St Mary Magdalene, Richmond-on-Thames

St Mary Magdalene feels like a proper "town church": despite later developments, the church itself is still enclosed on three sides by buildings, with a modest churchyard open to one side, albeit sadly bounded by the busy A305.

The church itself is a tale of three parts: the west door leads through the mediaeval Perpendicular Gothic tower, into a bright and spacious classical nave of 1750, and onwards into the neo-Gothic chancel designed by G F Bodley in 1904. The nave takes centre stage, with slender Tuscan columns opening into wide aisles. Executed in brick with round headed widows, the only jarring note is the open frame timber roof, inserted in 1866 by Blomfield. In contrast, the barrel vaults of the aisles, picked out in white, pink and gold, are delightfully harmonious. 

The aisles are so filled with monuments, they feel almost like galleries. The monuments date from the 16th century, and include that of John Bentley (d. 1660) and his wife and daughter, three busts within a simple Classical frame; and Barbara Lowther (d. 1806), a restrained, delicate piece by the notable sculptor John Flaxman (1755-1826). Lord Richard Attenborough (1923-2014) and the celebrated Shakespearean actor Edmund Kean (1787-1833) have memorials here, thespians separated by nearly two centuries. Both font and pulpit are 18th century: the former with a pretty fluted bowl, and the latter balanced precariously on six tall barley-twist legs. Bodley's chancel contains good stained glass of his own design.

The church is known for its rich musical tradition, and services are organised as part of the Richmond Team Ministry, with choral services each Sunday.

St Mary Magdalene, Church Walk, England, TW9 1SN, United Kingdom

St Patrick RC Church, Soho Square, London

The handsome Italianate church of St Patrick's, Soho Square, occupies a prominent location, but I suspect is barely noticed by the crowds in nearby Charing Cross Road. However, as well as its impressive architecture, the church has had a remarkably colourful history.

As one of the oldest post-Reformation Roman Catholic parishes in London, its chapel was the first Catholic place of worship opened there after the passing of the Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1791. Originally occupying a former wing of Carlisle House, it was established in 1792 with the aim of serving  the large (and poor) Irish community that had grown up in the area in the 18th Century: through much of the 18th and 19th centuries, the area between Soho and St Giles was notorious for its overcrowding and slums. Soon after its opening, it also witnessed the arrival of hundreds of French clergy fleeing the French Revolution, and in 1799 hosted the official Requiem Mass of Pope Pius VI, who had died a prisoner of the Republic in France.

Parish life expanded throughout the 19th century, albeit always with an emphasis on serving the poor - particularly after a further influx of people from Ireland following the potato famine in 1845. Soon after, efforts began on fundraising for a purpose-built church, and in 1893 the current building, designed by John Kelly - a pupil of G E Street - was consecrated. Kelly's design made good use of the site by acquiring a narrow frontage on the Square, comprising the porch below a tall campanile, with the main body of the church along a short passage to the original site.

The thoroughly red-brick exterior belies the bright, classically white-plastered interior, which comprises a long nave under a barrel vaulted ceiling, with a clerestory and apsed sanctuary. At first appearance it appears to have aisles, but the arcade in fact accommodates a series of chapels, a device which lends the interior a feeling of spaciousness. The sanctuary is decorated with mosaic and marble, and above the altar is an impressive painting of the crucifixion, dating from around 1650 and said to be by a pupil of Van Dyck.

The church was extensively restored in 2010-11, with the crypt developed for pastoral use. As well as offering confession and daily masses, the church is home to services for a variety of expatriate communities in different languages, offers support services to homeless people, and is a wonderful sanctuary from the surrounding bustle for private prayer.

St Patrick, Soho Square, London W1D 4NR