Tucked away, a short walk behind Baker Street station, St Cyprian is a favourite of church enthusiasts (among them John Betjeman), and is notable for being the first complete design by Sir Ninian Comper.
Built in 1902-3, the exterior is plain red brick and hardly registers as you walk past the mansion blocks on Glentworth Street. It certainly gives little hint of what lies inside, which comes as something of a revelation: a nave of six bays of tall, slender, clustered shafts with generous aisles, lit by large Perpendicular windows on each side, filled with clear glass. This delivers a beautifully balanced but rather austere space, all the more to focus the eyes towards the chancel and its flanking chapels, which are filled with Comper's richly gilded fittings, sumptuous hangings and brilliantly stained glass. The nave is in fact modelled on that of Attelborough, Norfolk, and the English Heritage listing states that Comper's aim was to "to fulfil the ideal of the English Parish Church... in the last manner of English Architecture".
Foremost of the fittings is a tall but delicate screen, with figures of saints and apostles very much in the Norfolk style, running the entire width of the church. Above the Rood, the roof is similarly richly decorated, with a painted tympanum depicting Christ seated in glory. The stained glass is also by Comper, as is the later font at the west end: indeed, he worked on the church, completing the various elements, for over 30 years (early photographs show a much plainer interior). The evolution of his style is seen most clearly in the font and its tall, gilded cover, which were completed in 1930-32. The inclusion of more classical forms illustrates his concept of "Unity by Inclusion", blending the best of gothic and classical.
The church today has regular services in the Anglo-Catholic tradition, and I received a cheerful welcome on my visit.
St Cyprian, Clarence Gate, London NW1 6AX
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