Wren churches in the City of London

After I moved to London a couple of years ago, my father sent me a slim 20-page booklet measuring 4 X 7 inches titled "The Architecture of Christopher Wren in and near London".

My father paid sixpence for the booklet, published by London Transport in 1957, when he lived in London.  Printed on its cover in both Latin and English is the slogan: "Make the most of your public transport".

Of 13 city churches listed as the "most complete and rewarding" in the booklet, I have seen six. Of 17 city churches listed as "remnants" because they still suffered from World War Two bombing damage, I have seen 5, all of which are now restored.

Wren, born in 1632, supervised the restoration of St Paul's  Cathedral, which began in 1675 -- almost 10 years after the Great Fire of London in 1666 -- and was completed 35 years later

My father wrote many notes in the margins of the booklet. He often mentions how much time he spent in London visiting the various Wren churches. I am not sure if he was interested in churches partly because his father was a Baptist minister, or if it was because the churches are fascinating for their architectural variety and their window into the past.

He moved to London from Toronto in the 1950s. He worked at Whiteley's department store in Bayswater at first, and then at Westminster Press and Reuters on Fleet Street. He met my mother in Bayswater and they were wed in her village Grayshott on the Surrey-Hampshire border.

Yesterday, I visited St Stephen Walbrook Church near Bank, which has a prototype dome for St Paul's Cathedral, and is the first classical dome to be built in England. The Samaritans charity group -- precursor to the telephone helpline -- was founded there in 1953.

St Stephen Walbrook was restored after World War Two, and British sculptor Henry Moore commissioned to design an altar in 1972, made of travertine marble from the quarry Italian sculptor Michelangelo used for his work.

I also went to St Michael Paternoster Royal, which was rebuilt and enlarged by Dick Whittington, who as lord mayor lived next door, in 1409. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1966 and rebuilt by Wren, then it was destroyed by a flying bomb in 1944 and restored in 1966-68. It features a stained glass window of Whittington and his cat.

Whittington was an orphan who moved to London to seek his fortune.  Whittington found employment as a scullery boy. Unfortunately, Dick's little room was infested with rats. Dick earned a penny shining a gentleman's shoes, and with it he bought a cat, who drove off the rats.

One day, Mr. Fitzwarren asked his servants if they wished to send something in his ship, leaving on a journey to a far off port, to trade for gold. Reluctantly, Dick sent his cat. Dick was happy living with Mr. Fitzwarren, except that Fitzwarren's cook was cruel to Dick, who eventually decided to run away. But before he could leave the city, he heard the Bow Bells ring out. They seemed to be saying, "Turn again Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London". Dick retraced his steps and found that Mr. Fitzwarren's ship had returned. His cat had been sold for a great fortune to the King of Barbary, whose palace was overrun with mice. Dick was a rich man. He joined Mr. Fitzwarren in his business and married his daughter Alice, and in time became the Lord Mayor of London three times, just as the bells had predicted.

I next went to St mary Aldermary church which has a stained glass window featuring a kneeling Wren and then Mary le Bow Church, considered the Cockneys' church because those born within range of the sound of the bells are said to be cockneys are said to be born.

I then went to St Vedast, where I owe a pound for purchasing a booklet without enough change.
I tried to visit St Bartholomew the Great in West Smithfield and St James Garlickhythe, but they were shut.

23/03/2011