McLean Neighbors Share Coverage of Royal Wedding

These are photos from a few of yesterday's English newspapers on the Royal Wedding.

Bill Neugent, a McLean neighbor vacationing in England to celebrate his 30th anniversary with his wife Jill, sent along these photos to share with the McLean neighbors.

Friday Morning: Our neighbors Bill and Jill Neugent are vacationing in the Cotswolds of England to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary.

They celebrated the Royal Wedding today with the folks in Burford, a small town on the River Windrush in the Cotswold hills in west Oxfordshire, England, about 18 miles  west of Oxford, according to Wikipedia.

Much of the town gathered for tea in St. John the Baptist church, which dates to the 12th century, to watch afternoon events of the royal wedding, Bill Neugent reported.

The Town council chose a church venue rather than risk bad weather at a street festival. Locals gathered at church at 3pm for wedding cake, scones, and tea, Neugent said.

"The bride was stunning." "The couple looked calm." "The music was glorious," were among comments Neugent reported from the gathering.

They sang God Save The Queen. We were welcomed like old friends and invited to join in and tour the beautiful old church, he said.

The lovely town of Burford occupies a position on the meandering River Windrush. Burford is built on a fairly steep hill, and the view from the top of the hill looking down the High Street to the river is one of the classic panoramas of the Cotswolds, according to the Oxfordshire Travel Guide.

A lovely 3 arched medieval bridge crosses the Windrush, and though Burford itself does not occupy the northern bank, a walk across the bridge is rewarded by wonderful views across watermeadows to the spire of St. John the Baptist parish church.

The name of the town gives a clue as to its past. It comes from a union of the words "burh", meaning a defended town, and "ford" meaning a river crossing. Though we are not sure when the area was first settled, we know that there was a small community of 200 here at the time of the Domesday Book in 1086. Shortly after, Burford became the first Cotswold town to be granted a market charter - the exact year is uncertain, but it was prior to 1107, according to the guide.

St John the Baptist church is Burford's parish church. The slender spire is very striking, and the setting beside the Windrush is lovely. The best of St John the Baptist is to be found inside; the nave and aisles give a wonderful impression of height and light. The church was begun c. 1175, though much of what can be seen today dates from major restoration in the late medieval period, the guide says.