Tuesday, September 07, 2004
A weekend of tours
Richmond
Three weekends ago we went on a lovely London Walk in Richmond. It was a beautiful sunny day and we walked from the town towards the Thames. I was impressed by a 2000 year old pine tree near the Old Palace. Both Mick Jagger and Pete Townsend have houses in Richmond and the walking tour took us past them both. We continued up the hill to gain a great view of the area including Richmond Park and the town. White Lodge, the lower school of the Royal Ballet School is situated in a old royal hunting lodge in Richmond Park. I visited it once to do an A level exam. At the highest point in the park is King Henry VIII's Mound. Apparently this is where Henry went to wait for a rocket to be fired from the Tower of London to indicate that Ann Boleyn had been beheaded. Here you can also view St Paul’s Cathedral in the distance through the trees of the park. This is an amazing sight as the two points are very far away. The view is protected by law so the trees have to always be trimmed to allow it. Cool.
Houses of Parliament - Palace of Westminster
I only seem to learn about a country's culture and history by visiting it and therefore am now starting to get to grips with the Saxon, Celt, Norman and Roman influence in Britain (the later of which was richly present in Bath), and the Royal families of Tudor, Stuart, Hanover and Windsor. I've still got a long way to go though. Our visit to the Houses of Parliament, formerly the Palace of Westminster, did a lot to add to and solidify our knowledge. The amazing building was full of busts, portraits and sculptures of past monarchs, lords and prime ministers. We saw the actual document on which the Regicide of Charles I was authorised. This document has the signatures and seals of parliamentarians, including Oliver Cromwell, to authorise the killing of the then king Charles I (apparently an arrogant little man who believed in the ultimately power of the Royals). Hence the word Regicide instead of Homicide. However and Charles I's son Charles II was restored after two years in hiding and gained bloody revenge by seeking out every person who signed the death warrant of this father and slaughtering them. He even had Cromwell, who had been dead for three years, dug up and dragged around, eventually cutting off his head and displaying it in the palace. Gross!
The Queen's Robing Room was very impressive with portraits, frescoes and an ornate ceiling. As the name suggests this is where the Queen prepares to open Parliament. Her crown gets its own horse drawn carriage. In the Central Lobby there are four large and beautiful mosaics depicting each patron saint in the UK St’s George, Patrick, David and Andrew. We also learnt about the origins of Black Rod and the tradition of a newly appointed Speaker of the House of Commons having to be dragged to accept the role. Apparently in the old days being the Speaker of the House would be a dangerous role and they were often killed. So you can understand why they were reluctant! Black Rod has the role of knocking three times on the doors of the House of Commons when the Houses are officially opened for the year. This is because no Monarch is allowed into the House of Commons, although King Edward apparently disguised himself to get into the public gallery so he could hear an important debate during WW2 involving Winston Churchill. Interesting eh. Well I think so, I hope I'm not boring you (o: The political system is of course similar to the NZ one so I recognised a lot of the processes and traditions. The House of Lords is undergoing reform. In time there will only be 20 hereditary peers. Others will be appointed based on their achievements. There used to be several hundred hereditary peers who treated the House as a Gentleman’s club. The House of Commons is decidedly plainer than the House of Lords. At the entrance is a great bronze sculpture of Winston Churchill. His foot is very smooth as people are allowed to rub it as they go past. On the other side of the entrance is a bronze sculpture of Lloyd George. He was very short. At some stage a sculpture of Maggie Thatcher will go in the entrance area as well. The power balance of the Houses is now reversed from the old days. The only way the Lords can make a protest is by holding up a bill which may cause it to be carried over to the next term.
