I had today to do whatever I chose in London on my own with just the aid of Gloria's map book and tube guide. I got up early, although not intentionally. It turned out to be another lovely London day, very sunny, although somewhat more chilly than the last few days. We have seen little of the rainy weather that London is famous for, although there may be some tonight we hear. After tea and toast, I found my way to Westminster Abbey, arriving just a few minutes after they opened. I don't think I can even begin to describe the feeling of visiting this place, some of which has been in existence for 1,000 years. It is large and lovely and ancient; but the words don't touch the experience of being in the place where so many heads of state have been crowned, where Winston Churchill, Princess Diana and so very many others have been buried. I saw the tombs of Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, Richard II, Lady Margaret Beaufort and many other royalty. Also the graves of Handel, Lord Byron, Dylan Thomas, Gerald Manley Hopkins and many other writers. I was in the Chapter House which if I remember correctly was built in 1039, and walked around the cloisters.
Although the entire facility is crowded with tourists, it is still easy to see the centuries of worshipers, the pagaents and rituals that have been enacted there. It is far larger and more ornate than I imagined it, it simply goes on and on with many small chapels and hallways. Every area is lined with memorials and tombs and graves, truly this is a place that reminds us that we are surrounded by 'so great a cloud of witnesses'. In some ways it was almost too much to be surrounded by all of that history, I wonder if one ever gets accustomed to it.
After leaving Westminster Abbey, I took tube to the Moorgate stop, which is at London Wall and Moorgate Roads. I was later told that it was the site of the Moor Gate in the wall around the original city of London. From there I walked to the Wesley Chapel, which was built by John Wesley. The house in which he lived for about the last 10 years of his life is on the site. It is a lovely old church, far different from Westminster Abbey. It is a simpler and really quite lovely Georgian church. The picture is at the top of this blog, to the left of Westminster Abbey. There is quite a contrast in the buildings and in the sites in general.
When I first arrived, there was only one other visitor in the chapel, he followed me in, possibly a stalker since he had followed me up City Road, into and out of Eat and on up the road, then into the chapel. But he left after a few minutes so perhaps I misjudged him. Or possibly John Wesley scared him off. I visited the Museum of Methodism in the crypts under the chapel, and the docent asked me if I had time to watch a 20 minute video.... so I sat on a pew that was rescued from the original Foundry Chapel and watched an interesting video about John Wesley and the building of the Chapel, then looked around the museum. Another docent took me through John Wesley's house and gave me a lovely tour. I was the only guest on the tour, so it was very interactive. I then visited Wesley's grave, which is behind the chapel.
After that I walked around a bit, then took the tube back to the hotel. I had seen a stall with some nice scarves for sale near the Russell Square tube stop, so I stopped there and treated myself to three scarves.
Gloria will be back from class in a while and we will have dinner together then I am going to the theatre with her and her group. I am hoping that my cough will abate just long enough for the play. I did catch a cold and have periods of a nasty tickly cough. I am going to get a cup of tea, it seems to quell the cough for long periods. And any excuse for a cup of tea is fine with me.
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