Bob Lillie's Travels

Last week I was in London mainly to undertake family research at the British National Archives in Kew and to visit the North West Kent Family History Society. But I visited other sights in London as well! This is the Archives building which is close to Kew Gardens

The old Royal Naval College in Greenwich

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Royal_Naval_College

The National Maritime Museum at Greenwich - just behind the old Naval College

http://www.rmg.co.uk/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Maritime_Museum

Both these buildings are built on the site of King Henry VIII's Royal Palace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Placentia

The Cutty Sark at Greenwich - Now a museum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutty_Sark

Some Schooners moored off the Old Naval College, Greenwich near the Cutty Sark, at the end of the Tall Ships race from Falmouth to Greenwich this August/September

The Dar Mlodziezy, a Polish Sail Training Ship that I looked around in Falmouth, moored in the Thames near Greenwich

A Schooner coming up river under motor power with the Millennium Stadium built for the 2012 London Olympic Games in the background.

The rest of the fleet tied up near the Millenium Stadium

Deptford is an old port town situated next to Greenwich, historically part of the County Of Kent.
It was home to Sir Francis Drake and it is where he started his seagoing career and he was knighted on the decks of his ship, the Golden Hind on his return from his circumnavigation of the world in 1581. It was heavily bombed in the 2nd World War and there are not many buildings that survive from before that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deptford
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deptford

I have traced my Lillie ancestors to one Adam Lillie, a Baker who was resident in Deptford by 1808. The Deptford he knew has largely disappeared, but the Parish Church that served his family through the 19th and early 20th century survives

Two views of the Church of St Paul's in Deptford, completed in 1730

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Paul%27s,_Deptford

Adam Lillie was married twice. His first marriage was to Anne Pearce, a widow, in 1793 in the church of St Giles, Clerkenwell, pictured above. The church was completed in 1792.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_James%27s_Church,_Clerkenwell

Adam married for a second time to Elizabeth Matthews in St Giles Church, Camberwell in 1808. The picture of the current church is not the one he was married in. That church was destroyed by fire in 1841.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Giles%27_Church,_Camberwell

A squirrel feeding in a tree in the churchyard at St Giles

Tower Bridge near the Tower Of London
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Bridge

Tower bridge and the walls of the Tower Of London

The field of ceramic poppies surrounding the Tower of London commemorating the many people who died on the battlefields of the Great War on this hundredth anniversary of the start of the war.
http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/remembrance/ww1-centenary/poppies-in-the-moat

The White Tower - the Norman Keep
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London
http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/

HMS Belfast, a Cruiser built in 1938, and now museum moored in the Thames close to Tower Bridge and the Tower Of London
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Belfast_%28C35%29
http://www.iwm.org.uk/history/8-things-you-didnt-know-about-hms-belfast-and-d-day

St Paul's Cathedral

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Paul%27s_Cathedral

Trafalgar Square
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trafalgar_Square

Piccadilly Circus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piccadilly_Circus

A Horse Guard in Whitehall

Looking up and down Whitehall

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitehall

The Ministry of Defence in Whitehall

In 1967, as a humble clerical assistant I worked in the Ministry Of Defence. It was my first proper job and I entered through this door

The office I worked in was the first ground floor window from the right. Who knows what might have happened if I had stuck with that job!

Downing Street is just across Whitehall and the home of the British Prime Minister at Number 10. The crowd is the closest one can get to that house these days!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downing_Street

The Palace of Westminster (and Big Ben), the home of the British Parliament which consists of the House of Commons and the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Westminster

A statue of Oliver Cromwell outside the Parliament. He was the Lord Protector of England from the time of the deposing of King Charles I to the restoration of the Monarchy with the coronation of King Charles II
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Cromwell
http://www.olivercromwell.org/

Three Views of Westminster Abbey just near the Palace of Westminster

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_Abbey

http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history

This update has taken me rather longer than I thought, so I will publish this part now. Stay tuned for my Thames River cruise to Hampton Court Palace and my stroll through three parks - St James Park, Green Park and Hyde Park.

A day of Steam. We took the South Devon Railway train from Paignton to Kingswear on the River Dart.

My friends, Eve and Alan enjoying the trip

The train approaches Kingswear

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingswear

We take the ferry across the river Dart to Dartmouth

Some views of Dartmouth

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dartmouth,_Devon

The Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth where the Royal Navy trains it's officers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britannia_Royal_Naval_College

A World War 2 Fairmile Motor Launch RML 497 now used for cruises from Dartmouth

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RML_497_%28motor_launch%29

http://greenwayferry.co.uk/2012/dartmouth-river-cruise/

The Paddle Streamer Kingswear Castle arriving at the Pontoon at Dartmouth. We took a trip on her around the Dart Estuary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS_Kingswear_Castle

http://www.paddlesteamerkc.co.uk/

Dartmouth Castle at the mouth of the River Dart

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dartmouth_Castle

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/dartmouth-castle/

Kingswear Castle situated across the mouth of the River Dart from Dartmouth Castle. The paddles steamer was named after this castle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingswear_Castle

The little village of Dittisham situated on the River Dart between Dartmouth and Totnes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dittisham

http://www.dittisham.org.uk/history.asp

The River Dart rises at two points on Dartmoor. The two rivers, the East and the West Dart meet at Dartmeet and the river flows to the sea at Dartmouth after flowing through the town of Totnes.

A possibly medieval Clapper Bridge at Dartmeet with the more modern bridge (Built in 1792) in the background.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dartmeet

http://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/dart_meet.htm

The Salcombe Estuary at Kingsbridge. This estuary is one that is not fed by any rivers, but runs from Kingsbridge to the Seat at Salcombe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingsbridge

There is a very nice walk along the cliffs near the village of Noss Mayo. This is a view to Rame Head in Cornwall across the mouth of Plymouth Sound

The mouth of the River Yealm. Noss Mayo and another village called Newton Ferrers are situated just around the corner on each bank.

The coastguard cottages at Noss Mayo. This may have a connection with my Billett ancestors who were boatmen in the area. Thomas Masterman Billett was a coastgurd here until around 1810 when he transferred to Coverack in Cornwall.

The Falmouth to Royal Greenwich Tall Ships Regatta occurred recently. I was in Falmouth recently and saw this ship at anchor off Pendennis Point and later under sail. She is the Polish ship Dar Mlodziezy