Tour of East India Company and British India-related Memorials and Monuments at Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral
Tuesday 7th October 2025 at 11am
Members who attended the General Meeting last October will recall the fascinating talk by Dr Jennifer Howes on the East India Company’s commissions for Westminster Abbey, which was based on her recent book The Art of a Corporation: The East India Company as Patron and Collector (2023; Routledge).
(Burnard, 1866, © Dean and Chapter of Westminster)
BACSA has been fortunate to engage Dr Howes to give us a guided tour of the memorials to which she referred, as well as others of interest to us at the Abbey, including Lord Macaulay in Poets’ Corner. Dr Howes will follow this with a guided tour of St Paul’s, which has an equally impressive array of memorials with links to the East India Company or British India more generally, including one to Sir William ‘Orientalist’ Jones, in a prime position under the dome, and another to Bishop Reginald Heber, whom Dr Rosie Llewellyn-Jones considers was responsible for the longstanding misnomer of Colombo Sahib’s Tomb in Dhaka, which is tucked away in the Crypt.
Tour: Our tour of Westminster Abbey will begin at 1100. We will meet near the West End shortly before that (detailed instructions will be sent to those who have signed up in the week leading up to the event). This will be followed by lunch at 1230 at Cellarium, the Abbey’s café/restaurant. After lunch, we will take a 26 bus from Victoria St to St Paul’s. Our tour of the Cathedral will commence at about 1400. The tour will finish by about 1530.
Lunch: Lunch is for those who want it. You are welcome to make alternative arrangements, if you wish. Please note that the price of lunch is not included in the charge for the tour. It will have to be paid for separately.
Price: Admission to both venues is expensive. (Normal admission to the Abbey is £30 (£27 for adults aged 65+) and to St Paul’s £26 (£23.50 for concessions)). BACSA has negotiated a joint discounted price of £40 to include the services of Dr Howes. Bookings for the tour can be made online via the Events tab on the BACSA website. (If you wish to pay by cheque, please contact Paul Dean, Acting Events Officer, at chairman@bacsa.org.uk for instructions).
Numbers: The number of our tour party is strictly limited to 20. Tickets are sold on a first come first served basis.
Book: Dr Howes will be selling paperback copies of her book to BACSA members over lunch or after the tour has concluded for £26.59. Please bring cash.
Travel: You will be expected to make your own way to Westminster Abbey and from St Paul’s Cathedral. You will need to purchase a ticket for the 26 bus unless you have a bus pass or an Oyster card. If you prefer, you can travel between the venues by the Underground (District Line from Westminster to Blackfriars; fares apply) or on foot (allow half an hour at a brisk pace or 40 minutes at a more leisurely one).
Bishop Reginald Heber, 1783-1826 (Chantrey, 1835)
Paul Dean, Acting Events Officer
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