Westminster Abbey & Family

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting the inside of Westminster Abbey in London for the first time. Since I was last in London in 2015, I have made many incredible discoveries about my family and found many of my ancestors either buried or memorialized in this world heritage site.

Almost as soon as I arrived inside I began to discover names of ancestors on plaques and monuments. It is hard to describe the feeling of knowing you are related to such historic figures, and finding their memorials and actual tombs in Westminster Abbey is a feeling I will take with me to my final resting place.

One of the most stunning things I found was the tomb of my cousin Lady Augusta Bruce's husband, the Very Reverend Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, former Dean of Westminster. Located in King Henry VII's Chapel, and taking up an entire alcove of the chapel, the tomb also contains several memorials to my cousin/his wife, Augusta. I am still trying to determine whether Augusta is buried at Westminster or at Frogmore but the memorial and the script to my cousin as well as the stained glass windows in the alcove (one donated by Queen Victoria herself) are stunning.

Read more about this interesting ancestor of mine in my new page The Very Reverend Arthur Penrhyn Stanley.