CHAPTER VIII
THE CITY CHURCHES

The parish churches of Sir Christopher Wren once numbered fifty-three. Of these, St. Andrew Holborn, St. Clement Danes, and St. James Piccadilly, cannot rightly be included amongst the City churches, as they are outside “the square mile.” Of the remaining fifty, St. Dunstan-in-the-East, St. Mary Aldermary, St. Sepulchre, and the destroyed St. Christopher, were only repaired by Wren. Fifteen have been wholly destroyed, and of St. Mary Somerset only the tower remains. Only thirty therefore remain in the City, and of these many have been so modernised that their value has in part disappeared.

ST VEDAST

Many devout admirers of Wren have done his memory a serious disservice by indiscriminate praise. It is no doubt an amiable fault, but it does much to confuse serious public issues, such as the question of “the nineteen doomed churches” which has lately agitated the public mind and will do so again. I will not discuss here whether it is ever permissible to remove any church, but if destruction can in any circumstances be allowed, discussion must revolve round the quality of what is doomed. It is common form for disputants to talk as though all city churches were Wren churches, and all Wren churches perfect churches. In point of fact thirteen of the nineteen were by Wren. Of the six that were not, St. Mary Woolnoth, by Hawksmoor, is of as great importance as a Wren church, and much more interesting than many. Of the “doomed” thirteen by Wren, St. Vedast Foster Lane, is said now to be out of danger: the steeple is superb, the nave merely a restoration with some good fittings left. The leaded lantern on the tower of St. Nicholas Cole Abbey, is exceedingly valuable, and its removal would be a crime, but it would be a waste of tears to shed them on the modernized nave. St. Stephen’s, Coleman Street, also has a pleasant little lantern, but if anyone supposes the interior is typical Wren he cannot detect the more glaring feats of the restorer.

ST ALBAN

In the case of St. Michael Paternoster Royal, St. Michael Cornhill, St. Mary Aldermanbury, St. Anne and St. Agnes, St. Alban Wood Street, and All Hallows Lombard Street, there is enough of characteristic Wren in tower or church, or both, to justify retention; but it is difficult to be enthusiastic about St. Clement Eastcheap, now, and it cannot have been easy before the church was modernized. If a hand were laid on a stone of St. Magnus London Bridge, it would be an abomination.

The tower of St. Dunstan-in-the-East is unique for its date, and of quite extraordinary interest: any idea of removing it should be resisted with vehemence. But why anyone should be the least concerned at the disappearance of the body of the church is known only to those who detect beauty in the Gothic adventures of Messrs. Laing and Tite in the year 1810. Of St. Mary-at-Hill the ugly 1780 tower replaced a mediæval tower which escaped the fire, and the interior has been somewhat havocked in latter days.

St. Clement Eastcheap has some good fittings, but, always small and unimportant, its quality has been greatly modified by the restorer.