church which has almost totally destroyed that of Saint Edward! Some way to revere a saint!

Well at least the Gothic style did lighten things up - literally. Those flying buttresses that you see on the outside, and which are often thought to be ungainly, are what allowed the architects of 500 years ago to have thinner, higher walls, with today’s huge windows that we now take for granted. But did you also know that today’s cathedrals are not at all like those of 400 and 500 years ago, in entirely another respect? Today, we think of the inside of these places as sombre and dull, and that that must be a reflection of how religion has always been. You could not be farther from the truth, from the reality. Yesterday’s churches were wonderful bright places blazing with colour with pictographic stories plastered all over the walls and windows. But this is all before the Protestants who took over in Edward VI’s reign (oh, what a great time they must have had running riot during the short time of this sickly boy king’s time in power - and even more so in Oliver Cromwell’s Republican regime - not a misprint, yes Republican - which had even more puritanical leanings). (Did you know that Britain became a republic for quite a few years in the middle of the 17th century - and happily chose to go back and embrace the monarchy with profound joy?)

Did you know that this original Westminster Abbey used to sit on land that was known as Thorney Island? For that is what it virtually was, an island, surrounded by streams and rivers and marshy land. In fact did you know that the whole of that solid and respectable area that we now call Belgravia was marshy, inhospitable and crisscrossed by villains who used to be called footpads but are now known as muggers? So why are things so different now? Well because, although people liked to make profits just as much as we do today, they were willing to invest their heart and soul, as well as tremendous vision, energy and drive. So a man called Cubitt, who was developing St. Katharine’s Dock near the Tower, had the bright idea of moving the sludge up to today’s Belgravia and draining the area so it is now very solid indeed. And why is this land called Belgravia? At the time and up until today, the Duke of Westminster owned - and still owns - all the streets around Belgrave Square, including London’s longest and most prestigious square Eaton Square. Aristocrats had the amusing habit of naming parts of their city empire after villages and towns on their country estates. So if you think of Chester, Belgrave and Eaton squares as quaint little parts of London, you wouldn’t be thinking quite the same way as the dear old Duke himself - as no doubt he believes they are rather quaint little parts of his country estate.

Now reader, if you knew all these things, you really do not need a proper registered London Blue Badge Guide. However if you did not know some of it, and want to hear lots more, then get in touch with one, and tune in to one of the world’s most fascinating stories.

© Peter West Tours 2006

Peter West is a registered London Blue Badge Guide who specializes in made-to-measure sightseeing tours around London, as well as longer trips around England, Ireland, France and anywhere else in Europe. Please visit his website http://www.peterwesttours.com/ to contact him.

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Through modern wrought iron gates, across the wide shallow moat and along the gravel drive which curved slightly. The island enclosed by the moat is quite large, comprising some four or five acres, mostly wooded gardens. The moat was first constructed in prehistoric times by our brythonic ancestors (in an archaeological excavation about sixty years ago the skeletons of two men, buried in sawdust, with mosaic rings on their arms, were found). DNA tests in isolated communities show that the genetic descendants of the brythons are still among us. The Roman’s built a villa within the moat, and in the subsequent two thousand years the residence has been rebuilt and rebuilt until its present manifestation - plain Regency of 1812, faced in stucco and painted cream. A venerable cedar tree obscured with a verdant veil my first view of the house.

See photo: http://afroml.blogspot.com/2006/03/recumbent-effigies-in-south-aisle_05.html

In front of the house the moat widens into a lake, and because the building is so close to the water’s edge you had to walk right across the front and down a slope before you could look back and get a complete view of the main facade. Rising three floors, the top storey had an open loggia with a rooftop terrace behind (Pevsner says this arrangement was put in after a fire destroyed the attic rooms in the 1950s - a familiar fate of country houses lit by candles). There is a legend that inside the house is a secret hiding place next to one of the fireplaces, and that a recusant priest taking refuge in this hole suffocated with the heat and smoke, his skeleton being found years afterwards.

At some point a landscape gardener had widened the moat in front of the house so that it became an ornamental lake. In the subdued light of a late February afternoon the water looked as mysterious as Dozmary Pool. A discarded oar, looking forlorn, acted as a reminder of summer boating sessions.

