A Day in London
Sylvia Bowen, September 2000
Having handed over to Lois Brown my responsibilities as Parish Link for the cathedral, I have become a paid-up Friend, along with my husband. (Subscriptions duly signed up as Gift Aid, of course!)
We have been delighted with our first Friends' outing, which was to Lambeth Palace and the London Eye. Lambeth Palace is open just for the year 2000 and I would urge you to go if at all possible. It's a building or rather a group of buildings which has always intrigued me, always noticeable because of its prominent position opposite the Palace of Westminster.
Our guided tour started with a short video film featuring Archbishop Carey and his complex role in to-day's Anglican Communion, ranging from diocesan bishop to primate of the Anglican Church worldwide and taking in such duties as crowning the monarch and speaking in the House of Lords (on behalf of faith communities of every kind sometimes) as well as advising the government less formally. Every ten years, of course, he hosts the Lambeth Conference and we saw where the first one was held in 1867.
The tour was very well organised, we thought, and we could not understand why one couple expressed a wish to have heard more about the architecture and less about the archbishops whose portraits were displayed. In fact, we thought there was not a lot more to be said about the former and that the balance was well calculated (we heard about only selected portraits). The tour began in the 12th century crypt and throughout I was particularly struck by the modern touches (in this case a very plain altar table in ash and beech by John Makepeace of Parnham). We passed through the adjacent courtyard space which Archbishop Cary has caused to be glassed over this year and then saw the Great Hall that now houses the Library, and the Great Chamber or Guardroom. Perhaps it was as well that in the 1830s a report on the fabric resulted in partial demolition and the provision of new accommodation for the arch-bishop and his staff, including the State Dining and Drawing Rooms which we were shown. These suffered badly from bomb damage and it was not until last year that the Drawing Room ceiling was re-created in its original style. Mrs Carey led this project.
Several bombs hit the Palace and the marble floor in the Chapel was scorched. The notable mediaeval roof of the Guardroom survived, however (and despite the extensive restoration of the room in 1829-30). I should have liked more time in the Chapel as the small enamels representing the 38 Provinces of the church looked to be beautiful. Before we left the Chapel, our guide read Archbishop Carey's prayer for the new millennium:
Lord Jesus Christ, you said: 'Behold I make all things new.' As a new millennium opens up before us, give us the eyes to see new possibilities, the ears to hear your voice and the feet to walk in your way. Amen.
Mrs Carey's predecessor Mrs Runcie, as you may know, took the gardens in hand and we had an opportunity to see the herb garden as we departed for the short ride along the Embankment to County Hall, alongside which is the London Eye. I had been warned that, despite our timed tickets, we could expect to queue for half-an-hour but the zigzag system meant that we did not have to stand still (unlike those queuing for tickets, I think). In the gondolas there is not room for everyone to sit but we were too busy looking around us. The movement was so gentle that we almost failed to notice when we had reached the top. As I had also been told, an evening "flight" would tempt me back - then I might spend more time looking and less peering through my camera lens.
Sylvia Bowen
