Spires of City Churches
Spire of St Margaret Pattens designed by Christopher Wren in the medieval style
Yesterday, 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 January 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
You may also like to take a look at
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http://fisheaters.com/stbrigidscross.html
dress your bridey’s cross and hang it, garland it with white anemones, and wait for spring!!!!!
http://ruffledblog.com/diy-crepe-paper-anemones/
http://www.schooloftheseasons.com/candlemas.html
beautiful to see them all in the shadow/wet, thank you.
very enjoyable, thanks
Lovely photos, especially of Cornhill.
Wow, your phots are just beutiful, I didn’t know you were also a great photographer!
As always an uplifting article even when about rain and January! Great photographs especially like the Dragon weathervane of St Mary Lane Bow!
Beautiful!
A superb record of City Church spires.
I like “in St Bride’s churchyard” best. Great to have noticed the puddle as a perfect frame.
I enjoyed these photos. I spent an afternoon last summer walking around my forefathers’ churches and really enjoyed seeing the places I had only heard about before. These great photos brought back some good memories of that day even though most of the churches are not the ones I went to!
I worked in Monument St for about 6 years and am ashamed to admit I never went up the Monument as I get a bit scared on narrow enclosed staircases (I’ve never made it right to the very top of the Scott Monument in Edinburgh either). I’m visiting London again shortly, maybe this time I’ll bit the bullet and do it!
Thank you for the photo, it brings back happy memories.
Simply adore the photo of St Peter Upon Cornhill! So complicated and fascinating – Gentle Author. Splendid use of your given talents.
Carolyn