Near at hand is the famous Coronation Chair, an old wooden chair, with
a large stone let in under its seat. The stone was brought to England
by Edward I., who seized it at Scone in Scotland. It is the sacred
stone on which all the Scottish kings had been crowned for many
centuries, and when Edward placed it in the Coronation Chair he meant
it to show that the English king was ruler of Scotland also. And yet
it was a Scottish king who first joined the two kingdoms, and not an
English one, for James VI. of Scotland became James I. of England, and
the two kingdoms were united under the name of Great Britain. Our
King, Edward VII., was, of course, the last to be crowned, seated in
that famous old chair.
There is one corner of Westminster Abbey which all visit, no matter
what other part they may miss, and that is the south transept, which
everyone knows as Poets' Corner. Here have been buried some of the
most famous writers of our land, and there are monuments to others who
lie elsewhere.
From Westminster Abbey we will cross to Westminster Hall, and glance
for an instant into the greatest room in Europe. This fine old hall
was built by William Rufus, and consists of one huge apartment, and the
span of its wooden roof is greater than any other room in Europe not
supported by pillars. The hall was built for banquets and festivities,
and coronation feasts were held in it for ages. At these feasts a
champion, clad in full armour and mounted on a war-horse, would ride
into the hall, and challenge anyone to dispute the king's title to the
crown.
Westminster Hall was also used for law-courts, and continued to be so
used until very recent times, when the courts were moved to the great
building in the Strand. Next we will look at Westminster Bridge, the
largest and finest of all London bridges. Here we see the broad Thames
rolling down to the sea, and have a splendid view of the river-front of
the Houses of Parliament. On a summer afternoon the river-front looks
very gay, for there is a long terrace beside the Thames, and the
members come out to take tea there. They form parties with their
friends, and the bright dresses of the ladies, and the movement to and
fro, and the laughing groups at the little tables, form a very bright
and cheerful scene.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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