Wren’s church was elliptical in shape, and measured 63 feet by 48 feet. It was traversed by six composite columns, which, with the connecting arches, supported the roof. The steeple, which rose to a height of 110 feet roughly, consisted of a tower, lead-covered cupola, and lantern.
The original church contained monuments to John Wilcocks and Dame Anne Awnsham (d. 1613), both benefactors of the parish. After the Great Fire a Table of Benefactors was set up to the memory of: George Holman, donor of £1000 to the rebuilding of the church; Anne Thriscrosse, donor of £100 for apprenticing poor children, and several other donors. On a table in the organ loft there was an inscription to Mrs. Sarah Gregory, donor of £600 for various charitable purposes. In 1662 Richard Baxter, the celebrated Nonconformist divine, was married here.
In Threadneedle Street, at the corner of Bartholomew Lane, is the Sun Fire Office with glittering gilt suns over the corner and windows. The angle has been sliced off to form an entrance. A heavy wreath of foliage in stone surrounds the window above. The architect was C. R. Cockerell. A graceful new building in white stone with engaged pillars fluted, rising from the top of the ground-floor, contains the Life Alliance and Fire Office in Bartholomew Lane. Next door is Bartholomew House with the usual stereotyped stone detail, and a couple of somewhat cumbrous stone figures reclining over each side window. Capel Court leads to the Stock Exchange.
Drawn by G. Shepherd.
ST. BENET FINCK
At No. 40 Threadneedle Street is a paved courtyard shut in by iron gates and behind an archway, striking because of its size and the massiveness of its stonework. This leads to entrances of the National Provincial Bank of England, and the Mercantile Bank of India. Beyond it is the Baltic and South Sea House. This differs from all the preceding buildings because it belongs to the eighteenth century, as the deep tinge of its well-preserved bricks tells.
The centre window and doorway are encased in stonework, and the solidity of the whole structure is in contrast with its “bubble” reputation. It is now occupied as chambers by merchants, brokers, etc., and the secretary of the Baltic Company finds lodging here among others.
On the south side of Threadneedle Street we have the Bank of Australasia. Then two great doorways with an interval between them. These bear over them the arms of the powerful Merchant Taylors Company, whose hall is behind.
MERCHANT TAYLORS COMPANY
The precise date of the foundation of the Company is not known, but one of the earliest civic records mentioning the Taylors as a separate craft, is the “Chronicle of the Mayors and Sheriffs of London,” which narrates their dispute with the Goldsmiths in November 1267.