American history in London, UK

As a freelancer, I work all over London. Whenever I work somewhere new, I go out in my lunch hour and explore. Before Christmas, I was working in London's Mayfair. I visited St. George's Hanover Square, which is a beautiful 18th century church built when London was expanding so much that a new parish had to be created.

The first stone was laid in 1721. The church is remarkably unchanged since then. It suffered some bomb damage in WWII, but when you visit, it's like stepping back 300 years in time.

Whenever I visit London churches, I often find links to American history. So I thought American Steemians might be interested in an historical link to St. George's Hanover Square.

President Theodore Roosevelt married his second wife, Edith Kermit Carow, there on 2nd December 1886. It was less than three years after the death of his first wife in childbirth and his sisters were scandalised that he was marrying so soon after her death.

Visitors are welcome although it's not a museum - it's an active place of worship. There's a prayer service every weekday morning at 9am and a short communion service on Friday at 1.10pm plus Sunday services at 8.30am and Sung Eucharist at 11am. Services are Church of England plain-style, as opposed to the high-church services of many London churches.

St. George's Hanover Square is a few minutes' walk from Oxford Circus tube station, in the heart of London's West End. I recommend a visit for a peek into the past and to find a quiet place to sit for a while away from the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street.