Through some incredibly handy family connections (probably the first time I've ever been able to say that), I manage to score myself a private tour of Westminster Abbey. I arranged to attend Evensong and then meet my contact, a sacrist at the Abbey, after the service. Things got off to a slightly rocky start when I turned up for church. Knowing that many travelers (cough *and Let's Go researchers* cough) like to check out famous churches during service times to avoid paying admission fees, the Abbey posts staff members to make sure that anyone who comes in for Evensong stays for Evensong. I run up, a little late, in my usual work outfit of flip flops and backpack (though I did at least put on a dress that day). The marshall at the entrance gives me a slightly skeptical look. "Are you here for evensong, young lady?" I explained I was, that I was a guest of one of the priests, and that there was supposed to be a seat reserved for me "in Quire." The skeptical look deepened, "Alright, go in and tell that to one of my colleagues down the way." This interaction was repeated three or four times, until finally I was told to stand aside from the trickle of visitors coming in for the service. I loitered, feeling super awkward while all the tourists thought "clearly she's one of us, come on, she has a BACKPACK." Finally, just when I had been handed off to yet another staff member who seemed about to banish me to the plastic chairs of the tourist quarter, my sacrist appeared. He greeted me enthusiastically, told my current handler to deposit me in one of the fancy pews of the choir, and scurried off to vestry. I confess I looked a little bit smug when my legitimacy was at last confirmed.
Evensong was lovely; if you're ever in London, you should absolutely attend—if only to hear the choir. After the service, everyone else filed out and I got to spend two hours poking around Westminster Abbey with a guide who knew every sculpture, tomb, and humorous historical anecdote. Here are a few highlights from my many pages of hastily scribbled notes:
- the incredibly grumpy face on William Wilberforce's statue was carved from life. How anyone can look that sour for hours is beyond me; maybe our mothers were right when they said our faces would get stuck that way.
- Geoffrey Chaucer is buried in the Abbey not because of his writing, but because he happened to be a clerk/handyman there. His burial spot is surrounded by other authors, who wanted to be interred near him.
- Elizabeth I and Mary I are actually buried together, under one tomb, in a spirit of ecumenical reconciliation.
- Charles Darwin's coffin had to be buried in the dead of night, because of the controversy surrounding his inclusion in the Abbey.
- Laurence Olivier is one of the most recent people to be buried in the Abbey. He's there because he wanted to be buried near Henry V, whom he played in what he considered to be his greatest role.
Obviously, there's a lot more to the Abbey than its dead people. It's one of the most stunning buildings I've ever seen. But since photography isn't allowed inside, you're just going to have to take my word for it—or better yet, go see it for yourself.