London, Day 2: Westminster Abbey

This afternoon, we all went on a tour of London. Specifically, we went to Westminster Abbey, the site of many royal ceremonies and the burial place of kings, brilliant scientists, and literary geniuses, many of whom I've never heard of. My first impression upon entering the building was how tall it was. It's over 100 feet high, taller than it is wide. It's in the English Gothic style, apparently, and it is extremely ornate. I have never seen anything so elaborate. The stained glass windows are quite detailed and colorful.

One of the amazing aspects of Westminster Abbey is its age. The building certainly is not modern; many of the tombs are worn. Another striking feature is how close people are allowed to get to much of the Abbey. Few of the tombs are roped off, though many are so tall that no one could easily reach them. I was very surprised at the accessibility.

Despite its function as a tourist location, Westminster Abbey is a functioning church. There are apparently services there, and during our tour a minister came on the sound system and asked everyone to stop and be silent for prayer. Queen Elizabeth had been there that morning to knight three people, and because of that, he prayed for God's guidance for the leaders of all the countries represented by the people visiting the Abbey. The whole place had a sacred feel to it. It was well-lit due to the profusion of windows, but there was little internal lighting. There were religious depictions everywhere. Interestingly, the abbey does not allow photography, out of respect, I suppose.

Westminster Abbey is the final resting place for several monarchs, as well as people such as Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Alfred Tennyson, and Geoffrey Chaucer. Many people were buried under the floor of the abbey, so I just walked on the graves of quite a few famous historical figures. One grave was that of the unknown warrior, much like the tomb of the unknown soldier in Washington, D.C. The Unknown Warrior was killed in World War I. The plaque over his grave commemorates all who the soldiers who died during that war. "They buried him among the kings because he had done good toward God and toward his house."

Another somewhat moving tomb is that of Mary I and Elizabeth I, half-sisters who were queens of England. Mary, often known as Bloody Mary, was Catholic and killed about three hundred Protestants as heretics. Elizabeth, whose reign followed Mary's, was Protestant. While she was not as harsh as Mary, she did return England to Protestantism. The plaque near their grave is in memory of those who died for their faith and mourns those who were divided from their loved ones due to the Reformation.

Many of the people buried in Westminster Abbey played pivotal roles in English history. Therefore, I learned quite a bit about the history of England while visiting.

I very much enjoyed my visit to Westminster Abbey. The beauty and age of the building left me in awe. I just wish that I'd had a little more time to take a closer look at some of the inscriptions--we moved pretty fast.

Also, I wish they'd let us take pictures.