Plaque: Westminster Hall - Gladstone
On this spot, awaiting sepulture in Westminster Abbey, rested, from May 26 to 28, 1898, the body of the Right Honourable William Ewart Gladstone, four times Prime Minister.
Gladstone's funeral was at the very nearby Westminster Abbey on the 28th, the last day of the lying-in-state . Wikipedia says "His coffin was transported on the London Underground before his state funeral at Westminster Abbey". (Elsewhere we read that this was in recognition of him and his wife having been extremely early users - passengers on a trial tube ride in May 1862.) It certainly was not the most direct route to the Abbey, just across the road. The nearest station to both the departure and arrival points would have been Westminster (Bridge) Station .... on the Circle Line..... Did they really take the coffin for a complete circuit, prior to the funeral?
Site: Westminster Hall (9 memorials)
SW1, St Margaret Street, Westminster Hall
These 9 plaques are laid into the floor of the hall, in a line down the middle, in this sequence, starting at the entrance end: R101; Hastings; Wentworth; More; Churchill; King Edward VII; Gladstone; King George VI & Queen Elizabeth; and King George V & Queen Mary.
Since capturing these 9 we've seen more on the stairs at the southern end of the hall. Need to visit again.
Go to map of other memorials in this area
