Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Lawrence of Arabia, and in the South Quire Aisle, an effigy of John Donne, one of
the country's most celebrated poets and a former dean of St. Paul's. It's one of the few
items to have survived from the previous, medieval cathedral, which was destroyed
by the Great Fire in 1666; you can still see scorch marks on its base.
The cathedral offers some of the capital's best views, although you'll have to earn
them by undertaking a more than 500-step climb up to the
Golden Gallery.
Here
you can enjoy giddying 360° panoramas of the capital, as well as perhaps equally
stomach-tightening views down to the floor 111m (364 ft.) below.
Down in the crypt is a bumper crop of memorials, including those of Alexander
Fleming, Admiral Lord Nelson, William Blake, and Wren himself—the epitaph on
his simple tombstone reads: “Reader, if you seek a monument, look around you.”
St. Paul's Churchyard, EC4.
&
020/7246-8350.
www.stpauls.co.uk. Cathedral and galleries £12.50
adults, £11.50 seniors, £9.50 students, £4.50 children 6-16, £29.50 family ticket, free for children 5 and
under. Cathedral (excluding galleries) Mon-Sat 8:30am-4pm; galleries Mon-Sat 9:30am-4pm. No
sightseeing Sun (services only). Tube: St. Paul's.
Samuel Johnson's House
HISTORIC HOME Poet, lexicographer, critic,
biographer, and above all, quotation machine, Dr. Samuel Johnson lived in this
Queen Anne house between 1748 and 1759. It was here that he compiled his famous
dictionary—not as is commonly supposed, the first of the English language, but cer-
tainly the most influential to that date. His house has been painstakingly restored to
its mid-18th-century prime and is well worth a visit. Guided walks taking in many of
the local sites associated with Johnson's life, including Temple Bar and Fleet Street,
take place on the first Wednesday of the month, leaving from the entrance of the
house at 3pm. They cost £3. No booking is required.
17 Gough Sq., EC4.
&
020/7353-3745.
www.drjohnsonshouse.org. Admission £4.50 adults, £3.50
students and seniors, £1.50 children, £10 family ticket, free for children 10 and under. Oct-Apr Mon-Sat
11am-5pm; May-Sept Mon-Sat 11am-5:30pm. Tube: Chancery Lane.
Tower of London
HISTORIC SITE On a sunny summer afternoon,
the Tower, one of the best preserved medieval castles in the world, can be a cheerful
buzzing place, filled with happy swarms of tourists being entertained by costumed
actors and historically themed events. At such times it can be easy to forget that
beneath all the kitschy tourist trappings lies a very real castle with a very brutal and
bloody history.
The Tower is actually a compound of structures built at various times for varying
purposes. The oldest is the
White Tower,
begun by William the Conqueror in 1078
to keep London's native Saxon population in check. Later rulers added towers, walls,
and fortified gates, until the buildings became like a small town within a city.
Although it began life as a stronghold against rebellion, the tower's main role eventu-
ally became less about keeping people out, than making sure whoever was inside
couldn't escape. It became the favored prison and execution site for anyone who
displeased the monarch. Notable prisoners served their last meals here include the
“princes in the tower,” Lady Jane Grey (who reigned as queen for just 9 days before
being toppled by Mary I in 1553), and Anne Boleyn, one of several unfortunates who
thought that marrying that most unforgiving of monarchs, Henry VIII, was a good
idea. A plaque on Tower Green marks the spot where they met their grisly ends.
Displays on some of the Tower's captives can be seen in the
Bloody Tower,
including a reconstruction of the study of Sir Walter Raleigh, the great Elizabethan
adventurer who is generally credited with having introduced tobacco smoking to
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