St Martin-in-the-Fields
Known
for its royal connections, St Martin’s is the only church to have a
royal box. There has been a church on the site since the 13th century,
but the handsome present building was designed by James Gibbs in 1726.
Coffee shop in the crypt.Trafalgar Square WC2
Open 8am–6:30pm Mon–Sat, services only Sun
Free
Southwark Cathedral
This
priory church was elevated to a cathedral in 1905. It has many
connections with the area’s Elizabethan theatres, and with Shakespeare,
who is commemorated in a memorial and a stained-glass window. US college
founder John Harvard, who was baptised here, is remembered in The
Harvard Chapel.London Bridge SE1
Open 8am–6pm daily
Free
Southwark Catherdal
Temple Church
This
circular church was built in the 12th century for the Knights Templar, a
crusading order. Effigies of the knights are embedded in the floor. A
chancel was added later, and a reredos (screen), designed by Christopher
Wren. The church was rebuilt in 1958.Inner Temple Lane EC4
Open 2–4pm Sun–Thu (check www.templechurch.com for changes)
Free
St Bartholomew-the-Great
A
survivor of the Great Fire, this is London’s only Norman Church apart
from St John’s chapel in the Tower of London. It was founded in 1123 by a
courtier of Henry I, and its solid pillars and Norman choir have
remained unaltered. The 14th-century Lady Chapel, restored by Sir Aston
Webb in 1890, once housed a printing press where Benjamin Franklin
worked .Brompton Oratory
This
very un-English, Italianate church was established by a Catholic
convert, John Henry Newman (1801–90). He introduced England to the
Oratory, a religious institute of secular priests founded in
16th-century Rome. The building, designed by Herbert Gribble, opened in
1884, with many of its treasures imported from Italy.Brompton Road SW7
Open 6:30am–8pm daily
Free
Italianate interior of Brompton Oratory
Brompton Oratory interior
Westminster Cathedral
The
main Roman Catholic church in England is in a fearless Byzantine style,
designed by John Francis Bentley and completed in 1902. It has an 87-m
(285-ft) campanile, which can be climbed for a great view of the city.
Mosaics and marble decorate the interior, which has the widest nave in
Britain.Ashley Place SW1
Open 7am–7pm Mon–Fri, 8am–7pm Sat & Sun
Free
