This statue of Willaim of Orange stands in the grounds of Kensington Palace.
The Gardens were the private property of the Royal family originally.
Originally designed by Queen Caroline the wife of King George II.
Across the road is Kensington Gardens. These were once the private gardens of Kensington Palace. Their design is due to Queen Caroline, wife of George II.
Kensington Palace was built in 1605, and bought in 1689 by William III (of whom there is a statue behind the front gates). From then until the death of George II in 1760 it was a residence of the reigning sovereign. The old house was altered and extended by Sir Christopher Wren. In recent years it has been used as a high class apartment block for the minor royals, most notably Princess Diana.
Walking passed William and the Kensington Palace, we could see a church spire not far away.
We discovered this church on the corner of Kensington High Street and Kensington Church Street.
| St Mary Abbots | |
|---|---|
St Mary Abbots Church in 2007
| |
| Location | Kensington, London |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Previous denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Churchmanship | High Church |
| Website | stmaryabbotschurch.org |
| History | |
| Consecrated | 1262 |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Architect(s) | Sir George Gilbert Scott |
| Style | Neo-gothic |
| Completed | 1872 [1] |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 700 [2] |
| Length | 179 feet (55m)[2] |
| Width | 109 feet (34m)[2] |
| Number of spires | One |
| Spire height | 278 feet [2] |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | Richard Chartres, Bishop of London |
| Vicar(s) | The Rev'd Preb Gillian Craig |
St Mary Abbots is a church located on Kensington High Street and the corner of Kensington Church Street in London W8.
The present church structure was built in 1872 and designed by the celebrated architect Sir George Gilbert Scott, combining neo-Gothicand early-English styles. This edifice remains noted for having the tallest spire in London and is the latest in a series on the site since the beginning of the 12th century.
Below is a monument to the men from Kensington who lost their lives in the two Great Wars.
Artificial wreaths made with poppies are common at London war memorials. The poppy remains a symbol of remembrance of fallen soldiers in the UK and other countries such as Canada which were part of the Commonwealth.
St Mary Abbots holds two important orchestral concerts each year:
- Bach's St John Passion, on Palm Sunday
- Handel's Messiah, shortly before Christmas
Next concert
Our next concert in this series will be Bach's St John Passion on March 25th 2018. More about the concert.
Tiny spring flowers at the base of the iron fence
The cloister. It is a short cut from one street to another. We did not explore the end opposite Kensington Church Street. The plaques on the walls are in recognition of contriutors to the building and welfare of the cloister.
Fortunately there was a comfortable pew to sit on just in front of this gentleman, a Right Honourable.
The three people mentioned here as well as those in the other plaques on the wall are intered in the crypt below the church.
This plaque reminded me of Georgiana Dalzen. I don't think I have ever seen the name anywhere else.
A view of the church that we completely missed.
St Mary Abbot's
‘the house that is to be builded for the Lord must be “exceedingly magnifical” - the work is great - for the palace is not for man but for the Lord’. The vicar, Archdeacon Sinclair
At one time there was a Saint Mary Abbot's hospital. The area that once was a huge medical complex is now covered with blocks of flats. An interesting note on Wikipedia stated that, "American musician Jimi Hendrix died at St Mary Abbot's on September 18, 1970." Buried in Seattle were he was born and grew up.
Just off Kensington Gardens on Kensington High Street is one of my favorite stores to shop at when in the United States. TJMaxx. Because of a conflict in business names the J was changed to K
in the United Kingdom.
TK Maxx, often stylised as "t·k·maxx", is a subsidiary of the American apparel and home goods company TJX Companies based in Framingham, Massachusetts. It uses a slightly different name from that of the TJ Maxx stores in the United States, to avoid confusion with the British retailer T. J. Hughes. TK Maxx stores are operated throughout the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Austria and the Netherlands, totalling 515 stores in Europe (up from 407 in December 2014) and 35 in Australia in April 2017.[3]
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