A quick tour of the six remaining churches designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, an 18th century architect who worked with Wren, but who has achieved fame (some say notoriety) in his own right (thanks to Iain Sinclair, Peter Ackroyd, and Alan Moore and their compelling writings). .
These baroque churches are among the finest in greater London. In order, they are:
St. George Bloomsbury (around the corner from the British Museum. Note the ziggurat steeple topped with George I dressed as a Roman).
St. Mary Woolnoth (Lombard Street. T. S. Eliot noted her in The Waste Land. the man who wrote Amazing Grace, an abolitionist and former slave ship captain, preached here).
Christ Church Spitalfields (across from The Ten Bells, a pub much associated with Jack the Ripper).
St. George in the East (the first victims of the Ratcliff Highway murders are buried here. The accused murderer was buried around the corner at a crossroads).
St. Anne Limehouse (a stunning church whose grounds feature a pyramid–subject of much speculation–etched with “The wisdom of Solomon”).
St. Alfege Greenwich (Henry VIII was baptized on this site)
St Luke Old Street (only the steeple, I’m afraid. Each time I walk past I forget to snap a shot).
All shots taken at different times, different years, hence discrepancies.
Do you have a favorite Hawksmoor church?
JACQUELINE A. POLLARD 