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[16 Mar 2010 | No Comment | ]
Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is built upon what was once Thorney Island which is a marshy retreat from the City of London. In 604 AD, St. Paul’s was founded in the city of London by Ethelbert, uncle of the king of the East Saxons.
Royals later followed the pattern. King Edgar gave land for a church, and several kings, including Ethelred and Canute, donated relics. In 960, St. Dunstan endowed a place for a dozen monks. But it is to one man that we owe the marvelous church that we see today. Edward …

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[9 Mar 2010 | No Comment | ]
St. Martin-in-the-Fields

St. Martin-in-the-Fields parish church sits on the north east corner of Trafalgar Square. The church has large white steeple which was built in 1721 by James Gibbs, and was used as an example for numerous churches, particularly in the U.S. It was the first church built in the 13th century and is the fourth church on this site.
The church managed to survive the Great Fire of London, which did not reach as far as the City of Westminster. Never the less it was replaced with a new building which was …

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[1 Mar 2010 | One Comment | ]
Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square is famous for the huge number of pigeons that flock there. The centerpiece of Trafalgar Square is Nelsons Column which was built to honor Lord Nelson after his victory over the French during The Battle of Trafalgar on the 21st of October in 1805. During the famous battle which took place off the Spanish coast Nelson was fatally wounded. His body was taken back to London and buried in the St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Over 20 years later the statue was built and currently stands over 185 feet high. The …

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[23 Feb 2010 | No Comment | ]
Big Ben

Although many believe it to be so, Big Ben is in fact not the name of the famous London clock but rather it is name of the 13 ton bell which is inside it. The bell can be found in St. Stephen’s Tower at the northern end of the Houses of Parliament. The bell itself is relatively young in comparison to the houses of parliament. In 1859, the year it was completed, it was the largest bell in the United Kingdom.
The tower, which holds the bell, is also called the …

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[16 Feb 2010 | No Comment | ]
London Bridge

Although its location is thought to have been very near the present one very little is known about the earliest London Bridge. The second bridge, which existed during Saxon times, was the bridge that became world famous in the nursery rhyme London Bridge is falling down. It did in fact fall down in 1014. The original stone bridge was constructed in 1176. The present London Bridge was built in 1967 and is more than 100 feet wide.