London

Today was to be our "big walking tour" of Wesley sites in London. And big it was. Although it could have been worse... it was certainly the most walking we've done in a single day. We started out walking toward the Wesley Chapel and John Wesley's House. On our way we stopped by the place where the Foundry was, the first building that John Wesley purchased for class meetings (they had outgrown peoples' homes). No photos of that (it doesn't exist anymore and the plaque has been removed).

We will tour the Wesley sites tomorrow, so today we just stopped outside to note their location before going across the street to Bunhill Fields, the cemetery where Susannah Wesley and numerous other famous names are buried... Daniel DeFoe (Robinson Crusoe), John Bunyan (Pilgrim's Progress), Isaac Watts (Hymn writer).

You couldn't really get to Susannah Wesley's grave to take a proper photo, but it's about center of this picture, back by the tree that's leaning to the right.

After the walk through Bunhill, we walked up to Aldersgate Street. It was somewhere along this street that John and Charles Wesley both had their conversion experiences (on different days). I've found it interesting that both were pastors for many years before they came to know true salvation... that God's grace is freely given, not earned by good works. My home church in Lubbock is called Aldersgate, so I have always felt a special connection to the "heart strangely warmed."

We stopped by Charterhouse Square, the location of Charter School where John Wesley went to boarding school to begin receiving his formal education. The school itself is not there anymore, but there are still bits of a building from that time period visible across the square.

Our next stop was along Aldersgate to another place that commemorates john Wesley's experience... the flame and its inscription at the London Museum.

Click to enlarge

Next we headed to an older marker commemorating the Wesleys at a meeting hall that still holds "Aldersgate Talks" today. I believe this is at the church that Jesse said was Whitfield's but I can't remember for sure.

Then we made our way down to St. Paul's Cathedral. John Wesley had worshiped there earlier the day that he had his experience at Aldersgate. The cathedral was relatively new at that time, having been rebuilt after the Great Fire. I'm not sure which of the mosaics and adornments were present at that time, but perhaps it put John Wesley in a mood of openness to God's nudging. I had seen the outside of the cathedral before a few years back and took many pictures of the outside, so I didn't do that again... and it was prohibited to take photos inside, so I didn't do that (I tried to get a stealthy shot or two, but they were blurry and/or not "of" anything). If you want to see what the inside looks like, just google it... you'll see lots.

On our walk back to the hotel from St. Paul's, we skirted along London Wall, the street that marks where the old city wall used to be. There were a few remaining bits visible here and there.

Back at the hotel, we had a little time to rest before heading out again for our evening activity... seeing Carousel at the London Coliseum! It was a fantastic show, although a bit more melancholy than I expected it to be. I hadn't seen the show or the movie, so didn't really know what to expect. The singers and orchestra were fantastic, as you would expect. Again, photos were prohibited... guess you just had to be there. :) A late night... and so that's all I'll write.