Author: The City Gent Page 1 of 151

The extraordinary Fitzrovia Chapel.

On 14th May 2026

In Architecture, Religion, Social History

I went west again last week with a view to visiting some interesting places of worship having now, over the years, written about all the City of London churches (you’ll find my earlier blogs under the Category ‘Religion’).

The outside of the Fitzrovia Chapel is decoration-free red brick, offering not a clue as to what awaits you when you enter …

Nothing quite prepared me for the effect the chapel had on me when I walked in …

A wonderful sense of peace and tranquility. I immediately stepped forward, took a seat close to the altar, and sat in silent contemplation …

For over 100 years, the chapel served as a place of solace, prayer and rest for staff and patients of the Middlesex Hospital and their families. It was always open between services, and groups of different faiths (and none) from within the hospital gathered in the tiny building throughout the working week. Marriages between medical staff, or between very ill patients and their partners, took place here, as well as concerts, memorials, seasonable celebrations and choir rehearsals.

Notes on the chapel website tell us that many present-day visitors have spent time here before, whether as a medical professional, family member or patient and the memories they share contain moving descriptions of chapel life in the past. Doctors or nurses visiting to find quiet after a difficult shift; porters sitting quietly in the candlelight reflecting on a day’s work; mothers taking their first trip out of the ward with their new-borns; or families and friends returning to the chapel time after time while caring for their loved ones. This tiny chapel provided a space for the population of the Middlesex Hospital to attend to their interior lives — their needs, hopes, griefs and celebrations were routinely observed beneath its starry ceiling …

The Middlesex Hospital was founded in 1745 and, by 1757, had moved to a larger, purpose-built site on Mortimer Street, which would be its home until closure in 2008.

The hospital in 2007, just before demolition …

The three acre site in September 2008, with the little chapel preserved amid the desolation …

The hospital was originally built without a dedicated chapel. Prayers and religious services took place in the simplicity of its wood-panelled Board Room. But in the 1880s one of the hospital’s surgeons, George Lawson, suggested that the existing ‘dead-house’ could be converted into a new chapel. Lawson recommended an architect, and offered money towards the project. Within a decade sufficient funds had been raised to erect a hospital chapel on the site of the old mortuary and post-mortem room. An important tranche of funding came from a lady governor in memory of the hospital’s Chairman, Alexander Ross. The chapel’s main carcase was up and roofed by 1890, but the interior decoration took longer to complete. A commitment had been made that no money raised for the care of patients should be spent on the chapel, so the interior was completed gradually over the next 50 years, as donations large and small permitted. Appeals were run, musical concerts performed, bequests arranged, and funds for memorials collected.

John Loughborough Pearson, the architect behind Two Temple Place, was commissioned to design the chapel. Construction started in 1891 when Pearson was already near the end of his life and, after John’s death in 1897, his son Frank took over.

The fabric of the chapel was allowed to decline in the closing decades of the hospital and a £2 million restoration of the chapel was carried out by conservation architects Caroe & Partners between 2013 and 2015. It involved improvements to external brickwork, and extensive work on the mosaic ceiling, which had suffered greatly due to water ingress. The external roof had aged poorly, penetrated by rainwater which damaged mosaics and several marble panels. In some places, up to 70% of the ceiling tiles required re-gilding, and extensive scaffolding was erected throughout the chapel to enable restorers to access and restore designs.

King Charles III delivered his 2024 Christmas message from the chapel, a significant break from tradition marking the first time in over a decade it was filmed outside a royal residence …

The choice highlighted his focus on healthcare, community and unity following his and the Princess of Wales’s cancer treatment.

Here are images of some of the features of the chapel I captured for the blog.

The font in the stunning south west apse …

It’s carved from a single block of green marble …

It contains a Greek palindrome copied from the Cathedral of St Sophia in Constantinople:

Νίψον ἀνομήματα, μὴ μόναν ὄψιν
(Wash the sins, not only the face)

This inscription can also be found on the font in St Martin within Ludgate on Ludgate Hill in the City …

You can read more about this church in my blog of July 2022.

