The Jewel Tower

An English Heritage interpretation panel at the Jewel Tower

At the end of a weekend spent in London - when I set out to investigate the building stones of the Tower of London - on the way back to St. Pancras railway station I decided to stop off at Westminster underground station, to have a quick look at the exterior of Westminster Abbey.

A general view

Like the Tower of London, I had last visited it as a child and had only passed it by when last living in London, where I worked in the building restoration industry and developed specialist interests in the identification and matching of building stones.

A general view

Being laden with bags, I had no intention of undertaking any kind of detailed investigations and merely used this as an opportunity to take a few photographs from afar. Starting at the Jewel Tower, set a stone's throw away from Westminster Abbey Chapter House - and immediately opposite the Palace of Westminster - the by now familiar Kentish ragstone and Reigate stone were immediately obvious, with their contrast to the Portland limestone that had been used to restore the window dressings.

An interpretation panel for the Palace of Westminster