Buckingham Palace
This was the most impressive palace I’ve seen so far. I guess because it is still a working palace. The décor is magnificently opulent. There was a lot of gold gilt on the ceilings and walls. John Nash was in charge of the interior design. He was a theatre designer as well and you can definitely see the theatrical influences. The tour takes you through the State Rooms including the Ball Room, Grand Hall, the dining and drawing rooms and Marble Hall. The Music Room was my favourite. It was circular with natural wooden flooring, had a lovely view of the garden, and the most amazingly ornate ceiling. Many famous musicians have played in that room I can just imagine enjoying a concert there. Each clock, piece of art and furniture would be worth thousands if not tens of thousands of pounds. A few would be worth millions! The Ballroom is used for investitures, i.e. where recipients of honours receive their insignia from the Queen. The investiture sword was proudly on display. Arise Dame Lou
Three weekends ago we went on a lovely London Walk in Richmond. It was a beautiful sunny day and we walked from the town towards the Thames. I was impressed by a 2000 year old pine tree near the Old Palace. Both Mick Jagger and Pete Townsend have houses in Richmond and the walking tour took us past them both. We continued up the hill to gain a great view of the area including Richmond Park and the town. White Lodge, the lower school of the Royal Ballet School is situated in a old royal hunting lodge in Richmond Park. I visited it once to do an A level exam. At the highest point in the park is King Henry VIII's Mound. Apparently this is where Henry went to wait for a rocket to be fired from the Tower of London to indicate that Ann Boleyn had been beheaded. Here you can also view St Paul’s Cathedral in the distance through the trees of the park. This is an amazing sight as the two points are very far away. The view is protected by law so the trees have to always be trimmed to allow it. Cool.
Houses of Parliament - Palace of Westminster
I only seem to learn about a country's culture and history by visiting it and therefore am now starting to get to grips with the Saxon, Celt, Norman and Roman influence in Britain (the later of which was richly present in Bath), and the Royal families of Tudor, Stuart, Hanover and Windsor. I've still got a long way to go though. Our visit to the Houses of Parliament, formerly the Palace of Westminster, did a lot to add to and solidify our knowledge. The amazing building was full of busts, portraits and sculptures of past monarchs, lords and prime ministers. We saw the actual document on which the Regicide of Charles I was authorised. This document has the signatures and seals of parliamentarians, including Oliver Cromwell, to authorise the killing of the then king Charles I (apparently an arrogant little man who believed in the ultimately power of the Royals). Hence the word Regicide instead of Homicide. However and Charles I's son Charles II was restored after two years in hiding and gained bloody revenge by seeking out every person who signed the death warrant of this father and slaughtering them. He even had Cromwell, who had been dead for three years, dug up and dragged around, eventually cutting off his head and displaying it in the palace. Gross!
The Queen's Robing Room was very impressive with portraits, frescoes and an ornate ceiling. As the name suggests this is where the Queen prepares to open Parliament. Her crown gets its own horse drawn carriage. In the Central Lobby there are four large and beautiful mosaics depicting each patron saint in the UK St’s George, Patrick, David and Andrew. We also learnt about the origins of Black Rod and the tradition of a newly appointed Speaker of the House of Commons having to be dragged to accept the role. Apparently in the old days being the Speaker of the House would be a dangerous role and they were often killed. So you can understand why they were reluctant! Black Rod has the role of knocking three times on the doors of the House of Commons when the Houses are officially opened for the year. This is because no Monarch is allowed into the House of Commons, although King Edward apparently disguised himself to get into the public gallery so he could hear an important debate during WW2 involving Winston Churchill. Interesting eh. Well I think so, I hope I'm not boring you (o: The political system is of course similar to the NZ one so I recognised a lot of the processes and traditions. The House of Lords is undergoing reform. In time there will only be 20 hereditary peers. Others will be appointed based on their achievements. There used to be several hundred hereditary peers who treated the House as a Gentleman’s club. The House of Commons is decidedly plainer than the House of Lords. At the entrance is a great bronze sculpture of Winston Churchill. His foot is very smooth as people are allowed to rub it as they go past. On the other side of the entrance is a bronze sculpture of Lloyd George. He was very short. At some stage a sculpture of Maggie Thatcher will go in the entrance area as well. The power balance of the Houses is now reversed from the old days. The only way the Lords can make a protest is by holding up a bill which may cause it to be carried over to the next term.
Buckingham Palace
This was the most impressive palace I’ve seen so far. I guess because it is still a working palace. The décor is magnificently opulent. There was a lot of gold gilt on the ceilings and walls. John Nash was in charge of the interior design. He was a theatre designer as well and you can definitely see the theatrical influences. The tour takes you through the State Rooms including the Ball Room, Grand Hall, the dining and drawing rooms and Marble Hall. The Music Room was my favourite. It was circular with natural wooden flooring, had a lovely view of the garden, and the most amazingly ornate ceiling. Many famous musicians have played in that room I can just imagine enjoying a concert there. Each clock, piece of art and furniture would be worth thousands if not tens of thousands of pounds. A few would be worth millions! The Ballroom is used for investitures, i.e. where recipients of honours receive their insignia from the Queen. The investiture sword was proudly on display. Arise Dame Lou
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