The aumbry was given in memory of Prince Francis of Teck who died in 1910 and was the younger brother of Queen Mary. It features a carving of the Pelican in her Piety, a common image of redemption in ecclesiastical design …

There is also some very good stained glass …

Rudyard Kipling’s body rested here in January 1936 following his death at the adjacent hospital before his funeral at Westminster Abbey …

In the entrance narthex, 85 plaques honour donors, distinguished hospital staff, and staff who died on duty, with many dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries …

My eyes were drawn to this plaque …

Beck became a consultant neurosurgeon at the hospital in 1947, making her the first female consultant at a London teaching hospital that did not admit women students. At Middlesex, she was the first woman and the first neurosurgeon on staff, as well as being the only consultant neurosurgeon in western Europe and North America at the time …

In 1952 she received attention in the press for performing lifesaving surgery on A. A. Milne, the author of Winnie-the Pooh two months after he suffered a brain haemorrhage.

You can read more about the chapel here. And here are some contributions by two of my favourite bloggers: A London Inheritance and Living London History.

On my church agenda was the Grade 1 listed All Saints Church, Margaret Street, a Victorian masterpiece …

I shall aim to write more about it next week along with another church of similar vintage I visited last week in my western travels. It boasted a model of the building made of matchsticks …

It was created, the notice says, ‘by a talented member of the choir’. Bless.

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Happy Anniversary America!

By The City Gent

On 7th May 2026

In Social History, Special Exhibitions

Marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a display in the Guildhall Heritage Gallery celebrates the political, cultural and diplomatic links that have connected the United States and the City of London over more than two centuries. Through rare documents and symbolic objects, it highlights moments of shared history during times of change, conflict and collaboration.

The parish register for All Hallows by the Tower records the marriage of John Quincy Adams and Louisa Johnson on 26 July 1797. Adams served as the sixth president of the United States of America between 1825 and 1829. He undertook diplomatic missions and was visiting London for the signing of a treaty when he met Louisa, the daughter of Joshua Johnson of Maryland. Members of the Adams and Johnson families acted as witnesses to the marriage ceremony and their signatures can be seen on the register …

For almost two hundred years Louisa was the only non-American First Lady until the inauguration of President Trump on 20 January 2017. You can read more about her later in the blog.

Peal and Company produced bespoke footwear between 1791 and 1965. Originally established in Stepney Green, their success allowed them to relocate to addresses in the West End. An early stage in the company’s process was drawing an outline of the customer’s foot (or both feet) in one of the company’s ‘Feet Books’ with measurements and irregularities noted. This information was then used to make a pair of lasts, which replicate the foot of the client. Peal and Company’s reach was international and one of the many American clients was Dean Martin, with the page from the Feet Book showing the outline of his right foot and his address in Beverley Hills …

This silk bookmark commemorates the assassination on 14 April 1865 of Abraham Lincoln, President from 1861 …

From the mid seventeenth century, labour shortages in the American colonies meant that many (mainly young) people who sought to emigrate but lacked the means to pay their fares bound themselves to serve for a specific number of years, without pay, in return for their passage. This practice, known as indentured servitude, brought many thousands of men, women and children to America. While some entered this agreement willingly, many others were misled or forcibly coerced. As the main English port to the Atlantic, London was a principal embarking point.

An 18th century trans-Atlantic sailing vessel (image © Royal Museums Greenwich) …

After working the length of the agreement, some chose to return to England; however many did not or could not. Opportunities within the colonies were available, especially for the earliest emigrants. The agreements shown here are for Robert Starling from Norwich and William Miles from Worcestershire, who were bound to serve the merchant John Dykes of London in Virginia …

The records do not provide details of their work in America or how their stories continued and the experience of indentured servants and the conditions they faced would have varied widely. Indentured service happened alongside other forms of unfree labour and large-scale forced population movements, including the transportation of convicts (many of whom served as indentured labourers) and, increasingly, the transatlantic trade in enslaved people. The economy on both sides of the Atlantic, the fortunes of a multitude of individuals and institutions and the fate of others were entwined in these practices.

