HOME AT FIRST's

London

TRAVEL TO DREAM DESTINATIONS WITH ALL THE COMFORTS OF HOME

BRITAIN & IRELAND

-
-Catherine of Aragon

  ONE-BEDROOM CITY APARTMENT

      ST. KATHARINE'S MARINA

by the Tower of London

photos © Home At First

BALCONY VIEW FROM THE CATHERINE OF ARAGON APARTMENT
-

BEDROOM WITH A  VIEW
AT THE CATHERINE OF
ARAGON APARTMENT
-

THE

 CATHERINE

 OF ARAGON

CITY APARTMENT

is a one-bedroom, one-bath-room, London apartment, a comfortable lodging for two to four persons. The apartment is on the fifth floor of a building bordering exclusive ST. KATHA-RINE'S MARINA BY THE TOWER OF LONDON. This riverside location provides a quiet pedestrian marina atmosphere plus easy access to all of Central London.

COMFORTABLE LIVING
ROOM AND PRACTICAL,
FULLY EQUIPPED KITCHEN
-

HISTORY: St. Katharine's and the Tower of London were witness to much of the drama of TUDOR ENGLAND. During the Middle Ages, KING HENRY VIII and his six wives were often in residence at the neighboring TOWER OF LONDON, then a royal palace as well as a fortress. CATHERINE OF ARAGON was wife #1 (1509–33). With her husband, Catherine became royal patron of the St. Katharine’s hospice that had occupied this site since at least the twelfth century when it served as both a hospital and a lodging for travelers and pilgrims. When Catherine failed to produce a male heir, Henry had the marriage annulled and married ANNE BOLEYN, in the process breaking with the Church of Rome. Catherine was re-titled as "Princess Dowager of Wales" and lived three more years. She is buried in Peterborough Abbey. Her daughter, Mary, eventually became Queen of England ("BLOODY MARY").

-

THE APARTMENT: The apartment has one twin bedroom as well as a good size bathroom (with tub/shower), a living room with a TV double fold-out couch bed, a well-equipped kitchen (microwave, dishwasher, coffee maker, and washer/dryer), and a small furnished balcony looking southwest across the marina toward the Tower Bridge. The apartment comes with a hair dryer and a coin-operated tabletop pay phone.
          Like most European city apartments, the apartment is compact, but well equipped,

OPEN-PLAN LIVING/DINING ROOM

comfortable, and well kept. Its optimal occupancy is two persons, but it can accept a family of three or four by employing the sofa bed in the living room.

FLOOR PLAN OF THE CATHERINE OF ARAGON APARTMENT
-

          While the entrance and hallways of the apartment building are undecorated and lack a concierge or doorman, the complex is safe (with a coded entry system), well-managed, and clean. The building has stainless steel lifts (elevators) that are kept spotless.
         Guests are met upon arrival by the friendly apartment manager who lives in the marina complex.

He opens the apartment, explains its workings, and is available throughout your stay to answer any questions you might have.

THE SETTING: ST. KATHARINE'S MARINA is located on the north bank of the RIVER THAMES about a five-minute walk from the famous TOWER OF LONDON and the TOWER BRIDGE. The apartment is a seven-to-ten-minute, traffic-free walk from the TOWER HILL UNDERGROUND STATION (subway trains) and TOWER GATEWAY (for the Dockland Light Railway), and a three-minute walk to a bus stop for London’s well-known red double-decker buses.
         The Marina is a traffic-restricted pedestrian zone, which does not permit cars

TOWER BRIDGE FROM THE RIVER
ENTRANCE TO ST. KATHARINE'S MARINA
-