Peta Bridle’s City Churches

BOOKING NOW THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER

Peta Bridle introduces these splendid drawings from her most recent sketchbook

“If you take a stroll around the City of London you might catch the glint of a weathervane on a church spire rising above the narrow streets. Within the Square Mile are over forty churches as well as ten towers and remains, but there were once hundred and eight churches before the Great Fire, demolition works, and the Blitz. I used to attend services with two close friends to mark special events in the year. Over the past winter into this spring, I returned in all weathers to draw these beautiful and ancient places of worship.”

St Bartholomew-the-Great, Smithfield

Founded in 1123, this church has chequered flint walls and an atmospheric medieval interior. Many years ago, I used to sit in the churchyard for consolation before starting my night shift at a grim workplace nearby.

Prior Bolton’s Oriel Window, St Bartholomew-the-Great

There was just enough light to draw, sitting in the nave, with rain pattering against the window behind me and visitors whispering as they wandered around the church. The five-hundred-year-old Oriel Window was built by Prior William Bolton who was the Prior of St Barts in 1505. The prior constructed a lodging house at the end of the church so he and his household could watch services through the window from the comfort of his home. The barrel depicted at the base of the window is a pictorial pun on his name Bolton – a ‘tun’.

St Andrew Undershaft, St Mary Axe

St Andrew’s was built in 1532 on top of a twelfth century church and survived the Great Fire and the Blitz, only to be hemmed in by huge towers including the  black glittering bulk of the Gherkin which looms overhead. The Elizabethan historian John Stow is buried in the church and every three years a memorial service is held and a new quill placed in the hand of his monument.

Parish Clerk’s Offertory Bag, St Lawrence Jewry

I visited St Lawrence Jewry whilst it was undergoing restoration but I was able to draw and complete the collection bag on a little table in the church foyer. Water dripped continually outside the Side Chapel where the stonework was being cleaned and there was the occasional thud of workmen overhead. The bag is embroidered in red, blue and yellow and is used by the Worshipful Company of Parish Clerks for the collection during services. Other livery bags are on display in a cabinet alongside salvaged items from the air raid on the church in 1940. With thanks to St Lawrence Jewry.

St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe, Queen Victoria St

I had a good view of the church, standing opposite on the steps of Baynard’s Castle Car Park. The original church was destroyed in the Great Fire and was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren. The ‘Wardrobe’ refers to the royal stores for ceremonial robes which were moved from the Tower of London to Wardrobe Place nearby in 1361.

The Cordwainer, St. Mary Aldermary, Watling St

Outside the church sits this statue. In medieval times, shoe makers lived and worked in the Cordwainer Ward where the bronze statue now sits. Cordwainers made shoes whilst cobblers mended them. This is one of my favourite City sculptures, with the Cordwainer’s skilful hands working the leather and his face full of concentration. Should you ever pass by, observe the detail of his clothes and leather apron.

St Dunstan-in-the-West, Fleet St

I stood opposite the church under a large restaurant sign to draw St. Dunstan’s until I was defeated by the rain. A church has stood on this site since 988AD and the present building was rebuilt in 1831. Inside is an altar screen bought over from a monastery in Bucharest in 1966 with painted saints on carved wooden panels. On the tower is a diamond-shaped clock face built in 1671, as well as a statue of Queen Elizabeth I in the courtyard and statues of King Lud with his two sons in a doorway round the side.

Two Stone Heads, St Mary-at-Hill

These two old stone heads are on a car park wall opposite St Mary-at-Hill. Perhaps they originate from a nearby church but I found no plaque or explanation of how they came to be here. The man smiles in one direction while the woman smiles in the other, and they caught my eye so I drew them. Does any reader know of their origin? I would love to know!

St Benet’s Welsh Church, Queen Victoria St

The redbrick building of St. Benet’s has Portland stone corners with garlands of fruit and flowers hanging over each window. It sits marooned in a dead end lane with St. Paul’s Cathedral beyond. A church has stood here since 1111, dedicated to St. Benedict, and was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren after being destroyed in the Great Fire.

The Tower of St Elsyng Spital, London Wall

A view from the gardens of St Alphage. These ruins were once part of Elsyng Spital, a hospital founded by William Elsing, a London merchant in 1331 to provide a home and care for the homeless, blind, beggars and the vulnerable. A common theme emerged as cold weather and rain drew my sketch to a close.

St Ann Blackfriars Churchyard, Church Entry, Blackfriars

Birdsong was just audible over the usual building noise, but otherwise it was a peaceful place to sit. The alley and churchyard were once part of the thirteenth century Blackfriars Friary complex which was dissolved by Henry VIII. Today, the churchyard is a sheltered place where palm trees grow.

The Lion, St Mary Abchurch

On the front pew sits a golden lion on the left, facing a white painted unicorn on the right, each clutching a shield of St George. I was lucky enough to listen to an organ recital while I drew both figures. With kind permission of St Mary Abchurch

The Unicorn, St Mary Abchurch

The white-painted companion to the lion, sitting on the front pew.

The Victorian Bathhouse, Bishopsgate Churchyard

This striking bathhouse, tiled in red and turquoise, sits within the churchyard of St Botolph’s Without Bishopsgate, built in 1817 as a Turkish baths for City clients. I sat in a wind tunnel to draw beneath the tall buildings surrounding it and a couple of passing policemen came to say hello, curious to see what I was drawing. Unfortunately, permission has been granted by the City for a new office tower overhanging the historic bathhouse.

Flowers, Chalk Churchyard, Kent

Chalk church sits on an isolated hillside overlooking the North Kent marshes. A still life of rosemary, lavender and ivy which grow in the churchyard.

Drawings copyright © Peta Bridle

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