Hello London and Hello Southwark!

Hello, hello! After what feels like forever, we have finally made it to London! Our trip started off with a gruesome eleven hour delay on our flight which resulted in us arriving at our housing at 12:30 am. (But on the bright side I got to see my Winona one last time (;  ) Unfortunately for me, I was unable to sleep my first night here - probably from sleeping so much on the plane. That being said, we have a BIG day ahead of us. 


getting ready for take off! 

Today we get to tour Southwark, the Southwark Cathedral, and lay eyes on River Thame. I am super pumped to begin learning all about London and its rich history. I personally do not know much about the Southwark Cathedral, but I cannot wait to see it and learn everything there is to know! Last night David told us a bit about the Cathedral and some fun facts about it, and I am eager to share them with you all after touring the Cathedral today. 

this was my yummy breakfast!

After touring Southwark and the Southwark Cathedral, it is safe to say that I am absolutely exhausted! There were so many amazing things to see and learn about. While on our tour of Southwark we were given a very general overview of some of the history in that area such as the very clear divide there once once between opposite sides of the River Thames and the history of theatre and the Globe in that area. Of all the interesting bits and pieces we learned about during our walking tour, I was the most interest in the Great Fire of London. It absolutely blew my mind that one bakery could cause £37 billion in damages. Though the fire caused tons of damage to the infrastructure, it was saddening to find out that people were placing the blame of this tragedy on differing religions. I can't imagine how any city can recover from such a large disaster as the Great Fire of London, I know I would definitely be overwhelmed! 

This is River Thames. The Great Fire of London took place on the side pictured. 

After our tour of Southwark we grabbed some lunch at Borough Market before heading to our tour of the Southwark Cathedral. It was by far the most beautiful building I have seen in a very long time. It is almost unfathomable that today I toured a Cathedral that Shakespeare himself has stepped foot in. Having the opportunity to experience such important pieces of history that date back to the 1600's helped me to realize that a lot of the 'issues' that I face today are so small and seemingly insignificant. 

Inside of the Southwark Cathedral.

Our tour guide, Neil, shared with us many of the important bits about the Cathedral. He educated us on the stained glass and building itself, and told us some stories along the way as well. I have pictured below a Shakespeare stained glass window. Something incredibly important to note is that this is not the original stained glass. During the London Blitz all of the windows on that side of the building were unfortunately shattered.

Shakespeare stained glass window. 

By far the most captivating thing I learned from my tour of the Southwark Cathedral was about how and why it was built in the first place. I learned that many churches are built in the shape of crosses, and typically the alter is at the east end of the church to be closest to the birthplace of Jesus Christ, as well as churches are built tall to be closer to God. I am not a particularly religious person, nor do I know much about religion as a whole, so it was so cool to learn about why it is the way it is. After being able to tour the Cathedral I can only imagine what it would have been like in seventeen century England within that church. After taking my first steps within the building I was entranced in its beauty and wanted to learn everything there is to know. Though I was educated on much more about the church other than why it is built the way it is, for whatever reason I left the tour constantly thinking about that. I also wonder if those on the other side of the River Thames attended services at the Southwark Cathedral. 

Shakespeare statue under the stained glass. 


Though I am left today wanting to know more about pretty much everything I was told, for the sake of this blog post I will limit my questions. My two major questions that I am left with today are: 

1) What were the economic impacts in the 1600s following the Great Fire of London? I assume that is not something that a city can quickly bounce back from. How did the city recover from such a tragedy, and what are the lasting effects that it has on the city today? 

2) Since most churches are built as crosses with the alter closest to the birthplace of Jesus Christ, I wonder if the pastors feel a certain extra level of connection when preaching from the their specific alter closest to Jesus, or if they feel the same no matter where they are preaching. On top of that, I am curious to know if this practice is still in use today!

Location: The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London,, London SE1, UK

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