A Liberal Education Abroad in London

Savina Villani

Staff Writer

For the first time since COVID, the Core Texts and Enduring Questions (CTEQ) and Honors programs sponsored a student trip to London, England this past spring break. The programs sent twelve students and one chaperone, Theology Professor Rachel Coleman, to experience their intelligible topics of study in a tangible way.

This trip was an eye-opening experience for many who realized that London is a place where beauty can be found in the greatest varieties and in the most unexpected places. Despite their short stay of six days, many students witnessed how the fruits of London––its religion, art and architecture, literature, and more––were impacted by its changing history, politics, and philosophy.

With respect to religion, the Protestant Reformation’s impact on England was unavoidable. Each day a different tour guide would mention the story of king Henry VIII in the 16th century: frustrated at his wife’s inability to produce a male heir, he demanded from the Catholic church that an annulment be granted and the marriage dissolved. When the pope refused to have the marriage annulled, Henry VIII divorced his wife and instituted the Church of England.

This became the official religion in England, causing the forced mass conversion of every previous church to this new religion. Now, in order for a church of another denomination to exist in England, it had to be built after the conversion.

The stories of the Reformation affected the students’ experience of the churches that converted, like St. Paul’s Cathedral. While the building itself was beautiful, the plastered white walls immediately raised suspicion that there were frescoes previously adorning them, but lost in the iconoclasm of the 16th century. Furthermore, the self-guided tour informed participants that the commissioners of the fresco in the main cupola demanded that the painter be English and that the scenes depicting the life of St. Paul be set in black and white.

It was fascinating for some students that the actions of an irascible king five centuries ago continues to impact the country’s customs and conversations every day. Even more captivating to others was its persistent Catholicism: during mass at St. Gregory’s church in Stratford, the group sat crammed in a charming little church, neatly decorated with stained glass windows, as they watched the incense rise to the ceiling. With one inexperienced keyboardist hacking away the melody on the organ, they joined the locals in concerted and impassioned singing, as bad as it may have sounded. They caught a glimpse of the congregants’ endearing hope: that Catholicism might still have a place in England despite their country’s history working against them.

This experience remained with the students as they continued to immerse themselves in the architecture of London. The pedestrian experience of viewing a medieval Gothic structure like Westminster Abbey, juxtaposed with a brutalist concrete apartment building on the same street, was intriguing, to say the least. It seemed that architecture from nearly every age and generation, with every style and design, all appeared in one conglomeration called the city of London.

The grandiose London Eye revealed this mixture all the more clearly: the massive ferris wheel took the group up to a stunning view of the city over the River Thames. This distant vantage point revealed more clearly the eclectic mixture of the city’s structures––Big Ben, a gothic revival clock tower, stood in the same view as the glass “Shard” building and the medieval Tower of London palace and prison.

London’s museums also displayed beauty of the greatest varieties. Especially prominent was the National Gallery, which houses early works from Michelangelo and Raphael, important Flemish works like the Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck, ominous and unsettling Caravaggio works, satisfying impressionist and post-impressionist works by Monet and Van Gogh, and far more.

Yet the group was not solely captivated by the masterpieces in major museums in England: some would turn the corner of a library and find a famous portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach. Others would puzzle at the worn-out, goofy-looking bust of Socrates. One student even wandered into a tiny picture gallery with obscure works from Renaissance masters like Lippi, Botticelli, and DaVinci. Even during a one-week stay, students were still well-exposed to little gems hiding in the smallest nooks and crannies.

With a continually renewing sense of wonder, the students continued learning about the major literary achievements and historically-important documents of London. On a day trip to Stratford, they visited Shakespeare’s house and his birthplace. To some, the rooms, beds, and tables appeared small for the Shakespeare family and the apprentices living there. To others, the proportions seemed nothing extraordinary; but it was still intriguing that it was only safe and affordable to drink beer due to the unsanitary water.

Back in London, the group walked to important locations and living abodes of other famous English authors like Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, John Donne, T.S. Eliott, and Virginia Woolf. It was especially inspiring to hear the story of Charles Dickens; despite needing to leave school at age 12 to support his family income at the boot-blacking industry, he was determined and curious enough to continue learning whenever he could.

It seemed to some students that he did not need a perfect education through school, as authors preceding him have noted––Jane Austen asserts in Pride and Prejudice through the character of Elizabeth, “such of us as wished to learn, never wanted the means. We were always encouraged to read, and had all the masters that were necessary.” A few students speculated that he had all the masters, all the towering intellects, all the commanding authors of prior ages, to instruct and form him.

This story put into greater perspective the exhibits in the British Library, which displayed historically pivotal works like Beowulf, Magna Carta, and the King James Bible. By seeing these works in person, the students were able to physically connect with these revolutionary moments in mankind, almost as if they were pilgrims of the events that shaped this world.

The trip seemed to end far too soon for many of these curious students, yet they left England having gained some wisdom during those fleeting seven days. The eventful and edifying scenes of London gave them new and refreshing perspectives on how their studies relate to the real world. Truly, this trip progressed towards Assumption’s continuing mission of forming its students to be holistically and liberally educated, and these students will remember their experiences abroad for their entire lives.