The year an observatory sat on top of St Paul’s Cathedral
In 1821, had a person looked up at the summit of St Paul’s Cathedral, a wonderous sight would have greeted their eyes.
Churches - Archive Articles
There will be a religious election on Thursday
While secular law prevails and causes millions to ascribe a pencil cross on a slip of paper this coming Thursday, another election will also take place, of a religious variety.
Visit the Museum of Methodism
In 1778, a new chapel opened on the edges of the City of London for the new Christian movement known as the Methodists, and it’s still there, just down the road from Old Street tube station, with a museum in its basement.
South London’s tallest church spire
A touch under 140 years ago, a new church was consecrated in the fast-growing area of Kennington with a mighty steeple that remains to this day the tallest in South London.
Matters of life and death in a 17th-century church
Just around the corner from Bank tube station, an exhibition exploring the fleeting nature of life and the spectre of death has opened, appropriately enough for the topic, in an old church.
The wonderfully restored interior of All Saint’s Margaret Street
Peeking out above the shops and offices just to the North of Oxford Street can be found one of the great hidden marvels of English church building.
A look inside the modern St Barnabas church in Dulwich
On the 7th December 1992, a Victorian gothic church on top of a hill in Dulwich burnt down, following an arson attack.
Chance to see inside the Lost Church under Charing Cross Station
There sits underneath the forecourt of Charing Cross railway station a hidden marvel, the remains of a Hawksmoor designed church that is today sealed off and hidden — except for one prominent and often misattributed visible sign of its existence.
The 300 year old Chapel of Ease just off Oxford Street
Just behind Debenhams on Oxford Street can be found a building that looks like a church, but isn’t. A building that was consecrated, but not as a church, even though it is used for worship.
A hidden oasis of calm next to Marble Arch
A quiet haven of peace sits on blood-stained land opposite Hyde Park. A living memorial to those who died for their beliefs in more troubled times.
Simon Jenkins on the English Church
I found a rather curious little series on Channel 4 a few weeks ago and recently finished watching the last of the six half-hour episodes.
Mayfair’s masterpiece of the Gothic Revival
Nestled in amongst the back streets of posh Mayfair you can find one of London’s greatest Gothic Revival churches.
A look at the secular enclave within Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, that mighty bastion of religion has an alien invader amongst its midst, a couple of buildings that were nominally religious, but have spent the past 800 years performing more secular duties.
King’s College Hospital’s Centenary Celebrations
It is one hundred years since an old hospital in the City of London moved away from its traditional home to the outskirts of the city, in what was at the time the small towns around Denmark Hill.
A rare oasis of calm in Camden Town
Camden town, that bustling heart of youth and arts has a seemingly rather overlooked oasis of peace and calm – sitting right next to the huge Sainsburys.
A look around St Mary-at-Finchley Church
A short walk from Finchley Central tube station can be found the area’s oldest church – a site of Christian worship that can be reliably dated back at least 800 years.
A look around St Pancras Old Church
Behind St Pancras station sits an old church. It only became an old church when a new church was built nearby, and while considered to be very old, it is actually fairly new, but on the site that is quite old, but probably not as old as some people claim.
The hidden garden opposite Cannon Street Station
If you come out of Cannon Street station stop and pause a moment, then look across the road. You might spy an insignificant side road sitting next to the modern steel ribbed building directly opposite. It’s worth taking a wander over and having a look – for the short road curves round a corner, and around there you will find one of London’s oldest church yards – and now a recently revamped public garden.
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