City Of London Churches
Spire of St Margaret Pattens designed by Christopher Wren in the medieval style
I took my camera and crossed over Middlesex St from Spitalfields to the City of London. I had been waiting for a suitable day to photograph spires of City churches and my patience was rewarded by the dramatic contrast of strong, low-angled winter light and deep shadow, with the bonus of showers casting glistening reflections upon the pavements.
Christopher Wren’s churches are the glory of the City and, even though their spires no longer dominate the skyline as they once did, these charismatic edifices are blessed with an enduring presence which sets them apart from the impermanence of the cheap-jack buildings surrounding them. Yet they are invisible, for the most part, to the teeming City workers who come and go in anxious preoccupation, barely raising their eyes to the wonders of Wren’s spires piercing the sky.
My heart leaps when the tightly woven maze of the City streets gives way unexpectedly to reveal one of these architectural marvels. It is an effect magnified when walking in the unrelieved shade of a narrow thoroughfare bounded on either side by high buildings and you lift your gaze to discover a tall spire ascending into the light, and tipped by a gilt weathervane gleaming in sunshine.
While these ancient structures might appear redundant to some, in fact they serve a purpose that was never more vital in this location, as abiding reminders of the existence of human aspiration beyond the material.
In the porch of St James Garlickhythe where I sheltered from the rain
St Margaret Pattens viewed from St Mary at Hill
The Monument with St Magnus the Martyr
St Edmund, King & Martyr, Lombard St
St Michael Paternoster Royal, College Hill
Wren’s gothic spire for St Mary Aldermary
St Augustine, Watling Street
St Brides, Fleet St
In St Brides churchyard
St Martin, Ludgate
St Sepulchre’s, Snow Hill
St Michael, Cornhill
St Mary Le Bow, Cheapside
St Alban, Wood St
St Mary at Hill, Lovat Lane
St Peter Upon Cornhill
At St James Garlickhythe
St Lawrence Jewry, Gresham St
St Mary Le Bow, Cheapside
St Margaret’s, Lothbury
St Vedast, Foster Lane
Christchurch Greyfriars, Newgate St
Christchurch Greyfriars, Newgate St
St Mary Le Bow, Cheapside
St Mary Le Bow, Cheapside
St James, Garlickhythe
St Michael Paternoster Royal, College Hill
Churchyard of St Laurence Pountney
St Magnus the Martyr, Lower Thames St
St Dunstan in the East, Idol Lane
All Hallows Staining, Mark Lane
St Botolph’s, Aldgate
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Terrific photographs. Thank you G.A.
Wonderful, atmospheric photos. Valerie
Great
I’d love to have some of your lovely pics GA – would you put on an exhibition some time and sell prints?
Cx
Some wonderful camera angles and lots of churches (and Saints!) I’d never heard of. Thank you so muh
Smashing photos!
I came across the squat tower of All Hallows Staining last year. It made me think of what the scale of city buildings must have been before the Fire.
Lovely quirky photos. Thanks
GA, yet another great piece. Thanks!
Glad you showed St. Bride’s, scene of media mogol Rupert Murdock’s latest nuptials to Gerry Hall.
In a recent trip to London I enjoyed perusing St. Martin’s in Ludgate, not far from St. Paul’s – with their “breadshelves” for the poor and their “swords rest.”
Next time I will have to check out some of the other Wren churches in the City. Black ‘n white photos very effective for this subject…
I love the City churches. I was married at St James GarlickHythe by the then vicar of St Lawrence Jewry, a wonderful man called Basil Watson.
Fabulous photos, especially in black and white. I’d love to see some of the interiors as well.Great that they have all survived despite terrorism, blitz and worst of all London Property Developers. How are they funded as I guess congregations are getting smaller and not so many residents. Thank you for such a wonderful site which I enjoy every day.
Stunning photographs. The light, the angles, the weather and your keen eye have produced works of art. Thank you GA for sharing these pictures.
Yours has become one of my favorite blogs in the past several months since first seeing it come across a links roundup from either “Strange Company” or “Two Nerdy History Girls”…I enjoy getting to see and learn about sights in the UK that I may never get to see – esp. churches and cemeteries…this post was absolutely one of my favorites so far – I’d like to return the favor: I recently posted about a Christopher Wren church (St Mary Aldermanbury) that was moved brick by brick from London to central Missouri in the US (just thirty minutes from me) – enjoy the link below – and thank you so much for your work and writing
http://civilwarmed.blogspot.com/2016/01/pillars-of-earth-1-st-mary-aldermanbury.html
It is all about context for Wren churches, I think. But there are so many streets destroyed by bombs and redevelopment that some churches seem to just float – St James Garlickhythe and St Benet Pauls Wharf to name just two – and seem to have no meaning. They are like little jewel boxes, every one of them. Have you read Wren’s London by Colin Amery? It is a gorgeous book of black and white photos from late 1980s/early 90s. A pure joy – I recommend it for fireside perusal.
Yeah. Uplifting scenes and photography. Thanks
Great black and white photography again, and that lovely ‘wedding cake’ spire of St Brides. I love the light, and the atmosphere, and the reflections of St Augustine, Watling Street, truly a photograph to be proud of!
Beautiful set of church photographs. Thank you.
The master at work, again & this time in my home town. Marvelous stuff, many thanks