16 October 2012

And now London, the 7th and final day of the William Marshal tour.

It's been another beautiful Autumn day here in London!  We left our hotel (the Millenium Bailey's Hotel, across from the Goucester Road Tube stop) and drove to the Embankment and then walked to the Temple Church.  We passed some interesting signs and plaques along the way, which I've included here.

Very cool pub sign; might be worth checking out sometime.

Wall plaque on the way to the Temple Church.

 

 

Effigy of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, Temple Church.  According to Crusader lore, the final battle will be fought in Jerusalem and the Temple Church is a bit of Jerusalem in London.  The knights there aren't resting; they're at attention and awaiting the call when the final battle begins.

 



 

Effigy of William Marshal, the Younger, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, Temple Church.

Effigy of Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke, Temple Church.

Rose window, Temple Church.

Interior shot of the Temple Church.  There was a lot of scaffolding, which I couldn't completely avoid in my shots :-(

Pipe organ, Temple Church.

Baptismal font.  Apparently the Templers weren't too worried about witches because it's not covered--or at least not covered with a heavy lid that takes 4 men to lift--like some of the others we saw on this trip :-)

Detail of the face on William Marshal's effigy.  The London Blitz was very hard on a lot of the stonework.

More interior shots, Temple Church.

Western Entrance.

There were a lot of neat signs and plaques on the way back to the bus.  The next few shots are a selection of these.

Our next stop was the Tower of London.

Siege engine at the Tower of London.

Tower of London

Beefeater at the Tower of London.

Inside the walls, Tower of London.

Traitor's Gate.  Not the way you'd want to enter the Tower of London...

Weather vane on the White Tower.

Fake polar bear; seemed to be made out of wire.  At one time in the distant past, the Tower of London was a zoo.

Wakefield Tower

The White Tower

More shots inside the walls.

Fake elephant.

Inside the walls.

The White Tower.

Another shot of the White Tower.

Cool cannon.

Tower Bridge.

Another shot inside the walls.

The White Tower.

Cool door.

And a final stop at Rigby & Peller, corsetieres to HM Queen Elizabeth II.  They're like a very posh Victoria's Secret.  I treated myself to some new undies :-)