St. Faith

Last week, another visit to Westminster Abbey to see if I could find the revestry snapped below, from the book noticed at reference 1. Oddly, a revestry with an altar to St. Faith, despite a revestry being a vestry or sacristy, a place where a priest prepares for action rather than a place where a priest acts. Perhaps this particular revestry had been repurposed for private prayer.

Revestry

A grey and overcast day. But I was pleased to see, on arrival at Epsom Station, that the nest of rubbish outside the entrance, noticed a few posts ago, had been swept away overnight. On the other hand, trains to Waterloo were disturbed and I elected to travel to Victoria, which I found much changed since my last visit, with what had been a hole having become a large pink building.

Bullingdons

Making my way to the Bullingdon stand at Ashley Place, I was nearly run down, not for the first time, by a silent car, presumably of the electrical persuasion. Not yet adjusted to their presence on our streets. The run to Storey's Gate was much encumbered with traffic lights and probably took about the same time as it would have to walk. Furthermore, the stand there was full, so I had to make my way back to Abbey Orchard Street, passed not many minutes previously.

55 Broadway

Another hole there gave a fine view of 55 Broadway, a very handsome building from this angle. A view which will soon be blocked by something of probably less architectural merit - but of rather more renting merit - with old buildings being expensive to run.

More police than usual outside the Abbey entrance by the west door, probably something to do with one or other of the Brexit flavoured demonstrations. Quite a lot of people about, but it only took me about 5 minutes to get in, my bag decorated once again with a bright yellow wrist band.

A showed a trusty in the north aisle a picture of the revestry (on my telephone) which flummoxed her until I zoomed into the words 'St. Faith'. At which point she was considerate enough to lead me there herself, rather than trying directions, which was probably just as well, the way in being a rather obscure door at the back of the south transept. A door into what turned out to be a very impressive, albeit small, space, dedicated to private prayer, and I was the only one there in the course of my stay, perhaps of fifteen minutes. An admirable place for a bit of quiet, in an otherwise rather busy and not particularly godly space - with the only noise being that of an occasional guide on the other side of the other (locked) door telling some story about it. Including wall paintings behind the altar and a red sanctuary light hanging from the ceiling. The picture above does the place scant justice but I did not think it proper to try for another.

Location map for door

On my next visit, I shall try to find the other side of this other door, which opens into the passage connecting the cloisters to the chapter house. To judge from the presence of the guides, quite possibly a significant door, but not, I think, the Saxon door mentioned on the abbey website. Apart from anything else, not a very big door.

Out to wander around a bit, to be struck on this occasion by new views of the arcading in and around the crossings. All very impressive. And as I get more used to the place, I am getting less and less bothered by all the other people milling around.

High altar and its surroundings draped for Lent - unlike Buckfast Abbey where I think they just drape the altar itself. Drapes made especially for the job, probably hand made by abbey ladies.

West door incscription

A curious inscription by the west door, which I had not noticed before. According to a page on the Abbey web site - turned up by Google rather than Bing - we have it that: 'The most recent cleaning and restoration of the west front was completed in 1993 and H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh unveiled an inscription at the base of the north west tower. The words have their origin in a grace (prayer) said after meals dating from the reign of Elizabeth I'. It is not clear from this, but I would think that the inscription dates from 1993 or so, rather than from hundreds of years ago. Better than some of the modern work exhibited inside the abbey - not to mention that at Ely Cathedral.

Pulled a Bullingdon at Storey's Gate to pedal up to Moor Street, just a short walk from Shorts Gardens and the cheese shop where I stocked up on Poacher. I queried its being paler than usual and was treated to a talk about the time of year, the type of grass and the phase of the moon. On return home, I discovered that BH knew all about this sort of thing, the result of listening on a reasonably regular basis to 'The Archers'.

The Brighton branch

Onto Choccywoccydoodah just along the street, a new-to-me chocolate emporium selling all kinds of chocolate goods, served up by a bevy of pretty young things. They also had a new-to-me variety of striped tissue paper for wrapping things up in.

To Waterloo, where things were still bad, so I settled for lunch at Clapham Junctions, with the first place I found that I liked the look of being a street food stand in St. John's Road.

Street food

With the stand in question having been snapped while closed by the StreetView camera in August 2016. Now selling mainly slices of pizza, but I made what turned out to be the mistake of taking a slice of vegetarian pizza and a fat sausage roll. This last was soft and pink inside, I thought near raw, and I was unable to eat it, but the pizza was OK. I couldn't be bothered to complain, but if I am ever there again I might mention it. As it turned out, no ill effects, none that I noticed that is.

Wound up the proceedings with a train home via Sutton. Not stopping off at Sutton, as has been known to happen in the now distant past, to visit a rather disreputable establishment, more or less opposite the station, now refurbished or repurposed.

Reference 1: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2018/08/better-late-than-never.html.

Reference 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Faith. On my next visit, I shall have to look more closely at the paintings around the altar to see whether they bear on her martyrdom by being toasted alive.

Reference 3: https://www.choccywoccydoodah.com/.