Another rainy day here so we have to plan carefully. Actually the forecast is for rain on and off so it really is difficult to arrange. I do know that I am wearing pants and not shorts if that gives you any hints. Wes is into his fleece and jacket both. We may have been warned about the rain but it is starting to feel really damp and chilled.
Yesterday was very busy and today we hope to take it a bit easier. Before we leave we have decided to buy tickets to see the “We Will Rock You” theatre show inspired by Queen. So using our two for one tickets we started the frustration of buying tickets. I say frustration because we could find the tickets and we were on the two for one site, but we could not figure out how to get the tickets at that price. In the end we realized that the day we wanted to go was almost sold out, so we just went ahead of bought the tickets. In the meantime I had sent an email to the company asking how to go about using the 2 for 1 coupon only to learn later that we had to phone them directly and not use the 2 for 1 website. Too late for this ticket, and very inconvenient for us since we do not have a phone at our disposal, so we lost out. I replied explaining the confusion of their documents and the complications for tourists. Maybe they will sort it out for us but I do not hold my breath. Ultimately this is Wes’ birthday present so I do not mind paying full price.
After all the frustration of figuring out how to get the tickets, we headed downtown. It had stopped raining at this point so we really lucked out. (Don’t worry, the rain returned.) Our goal today is to pick inside activities so we first went to find the Royal Mews. Since it was not raining and this does involve some walking outside, it was our first stop.
A Royal Mews is a mews (i.e. combined stables, carriage house and in recent times also the garage) of the British Royal Family. In London the Royal Mews has occupied two main sites, formerly at Charing Cross, and since the 1820s at Buckingham Palace. The first set of stables to be referred to as a mews was at Charing Cross at the western end of The Strand. The royal hawks were kept at this site from 1377 and the name derives from the fact that they were confined there at moulting (or “mew”) time. The building was destroyed by fire in 1534 and rebuilt as stables, keeping its former name when it acquired this new function.
In the 1760s George III moved some of his day-to-day horses and carriages to the grounds of Buckingham House, but the main royal stables housing the ceremonial coaches and their horses remained at the King's Mews. However when his son George IV had Buckingham Palace converted into the main royal residence in the 1820s the whole stables establishment was moved. The old Mews at Charing Cross was demolished and Trafalgar Square was built on the site. The current Royal Mews was built to designs by John Nash and were completed in 1825. The present Royal Mews is in the grounds of Buckingham Palace, to the south of Buckingham Palace Gardens, near Grosvenor Place. The state coaches and other carriages are kept there, along with about 30 horses, together with their modern counterparts, the state motor cars. Coachmen, grooms, chauffeurs and other staff are accommodated in flats above the carriage houses and stables.
We started the tour by having a talk about the horses. The horses in the Royal Mews today are for the most part either Windsor Greys or Cleveland Bays. The only horses on site today for viewing were a pair of Windsor Greys. The horses are selected for several features and not totally based on breed. The color is critical as well as temperament and ability to pull the carriage. When I inquired about the breed for the Windsor Greys I was told that it refers to the color more than a specific breed and may involve a variety of breeds.
However, the Cleveland Bay is a breed of horse that originated in England during the 17th century, named after its colouring and the Cleveland district of Yorkshire. It is a well-muscled horse, with legs that are strong but short in relation to the body. The horses are always bay in colour. It is the oldest established horse breed in England.
After talking about the horses we then moved onto the carriage houses to have a look at the Royal Carriages. The Royal Mews houses the collection of royal coaches built over two centuries for the use of the English crown. I am not going to try to describe all the carriages we saw but will mention a few highlights.
