Westminster Cathedral

Bill writes: It was a bit cold and snowy last week and Aline was home with the flu, so I went off on my dull round of trying to make it to every library in London. I think I've just about done it--well at least for Westminster. Anyways, on the way to one near Victoria station, I passed the Westminster Cathedral. This is NOT the Abbey, this is a catholic church built in 1895. It looks like it was designed with the same sensibility that lead to the Brighton Pavillion. The sort of over the top, moorish, layered effect is striking, even though it is now sadly sandwiched between two modern buildings with no sympathy for the design of the cathedral.



Inside, unfortunately, the most notable thing about it is the lack of light. I don't know if it's due to the nearby buildings blocking the sunshine, but the interior is quite dark.



But on the way out, I noticed an elevator leading to the top of the campaneile. For three quid, the elevator attendant takes you to the top, some 300 feet up, and lets you walk around to your heart's content. From this bell tower, there's a fine view of the city. After I was up there for a while, a couple of older ladies came up, too. They were on their big day out from the countryside--taking in the musical "Billy Elliot" playing across the road and seeing this cathedral as their big "sight" for their sightseeing that day.