As a prelude to hiking in the French Alps, I spent a week in London in late September seeing some old friends, taking in lots of West End entertainment, shopping on Bond Street, and visiting some old haunts. The weather was fabulous with October 01 being the hottest on record.
After about 6 days of cloudless skies, I shot some of the following using High Dynamic Range techniques. Not to everyone’s taste but I kind of like them! Hope you do too!!
Early morning view from my bedroom window in the Oxford and Cambridge club on Pall Mall. Marlborough House is the home of the Commonwealth Secretariat. The ceremonial Mall is on the other side of Marlborough House with St. James’s Park, Whitehall and Big Ben in the distance.
Spencer House, one of the most magnificent residences in all of central London, as seen from Green Park. Had Lady Di lived long enough, she would have inherited this mansion for her personal use.
Pickering Place, St. James. This small alleyway is right next to my favourite wine shop, Berry Bros. and Rudd of St. James’s. Here was located the Texas legation to London in the 1840’s.
Canadian War Memorial, Green Park, honouring the thousands of Canadian men and women who passed through London in defence of liberty in the two great wars of the last century. Thank you Conrad!!
The Queen’s Chapel, one of only four Inigo Jones buildings left in London. As seen from St. James’s palace. It is infrequently open for Sunday service to the public and I always try and take advantage. This time around it was closed on the Sunday in question, however the Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace was open instead.
St. James’s Palace by night. Stain glass window of the Chapel Royal can be seen on the extreme right.
Built largely between 1531 and 1536, St. James’s Palace was a residence of kings and queens of England for over 300 years. It remains the official residence of the Sovereign, although, since the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837, the Sovereign has lived at Buckingham Palace. High Commissioners present letters and Ambassadors are still formally accredited to the Court of St. James’s for this reason.The palace was built by Henry VIII on the site of the Hospital of St. James, Westminster. Much survives of the red-brick building erected by Henry VIII, including the Chapel Royal, the gatehouse, some turrets and two surviving Tudor rooms in the State apartments.
Back in the late 80’s and early 90’s I was diplomatically accredited to the Palace of St. James’s, however I never had the opportunity to actually visit the joint. This opportunity, just steps from the club on Cleveland Row, was too good to miss!!!.
Seating in the Chapel Royal is limited to about no more than a hundred and most attendees would appear to have been locals so you have to get there early if you want a seat. I believe I was the only tourist present. Given the infrequency of its opening and the limited seating, I am loath to recommend this as a tourist destination but well worth the try!! Good luck!!
As you might expect the service was very High Anglican, augmented admirably by 12 choir boys in splendid red livery. The sermon by the affable and sardonic Scots vicar was remarkable and highly pertinent to my personal situation. Very uplifting and inspiring!! We shared a great conversation out in the courtyard of the Palace after the service.
St. James’s Church, Piccadilly. It was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren. It’s noon hour concerts provide an oasis of calm just steps from the frenetic activity of the Circus.