Wrens City Of London Churches

A short history of the 51 Wren-designed churches in the city of London.

The Great Fire of 1666 devastated the centre of London, with a loss of old St Paul's and eighty-six parish churches. Sir Christopher Wren, working with Commissioners appointed by Parliament, was responsible for rebuilding the cathedral and fifty-one of the parish churches, although the immediate need to start rebuilding made his design for an overall replanning of the City impossible. The work was funded by a tax on coals brought into the City of London. Much has been written about Wren's rebuilding of St Paul's, while the other fifty-ne parish chirches he was appointed to reconstruct are generally overlooked. This is the first modern book to examine them as a whole. Paul Jeffery describes how and when the churches were built, exploring the respective contributions of Wren and of his two principal assistants, Robert Hooke and Nicholas Hawksmoor. The result of their work was a unique set of contemporary churches. While not all are of the standard of Wren's masterpieces, such as St Stephen Walbrook and St Bride's, none is without architectural merit and interest. The second part of the book is a gazetteer of all the churches, including those that no longer exist. The book is heavily illustrated and provides a visual strong record of all the churches. Since they were built the Wren churches have suffered steady losses. St Christopher-le-Stocks was demolished in 1782 to make way for the Bank of England. Others, such as St Dionis Backchurch and St Antholin Budge Row, were lost to Victorian parish rationalisation. Many were destroyed or badly damaged in the Second World War. Only twenty-three of the original fifty-one remain. These are now under threat again, with the Templeman Report's proposal that only four of the existing churches (none by Wren) should be retained as parish churches. They provide a test case of conservation, sitting as they do in the middle of the City of London. The City Churches of Sir Christopher Wren presents a clear case both for their importance and for their preservation.

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Celebrates the city's church heritage with a guide to its structures, providing a description, history, date of construction, location, and operating hours for each building.

More than fifty astonishingly varied churches, a group of buildings without parallel anywhere in the world, are crowded into Europe's financial centre, the City of London. Simon Bradley explores their unique history, arcitecture, rich fittings and stained glass. Lost churches are listed, and their little known churchyards explored. Numerous text figures and excellent photographs (newly taken by the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments) help make this the indispensable guide to the church architecture of London's ancient 'Square Mile'. London: The City Churches is the second paperback addition to Pevsner's Buildings of England series.