In 1736 Mahomet Weyonomon, a Mohegan Sachem (chief), died in Alsermanbury in the City of London. He was 36 years old. Foreigners could not be buried near St Saviour’s church, now Southwark Cathedral. The exact location of the grave is inknown. The sculpture behind you is his memorial.

Mahomet’s presence in London was the result of injustice and exloitation. His tribe had helped the first settlers in New England survive bitter cold and repel Indian attacks. The Mohegans became allies of the English but settlers began to steal tribal lands. Despite support for the Mohegan cause from Queen Anne’s Commissioners in1705, the lands were not returned.

Mahomet sailed to Lond in 1735 with three supporters to petition King George II for the return of the stolen lands. While awaiting an audience, Captain John Mason and Mahomet contracted smallpox and died.

This memorial was erected at the request of the Mohegan tribe to honour a fallen chief. A stone was brought from Mohegan lands and carved with forms that reflect ancient custom by Peter Randall-Page. It was unveiled by Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, on 22nd November 2006 with the tribal chairman Bruce Two Dogs Bozsum and the U.S. Ambassador – symbolically granting the audience Mahomet never received.*

*from a sign board next to the memorial (see photo for further detail)

Information from Southwark Cathedral website:

The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie stands at the oldest crossing-point of the River Thames at what was for many centuries the only entrance to the City of London situated across the river. A verbal tradition passed on to the Elizabethan historian John Stow suggests that the first Christian establishment was a community of nuns in the 7th century, but the first written reference is the mention of a ‘minster’ in the Domesday Book of 1086.

In 1106 the church was ‘re-founded’ by two Norman knights as a priory, whose members lived according to the rule of St Augustine of Hippo. The church was dedicated to St Mary and later known as St Mary Overie (‘over the river’). The Augustinian Canons created a hospital alongside the church; this was the direct predecessor of today’s St Thomas’s Hospital opposite the Houses of Parliament and originally named in honour of St Thomas Becket who was martyred at Canterbury in 1170.

At the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, the last six canons were pensioned off although they continued to live in buildings north of the church. The church itself became the property of King Henry VIII who rented it to the congregation. It was re-named St Saviour’s, though the old name remained in popular usage for many years.

St Saviour’s Church became Southwark Cathedral in 1905. The diocese which it serves stretches from Kingston-upon-Thames in the west to Thamesmead in the east and Gatwick Airport in the south. It has a population of two-and-a-half million people, served by over 300 parishes.

Our recent day trip to London was so enjoyable we decided to visit London again the following week.

The train arrived on time but was delayed briefly due to a points issue. Once in London, we caught the Tube to Southwark where we intended to visit Southwark Cathedral and The Shard.

Before visiting either it was time for lunch. The place we had initially chosen had only two staff on so we decided not to stay because the pace was busy and we didn’t want to wait too long for our lunch. We checked out then next place on our list but instead settled upon The Ivy where we were seated in the conservatory area. It was light and airy with the doors open, which provided a cool breeze that took off the heat of the day.

The service was quick and efficient and we both chose the Smoked Salmon and Haddock Fish Cake accompanied by a glass of dry rose wine. Whilst dining, we decided to visit the Cathedral first. It had been on our itinerary for our recent London visit but we ran out of time to visit it.

We walked the short distance to the Cathedral in 80° heat. Stepping into the cool space of the Cathedral was a welcome relief. I found the Cathedral to have a peaceful feeling which perhaps reflects the rich history of the building. There are many interesting features within the Cathedral but sadly there is no guidebook to explain them in further detail.

After getting my Cathedral Pilgrim Passport stamped, we walked to the Shard. We purchased our tickets to ‘The View’, choosing the optional glass of bubbles to enjoy once we had reached the dizzy heights. The operation is very slick; bag search, green screen photos taken and then directions to the lifts that take you up to the viewing floor. The views are stunning and we took our time to spot the familiar landmarks of London. Watching the trains travelling in and out of Charing Cross station from above was like seeing trains on a model railway.

We walked to the top floor which is open to the elements although we found the view from there less enjoyable so we returned to the lower floor to enjoy our ‘bubbles’ looking out over London.

Mr C noticed the flowers in the Tower of London moat so after descending from the tower, we walked across Tower Bridge and around the moat before heading back to Euston Station.

We arrived at Euston Station to find utter chaos! All trains had been delayed due to a major problem with points near Watford Junction. Luckily for us the trains had just started running again. We caught the first train that was heading to Birmingham rather than wait for the later train which we had booked onto. When trains get messed up later trains often get cancelled, so better a train in the hand…

As expected the train was rammed full and we chose a space to stand safely next to the luggage rack. A man kindly gave up his seat for me; he didn’t like the thought of me standing all the way to Birmingham. I was grateful to him but also felt a little guilty.

During our journey the train staff decided to terminate the train a station early, Birmingham International rather than Birmingham New Street. A bit frustrating for us but entirely understandable for getting the trains back on schedule going forward.

This involved a mad dash across the platforms to get the first connecting train that was due to leave one minute after our arrival. There was a bit of Mr C not quite getting on the train whilst the guard was blowing his whistle and as I dashed across the platform, hopping on the train at the last minute. The doors closed behind me and we were on our way.

We arrived three minutes late compared to our original planned arrival which meant we were once again on time for joining our friends for last orders in a local hostelry.