To the side of the house were the stables, in substantial Victorian brick. The main house had a small coat of arms on the front facade (just below the loggia) but the stables had a massive crest on the front, denoting the pride felt in the horseflesh within. In an echo of Rupert Brooke the stable clock said ten to three.

A crest is not the same as a coat of arms. Arms (which are regulated by the College of Arms in London) are worn on a shield, whereas a crest is a device worn on the top of a knight’s helmet. This crest featured a regardant lion (ie looking backwards) holding a crowned head (a decapitated foe whose head was thrown to wild beasts?).

Looking into the Tackroom you could see saddle pads, saddles, bridles, whips (stood up in a traffic cone), feed supplements, cleaning materials.

Horseshoes on a stable window sill, all carefully pointing the right way (lest the luck should run out). Horseshoes are regarded as lucky because they are made of iron, which is supposed to repel evil. They also have seven nail holes, which is a lucky number.

Across the lane was the church, built of ironstone, a Saxon foundation but rebuilt over the ages.

The Poor Box was carved from a single slab of wood, with the date 1639, and the inscription: This is God’s Treasury cast one mite into it (was this a reference to the widow who cast one mite, her entire wealth, into the Temple treasury?).

Recumbent effigies in the south aisle. Two stone knights (and another one in the chancel). Obviously knights are mounted on horseback, so horses must have been kept at the hall since at least the middle ages.

Effigies of knights usually show the feet resting on a dog or a lion, but one of these effigies showed puppies either side of the head. It was a worn scultpure, but you could make out the worn shape of a puppy. He was a man who liked dogs!

Outside the church the countryside fell away in gentle slopes.

Personal blog http://www.afroml.blogspot.com

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Bed and Breakfast accommodation can be a wonderful alternative to staying in a hotel while on your vacation or traveling in general. Almost any destination town you select within the UK will have some sort of B & B accommodation option that you can choose to spend your stay.

A definite advantage and draw to a Bed and Breakfast, is that your stay will feel more like that of visiting friends in their home rather than staying in a hotel. Hotels tend to be extremely formal, and often extremely uniform. A Bed and Breakfast has more of a home like atmosphere, often because the B & B is someone’s home. In many cases the proprietors of the Bed and Breakfast will also live in it. They will simply own a larger house than meets their personal needs, and will rent out rooms to travelers who are in need of a place to stay while they are in town. Bed and Breakfasts are generally decorated like they are someone’s home, and have much more character to them than your traditional travel accommodations.

A guest house can offer you all of the comforts and luxuries of staying in some of the finest hotels, while keeping your stay small and intimate in a home like atmosphere of a Bed and Breakfast. Guest houses are often preferred by vacationers for their home like appearance. Especially, if you plan on staying in a particular location for several weeks, a Bed and Breakfast can often be a much more comfortable stay than a stay in a hotel for which you would pay a comparable rate.

At a guest house you also have the opportunity to dine on a home cooked meal. B & B’s are sometimes famous for the great cooking which is prepared usually by a visitor’s request by the proprietor of the Bed and Breakfast or in some cases the guest house’s cook. Unlike other establishments that are cooking for a great number of people, a Bed and Breakfast is only preparing food in some cases for you and your travel companions. Depending on the Bed and Breakfast you choose mealtime can often be a time where you can get to know other people who are traveling and staying in the B & B as well, and can be a good time for you to sit down and get to know the people behind the house that you are currently staying in.

Many guest house’s will also allow you to bring you pets along with you. If you’re traveling with a pet companion then this can often be invaluable. Bed and Breakfast’s since they are located in a home, will often have a decent amount of yard space in addition to their home that would allow you to allow you pet some access to the outdoors and exercise rather than spending their days cooped up in a small hotel room.

A Bed and Breakfast can make where you stay during your travel a personal affair. At a B & B you are going to have direct contact with the people who operate where you are staying. Since the guest list at a Bed and Breakfast is almost always small you will be able to get more specialized attention for your needs, and have less people to worry about dealing with within your accommodations. Often times you will become friends with the owners and proprietors of your favorite guest house, contact them on the off season while your at home, and look forward to coming back to visit them during your other travels to the area.

Copyright 2005 S Wander

Smooth Hound http://www.smoothhound.co.uk offers affordable hotel, guest house and bed & breakfast accommodation throughout the London and the rest of the world.

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