The coaches on display include the Glass Coach used by royal brides. However for Prince William and Catherine’s wedding the 1902 open State Landau Coach built for Edward VII's coronation was used for the bride and groom, while the Queen and Prince Phillip rode in the Scottish Coach, which looks very much like the Glass coach. The way you tell the difference is the queen's coach has the sovereign crown on the roof. The Glass Coach is not actually made of glass like Cinderella’s slipper, but has large windows. The Irish State Coach is another of the coaches often used by the queen to ride to the State Opening of Parliament. The most impressive of the royal coaches is the Golden State Coach used almost exclusively for coronations. This magnificent monster is impossibly ornate, gilt with gold dripping from all corners; it weighs four tons and takes a full eight of the Windsor Greys and Cleveland Bays horse breeds to pull. One of the interesting features of the State Coaches was the golden decorations along the top where state flowers were incorporated. For example on the Irish State Coach you will find the Rose for England, the Shamrock for Ireland and a Palm for India.
As well as the stately coaches there were many small sized coaches on display, mostly those used by Queen Victoria’s children and drawn by goats, ponies and small horses.
We moved on from the coaches to learn about the Royal cars, even though we did not get a chance to tour the garage. The maintenance and provision of modern motor vehicles is as much a part of the work of the Mews as that of carriages and horses. The State Cars (as opposed to those for private use) are all painted in royal maroon livery and are without number plates. They comprise two State Bentleys (given to the Queen in 2002 to mark her Golden Jubilee), and three Rolls Royces (including the 1977 Silver Jubilee car, and a rare 1948 Phantom IV). Three Daimler limousines are also maintained, as support vehicles. (All pictures of the cars are taken from the internet.)
One of the interesting things to learn was that the employees of the Royal Mews live in residence or in Royal residences on the property. This community of several hundred employees and their families are a close knit group and it is very common for children to become employees as well. One person admitted that he was the 4th generation of his family to work at the Royal Mews. The Queen is very involved and takes a personal interest in the Royal Mews and all those involved. For example, traditionally she will present Christmas gifts to the kids of the mews every year (along with Santa who arrives on Queen Victoria’s sled (adapted with wheels now) in the center court. Can you imagine growing up with such a personal connection with the Royal family and the Queen in particular?
After leaving the Royal Mews we headed on to the Westminster Abbey. Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English, later British and later still (and currently) monarchs of the Commonwealth realms. The abbey is a Royal Peculiar and briefly held the status of a cathedral from 1546 to 1556. The most recent event to be held at the Abbey was the Royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine (Katie).
According to a tradition first reported by Sulcard in about 1080, the Abbey was first founded in the time of Mellitus. The proven origins are that in the 960s or early 970s, Saint Dunstan, assisted by King Edgar, installed a community of Benedictine monks here. Between 1042 and 1052 King Edward the Confessor began rebuilding St Peter's Abbey in order to provide himself with a royal burial church. It was the first church in England built in the Norman Romanesque style. The Abbey became the coronation site of Norman kings, but none were buried there until Henry III. The Abbey's two western towers were built between 1722 and 1745. Until the 19th century, Westminster was the third seat of learning in England, after Oxford and Cambridge. Westminster suffered minor damage during the Blitz on 15 November 1940.
Most Kings and Queens of England were buried here including the more familiar names such as Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I, and Mary Queen of Scots. We wondered around and almost had a history lesson of the Royal lineage just by following the burial crypts. Aristocrats were buried inside chapels and monks and people associated with the Abbey were buried in the Cloisters and other areas. One of these was Geoffrey Chaucer, who was buried here as he had apartments in the Abbey where he was employed as master of the King's Works. Other poets and also prose writers were buried or memorialised around Chaucer in what became known as Poets' Corner.
It took us a couple of hours to walk through and see all the areas of the Abbey but it was unbelievable. The size, height and grandeur of the building can not be adequately described. It would have been wonderful to hear the organ played, but alas that did not happen.
After we finished at the Abbey we started to head for home. After our long day yesterday we had thought that it should be a short day. With all the damp weather I am a bit protective of Wes since I do not want a relapse. He is feeling better but still seems to tire quicker than normal. As it was we did not get back to our room until 4:30 and definitely was time for a rest. Tomorrow we need to find new umbrellas since these ones are falling apart.
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