Welcome to “S” in the A to Z Challenge 2017. The 1st Duke of Wellington is my theme for this year’s Challenge.
St. Paul’s Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in central London where the 1st Duke of Wellington was laid to rest in 1852. After a long funeral procession through the streets of London, his body transported by a funeral car drawn by 12 horses, the Duke’s coffin was lowered into the crypt after a service of the office of burial as found in the Prayer Book (Anglican). Music by Purcell and Croft was played during the service. The 13,000 people in attendance inside the church recited the Lord’s Prayer together.
A couple of photos of the interior of St. Paul’s (from Wikipedia):
–a drawing of the funeral procession
–Wellington’s tomb in the crypt at St. Paul’s
Wellington’s tomb is not far from that of Admiral Lord Nelson, who was injured and died from his wounds in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Amazingly, the Duke had met Nelson only about 6 weeks before Nelson’s death. Now, the two war heroes lie near one another at St. Paul’s.
St. Paul’s current construction dates from the late 1600s and was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. The church is in the same spot as an original church that was constructed about 604 AD. St. Paul’s Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of London and is the mother church of the Diocese of London.
The funeral car that carried Wellington through the streets of London was crafted from more than 10 tons of bronze cannon captured at Waterloo. Six foundries employed more than 100 men to create the funeral car in 18 days. The funeral carriage was displayed at St. Paul’s until 1981 and was then moved to the Duke’s country home at Stratfield Saye House in Hampshire.
The next great state funeral of such magnitude did not occur until Sir Winston Churchill’s in 1965.
–drawing of Wellington’s funeral carriage
Previous A to Z Challenge 2017 posts:
Netherlands (Flanders Campaign)
Pakenham, Edward Michael “Ned”
Quotes of the Duke
Reasons Why I Study the Duke
St. Paul’s Cathedral
Toulouse, Battle of
Uxbridge, Lord
Hi Denise – St Paul’s is an amazing Cathedral with an equally amazing history … being the City of London’s church. I haven’t done a tour of St Paul’s since I was a kid – I go past quite often and must make a concerted effort to take a visit … a long one I suspect – with so much to see … cheers Hilary
http://positiveletters.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/s-for-sheep.html