WALLOW IN THE WESTMINSTER ABBEY HISTORY

The following are some interesting and lesser-known facts about Westminster Abbey.

• As you wander past the building on your Westminster Abbey tour, you will learn that it houses the only surviving Anglo Saxon door in the British Isles, dating back to about 1050. In later centuries, it was noticed that fragments of hide had been attached to the door, prompting the theory that the skin of dead thieves was nailed to the door to deter potential future thefts from happening. It is more likely that these skin fragments were animal-based and used for decorative purposes.
• The site houses over 3300 dead people, including Charles Dickens and Sir Isaac Newton.
• Westminster Abbey contains the statue of the bearded lady saint in the Henry VII chapel. Saint Wilgefortis was adamant she did not want to marry a pagan prince, so she prayed to God to make her as ugly as possible to put off any suitor. Her prayer bore fruit as she was blessed with a thick beard, but her father was so enraged he had her crucified for her disobedience.
• The Abbey once housed the Stone of Scone, which had been removed from Scotland in 1296 by Edward 1 (also known as the ‘Hammer of the Scots.’ It was kept under the Coronation Chair. In 1950 on Christmas Eve, the Stone was stolen by four Glaswegian students who buried it in a field in Kent. Eventually, the stone was returned to the Abbey, and in 1996 it was officially returned back to Scotland.

The Westminster Tour incorporates Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey. In total it takes two hours. Once you have chosen your date and booked your tickets, the tour starts at Buckingham Palace and incorporates the corridors of power in Westminster – Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, 10 Downing Street. After being enthralled by the Changing of the Guard, the tour continues on to Westminster Abbey.