The entire edifice is highly creditable to the parish, and may be considered as a lasting monument to the memory of Mr. James Savage, the architect.
The crypt or vaults under the church are well worthy of inspection. They are conveniently approached, on the north side, by a flight of steps, and are lofty, light, and thoroughly ventilated. Here may be seen the foundation of the tower, which is an inverted dome, and all the columns of the nave are likewise built on and connected by inverted arches. No doubt the construction of these numerous vaults added considerably to the aggregate cost of the edifice, and when interments were prohibited in the metropolitan parishes the anticipated return was at once stopped, still they strengthen the entire fabric, and ensure a freedom from damp, which is most desirable. In several of these vaults are deposited the remains of some of the most respected parishioners.
The fees for burials in the vaults were as follow:—
Single Coffin. | Parishioner. | Non-Parishioner. | ||||
An Adult | £13 | 0 | 0 | £19 | 10 | 0 |
Children, 7 to 14 yrs. | 8 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
„ under 7 yrs. | 5 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 0 |
None but leaden coffins, enclosed in wood, were allowed to be deposited in the vaults, nor of less thickness than 5 lb. to a foot superficial.
There are ten bells, which were cast at Mr. Mears’s Foundry, Whitechapel:—
| The weight of the | first | 6 cwt. 1 qr. 8 lb. |
| „ „ | second | 6 cwt. 1 qr. 18 lb. |
| „ „ | third | 6 cwt. 3 qr. |
| „ „ | fourth | 7 cwt. 16 lb. |
| „ „ | fifth | 7 cwt. 2 qr. 9 lb. |
| „ „ | sixth | 8 cwt. 2 qr. 9 lb. |
| „ „ | seventh | 10 cwt. 3 qrs. 19 lb. |
| „ „ | eighth | 12 cwt. 1 qr. 11 lb. |
| „ „ | ninth | 15 cwt. 3 qrs. 14 lb. |
| „ „ | tenth | 23 cwt. 9 lb. |
The church was consecrated on the 18th of October, 1824, and as the foundation stone was laid on the 12th of October, 1820, the building of the edifice occupied about four years.