Day 2 London on Good Friday

As Geoff slept peacefully for 9 hours I once again was awake at 3am. By 3.30 I gave up trying to sleep so got up and did some of my outstanding tasks.

We took Matthew's advice and went to St Helen's Bishopgate for Good Friday. It was a packed service, there must have been about 500 people. They had chosen all old hymns for the service and the music was simple but so good the acoustics were great considering it was such a large building.

The talk was quite short but to the point. This was followed by several readings each followed by a few minutes of personal reflection and then a hymn. We have heard the message of Good Friday so many times it is easy to become complacent. So it is good to reflect on the enormity of what Christ did and what it cost him. What struck me yet again was that this was the plan from the start. So many seem to think his death was untimely and that it was all an awful mistake. But in reality no Jewish or Roman authority spoilt the plan. His death was the plan from the beginning of time. Awesome!

The church of St Helen dates from the 12th century and a priory of Benedictine nuns was founded there around 1210. It is the only building from a nunnery to survive in the City of London.

St Helen's was one of only a few City of London churches to survive both the Great Fire of London of 1666 and the Blitz during World War I1. In 1992 and 1993, however, the church was badly damaged by two IRA bombs that were set off near the church.

 

 

 

The church was very difficult to find as it has been completely built in. Here it is nestled by the Gerkin behind.

After the service we chatted for a while to a lovely girl and then spent an hour trying to work out how to get to Trafalger Square where we would pick up the bus tour again. On our way we stumbled on to Cornhill Street. This is the area we wandered but it desrves a closer look at a later date I think as it has a lot of Roman stuff in it. Another trip around the wall methinks!

 

 

 

 

Royal Exchange. This is opposite the Bank of England.

 

 

 

 

 

We finally found our way to where we could catch the explorer bus. Another cold damp day but this time I had more clothes, hats and gloves so it wasn't as bad riding on the top of the bus. Today we travelled around many of the posh areas of London. Many of the streets were full of old upmarket houses built with new money made from the empire expansion in the 1600, 1700 and 1800's. Real 'Upstairs, Downstairs' buildings I think.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is Burlington House. It is the only original private house in this whole street that remains. Wow it is huge.The house was one of the earliest of a number of very large private residences built on the north side of Piccadilly, previously a country lane, from the 1660s onwards. The first version was begun by Sir John Denham about 1664.It was a red-brick double-pile hip-roofed mansion with a recessed centre, typical of the style of the time, or perhaps even a little old fashioned. Denham may have acted as his own architect, or he may have employed Hugh May, who certainly became involved in the construction after the house was sold in an incomplete state in 1667 to Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Burlington, from whom it derives its name.

These uber rich must have employed hundreds of staff originally. In 1854, Burlington House was sold to the British government for £140,000, originally with the plan of demolishing the building and using the site for the University of London. This plan, however, was abandoned in the face of strong opposition and since 1857 it has been home to Society of Antiquaries, Royal Academy of Arts, Linnean Society House, Geological Society, Royal Astronomical Society and Royal Society of Chemistry

We travelled through Picadilly circus several times during this trip. Sooooo many people there. The area was designed by John Nash. This is one of the main entertainment areas in London and was where they first had electric advertising signs. The first one was for Bovril in 1909!

 

 

 

 

Here is the famous fountain in Piccadily Circus. It was originally called the Shaftesbury Memorial fountain to commemorate Lord Shaftesbury and his support of the poor.

The seminude statue on top of the fountain depicts the Angel of Christian Charity but was later renamed Eros after the Greek god of love and beauty. The fountain was made in bronze, but the statue is made of aluminum, at the time a novel and rare material.

The name 'Piccadilly' originates from a seventeenth-century frilled collar named a piccadil. Roger Baker, a tailor who became rich making piccadils lived in the area. The word 'Circus' refers to the roundabout around which the traffic circulated.

Then along Green Park. In 1660 the new King, Charles II wanted to be able to walk all the way from Hyde Park to St James's without leaving royal soil. So he acquired land between the two established parks, put a brick wall around it and called it Upper St James's Park.

The park was also where the King went for his daily walk or "constitutional". And this explains how Constitution Hill got its name. Many different explanations why there are no flowers in this park. One myth is because the park covers the burial ground of St James leper hospital and that ghosts can be seen still in the park. Another suggestion is a tale about King Charles II and his wife. Apparently, she discovered that Charles had picked flowers in the park and given them to another woman. In revenge, the Queen ordered that every single flower in the park should be pulled up and no more planted. True or not, there are still no formal flowerbeds in The Green Park today.

I can't count the number of times we went past Hyde Park corner in the past few days! This is a junction of Park Lane ( looking a lot more seedy that expected from the cost of houses on it in Monopoly!), Picacadily, Grosvenor Place and Knightsbridge.

Appsley House, house of Duke of Wellington. Nothing like having your house opposite a huge statue of yourself on your horse! His horse was called Copanhagen and apparenty they were together many years. He even rode him to his first day on the job as Prime Minister!

Wellington Arch again! And then it was onto the famous shopping area that includes Harrods and Harvey Nichols which apparently was a favourite of Lady Dianna.

 

After Knightsbridge we continued along Kengsington Road and the gardens and apparently Kensington Palace although I must admit i didnt actually see that.

 

We passed the Albert Hall. Amazing building. Very Ancient Greek looking.

 

St Stephens Gloucester Road is an interesting looking old church. Actually not old by English standards as it was only built in 1866!.

 

Gloucester Road Underground station. This one of the earliest tube stations being opened in 1868.

 

 

The Natural History Museum looked amazing. It was huge. It was built in 1881. Then it was the Victoria and Albert Museum.

 

 

 

We finished the day with the British Museum- just a ride past. We'll leave that for another day!