Burial Ground

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Henry VII Chapel

each one represents one of the victims of the bombings.
A very different memorial is the Reformers’ Tree, a circular black and white mosaic laid out in 2001. The mosaic marks the spot of an oak that was burned down during the riots of 1866. The charred stump was used as a notice board for political manifestations organized by the Reform League. The manifestations would lead to the creation of the nearby Speakers’ Corner.
A more conventional memorial honors William Henry Hudson, a writer and naturalist. The monument, a relief created by Jacob Epstein, was quite controversial when it was unveiled in 1925, but today it’s hard to see why.
Yet another Memorial, featuring St. George and a dragon, was unveiled in 1924 and commemorates the Cavalry regiments that served in the World Wars.
A more modern monument is ‘Isis’, a three meter tall statue of an ibis created by British sculptor Simon Gudgeon. The statue was installed in 2009 near the Serpentine. It is named after the Egyptian goddess of motherhood and patroness of nature and magic.
King George IV as well as his younger brother and successor King William IV both died before the palace was completed. Queen Victoria was the first to reside in the palace. In July 1837, three weeks after her accession to the throne, she moved from Kensington Palace, where she grew up, to the new Buckingham Palace.
The palace was expanded in 1850 with a new east wing. The wing added a large number of rooms to the palace, including an expansive forty meter (131 ft) long ballroom. The monumental facade of the east wing was built in 1913 by Aston Webb. It is this facade, facing the Mall and St James’s Park, which is now known by most people.
Another interesting part of the palace that is open to visitors is the Queen’s Gallery, where works of art from the royal collection are on display. The palace’s stables, the Royal Mews, can also be visited. Here you’ll find a number of royal horse-drawn carriages.
designed by Sir Aston Webb and built in 1911 in honor of Queen Victoria, who reigned for almost sixty-four years.
The completion of the National Gallery in 1838 on the north side of the square reignited interest in its redevelopment. A new design by architect Charles Barry (best known for his Houses of Parliament), which consisted of two levels separated by a monumental flight of stairs was approved and construction started in 1840. Five years later the square was finally completed.
The winner of the competition was William Railton, who proposed a fifty-two meter tall (170ft) Corinthian column and statue. The column was built between 1841 and 1843. On top of the column stands a five and a halve (18ft) tall statue of Lord Nelson, created by Edward Hodges. At the base of the column are four huge lions modeled by Sir Edwin Landseer. They were added later, in 1868.
For over 150 years the plinth in the north-west corner of Trafalgar Square, commonly known as the ‘Fourth Plinth’, remained empty. It was intended to hold an equestrian statue of King William IV. A failure to gather sufficient funds for its construction meant it was never realized. In 1999 it was decided to use the plinth for the temporary display of modern sculpture.
There are several more statues in and around Trafalgar Square. The most interesting is the equestrian statue of King Charles I, which occupies the middle of a small traffic circle just south of Nelson’s Column.
It is the oldest equestrian statue in London, created in 1633 by the French sculptor Hubert Le Sueur. After the execution of Charles I in 1649 the Parliament ordered the statue to be melted down. The brazier assigned with this task instead hid the statue and sold it back to King Charles II after the English monarchy was restored.
Today the Tower of London is best known for its Crown Jewels, but it used to be notorious for the many political opponents of the kings that were locked, tortured and killed in the Tower. The Tower was also a royal residence: several kings lived here, especially during turbulent times when the donjon seemed a lot safer than the palace in Westminster.
Some of the most famous prisoners locked in the Tower were two princes, the sons of king Edward IV. After Edward’s dead in 1483 the children were locked in the Bloody Tower by their uncle, who would later ascend the throne as king Richard III. The princes were never seen again and were probably killed by guards.
The St. Thomas Tower is located close to the Bloody Tower. Here, prisoners were brought into the fortress by boat through the Traitor’s gate.
Important prisoners were often locked in the Beauchamp Tower, sometimes with their servants. An inscription on the wall of the tower is believed to refer to Lady Jane Grey, who, nine days after she was crowned Queen, was executed on Tower Green, an open terrain in the Tower of London.
Thomas More was imprisoned in the Bell Tower until his execution after he refused to accept king Henry VIII as head of the Anglican church. Even Queen Elisabeth I was confined here for some time.
Legend has it that the Tower and the kingdom will fall if the ravens leave. Hence King Charles II placed the birds under royal protection and the wings of the ravens are clipped to prevent them from flying away.
Scepter of the Cross; the Imperial State Crown with more than 2800 diamonds and the famous Koh-I-Noor, a 105 carat diamond.
His first design was deemed too modest. In his second design, known as the ‘Great Model’, the cathedral was shaped like a Greek cross, with a portico, Corinthian columns and a striking large dome, which would be the world’s largest after Michelangelo’s dome at theSt. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. This design was rejected as well; the Bishop considered it unsuitable for large processions.
Wren suggested a third design, this time with a larger nave and smaller dome, which was accepted in 1675. After the approval however Wren enlarged the dome and made several other adjustments so that the built cathedral now resembles the ‘Great Model’ and not the approved design.
The cathedral was built in a relative short time span: its first stone was laid on June 21, 1675 and the building was completed in 1711.
There is also a tomb of Christopher Wren himself and a number of important artists are buried here as well.
defend their interests. Hence the verb ‘to lobby’.