Celebrity Genealogy      Research - My Family

Discovering Family Connections Inside Westminster Abbey, London

Last week, during a quick vacation to London, England, I finally had the chance to tour the inside of Westminster Abbey — one of the most iconic landmarks in the world. Although I had walked past the Abbey many times on previous trips, this was my first opportunity to explore it from within. Back in 2015, I had planned to visit, but the BBC was filming a documentary inside, so the Abbey was closed to the public. This time, I was determined not to miss it.

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Since my last trip to London, my genealogy research has uncovered an astonishing number of famous relatives — some connected by direct bloodline, others by marriage. I knew that Westminster Abbey was the final resting place of many of these notable figures, and I couldn’t wait to see if I could recognize any familiar names.

Almost immediately after entering, I began spotting names that matched my family tree — ancestors, relatives by marriage, and even historical figures who had influenced the lives of my forebears. The experience was both overwhelming and deeply moving. After years of researching my family history, standing inside Westminster Abbey among so many of my relatives felt like a powerful connection to the past.

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Anyone who has toured Westminster Abbey knows how much there is to see — from royal tombs to memorials of poets, scientists, and statesmen. It’s impossible to take it all in during a single visit; one could easily spend months exploring and still not see everything.

After returning home, I was thrilled to discover that the Westminster Abbey website provides an online list and photographs of most tombs and memorials — especially since photography isn’t allowed inside the Abbey itself.

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Here are some of my notable family connections memorialized or entombed within Westminster Abbey:

• Lady Augusta Frederica Stanley (née Bruce) and her husband, the Very Reverend Arthur Penrhyn Stanley – Augusta was my cousin.

• Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin – Augusta’s brother and another of my cousins.

• Charlotte and Emily Brontë – Friends of Lord Alfred Tennyson, who was father-in-law to my cousin Eleanor Bertha Mary Locker.

• Lord Alfred Tennyson – Poet Laureate and father-in-law of my cousin Eleanor.

• Charles Dickens – Friend of my cousin Charlotte Christian Bruce’s husband, Frederick Locker-Lampson.

• Sir Winston Churchill – The legendary WWII British Prime Minister, who worked closely with several of my family members.

• John Keats – Another friend of Frederick Locker-Lampson.

• Admiral Viscount Horatio Nelson – Friend and comrade of my cousin’s sister-in-law’s husband, Philip Charles Henderson Calderwood Durham.

• Admiral Richard Kempenfelt – Also a friend of Durham.

• James Oswald – Great-grandfather of my cousin James Townsend Oswald.

 

With thousands of people buried or memorialized at Westminster Abbey, I know my research will continue to reveal more family connections to this historic and sacred site.

Note: All photos are from the official Westminster Abbey website.