This parish church to the Royal Family is a delightful fusion of neoclassical and baroque styles. It was designed by architect James Gibbs, completed in 1726 and served as a model for many wooden churches in New England, USA. The church is well known for its excellent classical music concerts, many by candlelight (£9 to £32), and its links to the Chinese community (with services in English, Mandarin and Cantonese).
The wonderful Cafe in the Crypt hosts a range of concerts and events; there are also free lunchtime concerts at 1pm on Thursdays. The shop offers brass rubbing daily during opening hours, an activity adored by the Victorians, in which paper is placed over a brass etching and colored over with a wax crayon so you can take your own copy away (from £6.50).
In 2006, refurbishment excavations unearthed a 1.5-tonne limestone Roman sarcophagus from about 410 CE in the churchyard – a significant find, as this area was far outside the bounds of Roman Londinium.
