St Mary le Strand, London

'Often said to be the loveliest Baroque church in England', is how the church guide proudly describes this beautiful building, one of London's most distinctive landmarks.

History

The original parish church was built to the south of the present building, but was demolished in 1549 when the Duke of Somerset built the first Somerset House. At that time, the Strand was the main road between London and the then separate settlement of Westminster, and its name reflects the fact it followed the original shoreline of the Thames.

The present church was designed by James Gibbs (1682-1754) and built between 1714 and 1723. Gibbs was trained as an architect in Rome, and many of the architectural elements are based on churches there. Unusually, it survived the Second World War almost intact and, although the exterior is in good condition - the spire was completely rebuilt in 1984 - the interior is in need of further restoration. It is also something of a traffic island, although the interior is remarkably quiet.

The church

The exterior is one of the grandest in London, despite its relatively small size: it has two storeys of superimposed orders, the lower storey Ionic, the upper Corinthian, with nave windows only in the upper storey. Carvings of fruit, garlands and cherubs adorn every side, but the dominant feature is the famous west tower, of three stages, each set back, above a grand pediment over a curved portico.

The interior is easily a match for the outside: Corinthian pilasters and columns abound, rising to a richly decorated coffered ceiling. The sanctuary is an equally lavishly decorated apse, framed by a dramatic double-height arch. Furnishings include paintings in the sanctuary by the American artist Mather Brown, completed in 1785, and a magnificent pulpit, said to be the work of Grinling Gibbons.

St Mary-le-Strand, London WC2R 1ES

All Saints, Margaret Street, London

All Saints, located a stone’s throw from busy Oxford Street, is renowned among aficionados of church architecture: built in 1849-51, this shrine to Anglo-Catholicism was a landmark in the development of Victorian Gothic architecture.

The church was commissioned by the Cambridge Camden Society (which later became the Ecclesiological Society) and paid for largely by Alexander Beresford-Hope, son-in-law of the Marquis of Salisbury and later an MP. The architect chosen was William Butterfield (1814-1900). His design, which made clever use of the cramped site, also demonstrated that architecture and lavish decoration could work together to enhance the worship within.

The style is 13th century Gothic, the modest floor plan enhanced through the use of height and the celebrated decoration: in addition to the usual decorative carving, every surface is adorned with mosaics, tiling and murals – including the floor and roof. All this is set off with lavish gilding on the details. The furnishings – too numerous to mention individually – continue the theme of richness and quality.

The chancel is described in the church guide as ‘one of the most sumptuous and dramatic in London’, and is dominated by the brilliantly coloured reredos, completed by William Dyce in 1853-9, but reproduced on wooden panels by Sir Ninian Comper in 1909 when the original had been damaged by pollution. Comper also designed the ornate reredos for the Lady Chapel, of Caen stone and alabaster, in 1911.

The exterior is rather modest in comparison, though also decorated through the use of polychromatic brickwork and stone detailing, and is dominated by its spire, which rises 227ft.

The church is today equally famed for its high Anglo-Catholic style of worship, with generous use of incense and glorious music.

Margaret Street, London, W1W 8JG