Thanksgiving For The American Connections In The Uk
Friday November 28, 2014 by Alex Wood
THE famous "flag" painting BY JASPER JOHNS
In London…
1. THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER
Did you know that the tune for ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ originated in Gloucester? In the 1700’s John Stafford Smith was a choirboy at Gloucester Cathedral and this is where he wrote a tune called “Anacreon” which became popular in America in the latter part of the 18th Century. Francis Scott Key must have liked it because he set his own words to the tune and it became “The Star-Spangled Banner”.
2. NEXT STOP PENNSYLVANIA
Located near the Tower of London, All Hallows by the Tower Church is the oldest Church in the City of London, and consequently has a number of ties to the United States. William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, was both baptized and educated here and President John Quincy Adams was married in the Church in 1797.
3. ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ rock’n’roll style
If you head to 23 Brook Street in Mayfair, London, you’ll find a blue plaque celebrating the fact that the legendary US guitarist and pop star, Jimi Hendrix, once lived at this location.
4. Wedding bells for Teddy Roosevelt.
St George's Church in Hanover Square is a building and parish that has strong historic links with the United States of America. It’s been the wedding venue for many Americans but the most notable has to be Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, who married Edith Kermit Carow, in the church in December 1886.
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is one of the oldest manufacturing companies in Great Britain and has contributed a number of artifacts to the United States. Without doubt the most famous however, is the Liberty Bell in Pennsylvania.
Outside of London...
6. The American Air Museum
The American Air Museum in Duxford, Cambridge, is a memorial to the American airmen who were stationed in UK bases during conflicts in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Libya, and Iraq. The Museum houses the largest collection of American warplanes outside of the United States.
Brookwood American Cemetery and Memorial in Surrey houses 468 American military dead on 4.5 acres. The graves are white marble and surround a chapel that lists the names of 563 of these brave missing soldiers.
The Kennedy memorial in Runnymede, near Egham, was built in honor of President John F Kennedy and is placed near the site where the Magna Carta was signed. This picturesque hilltop memorial overlooks the River Thames and the site is also home to a number of other memorials.
The Mayflower Memorial in Plymouth commemorates the Pilgrims departure to a new land in 1620. The Pilgrims, a group of religious Puritans, had fled England first to the Netherlands and then the United States, and eventually arrived in present day Massachusetts, founding Plymouth.
Washington Old Hall, near Washington, Tyne and Wear, is one of the ancestral homes of President George Washington and is preserved by the UK National Trust.
In Scotland and Wales...
Andrew Carnegie, born in Dunfermline, was a Scottish-American steel baron who died the richest man in the world after founding what would become U.S. Steel. Carnegie is now famous for his philanthropic fund that has also preserved his birthplace and many other buildings in Dunfermline.
12. Declaration of intent
The Declaration of Arbroath was one of the main influences on the Declaration of Independence and can be seen in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. It’s no surprise when you find out that one third of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence were of Scottish descent.
The Edinburgh Civil War Memorial on Calton Hill, Edinburgh, is a testament to the Scottish men who gave their lives fighting in the American Civil War. The memorial consists of a statue of President Abraham Lincoln with one free and one crouching slave.
St Giles Parish Church in Wrexham, Wales is the burial place of Elihu Yale, founder of the world famous Yale University. Yale's ancestry can be traced back to the family estate at Plas yn Iâl near the village of Llandegla, Wales. Yale made his money working in the British East India Company and sent funds to set up Yale college when a request came from Cotton Mather in 1718.
15. Art Hearst
Gwydir Castle in Llanrwst, North Wales, contains carved and gilded paneling that was at one time owned by American press mogul William Randolph Hearst. The panels were inherited by the Metropolitan Museum of Art after Hearst's death and have been restored to their original form and returned to the Castle.
If you’re planning a trip to visit the UK, Prestige Apartments has a wide range of serviced apartments and vacation rentals on offer throughout England, Scotland and Wales. We'll have something to suit all budgets and group sizes so why not consider staying in a serviced apartment this year? Just get in touch with our friendly sales team and they'll help you to choose your perfect family friendly apartment.
TEL: +44 20 7704 6514 or EMAIL: sales@prestigeapartments.co.uk
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Posted by Alex Wood