Convicts on their way to America (image © Family Tree.com) …

Also on display is the order of service for the memorial service on 1 December 1963 at St Paul’s Cathedral following the assassination of President John F Kennedy in 22 November 1963 …

‘Letters from the American colonies’ …

By the 1770s the relationship between Britain and her American colonies had deteriorated, particularly over the question of import taxes. The City of London Corporation was very opposed to British government policy on this issue, partly for commercial reasons (merchants feared losing valuable trade if American ports were closed) and a belief that the policy was going against the English libertarian tradition.

John Wilkes, London politician and Lord Mayor between 1774 and 1775, famously championed the American cause. In April 1775 a remonstrance, or protest, was published declaring “… abhorrence of the measures, which have been pursu’d, & are now pursuing, to the Oppression of our Fellow Subjects in America”. King george III replied: “It is with utmost astonishment that I find any of my Subjects capable of encouraging the rebellious disposition which unhappily exists in some of my Colonies in North America”.

Wilkes by William Hogarth …

A letter from New York.

The General Committee of Association of the City and County of New York was elected in April 1775. At first the Committee was loyal to the British Crown (while opposing the laws of the British Parliament). It knew of the views of the City of London Corporation and the Lord Mayor, and on 5 May 1775 wrote to the City …

It expressed a wish “… on our part for an indissoluble union with the Parent State, studious to promote Glory and Happiness of the Empire…“

The Committee went on to say it was “impressed with a just sense of the Necessity of a Controlling authority to regulate and harmonize the discordant commercial interests of its various parts, we cheerfully submit to a Regulation of Commerce by the Legislature of the Parent State, excluding in its nature every idea of taxation”. The Committee appealed to the City of London to do all it could to “…restore union, mutual confidence and peace to the whole Empire”.

A letter from Philadelphia

In September 1775 another letter was sent to the City of London, this time from the Congress in Philadelphia. This letter thanks London “for the virtuous and unsolicited resentment you have shewn to the violated rights of a free people”. It also said “North America … wishes most ardently for a lasting connection with Great Britain on terms of just & equal liberty”.

Congress wished to keep relations with the City of London on a positive and friendly basis, anticipating a time when trading links could flourish. The letter was signed by its President, John Hancock …

In 1776 Hancock presided over the debate on the Declaration of Independence and was its first signatory.

The City of London continued to express its strong disapproval of government policy throughout the period of the war. In 1781, another remonstrance was issued to the King, stating “… our abhorrence of the Continuation of this unnatural and unfortunate war”. When peace came in 1783 the City congratulated George III on paying “final attention” to their petitions.

The Honorary Freedom is the highest honour the City of London Corporation can bestow and awards are recorded in the ‘Roll of Fame’. When the City wishes to honour an individual, a special resolution is passed by the Court of Common Council. Once passed the recipient is formally admitted to the Freedom by the Chamberlain of London at a ceremony at Guildhall. Recipients who are not subjects of Britain or the Commonwealth and are therefore not able to take the freeman’s oath or declaration of allegiance to the British monarch are not technically admitted to the freedom but instead appear in the Roll of Fame as having been voted the honour. Military and naval recipients were usually given a sword to accompany the grant.

On display is the Roll of Fame …

It is open at the entry for General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force. The honour was given as a mark of appreciation for his part in the defeat of German Forces during the Second World War. The Honorary Freedom was voted on 24 May 1945, and the entry notes that Eisenhower was unable to make the declaration but attended Guildhall on 12 June to receive the honour.

He went on to serve as president of the United States of America from 1953 to 1961.

If you get the chance to visit All Hallows by the Tower there are connections to William Penn as well as John Quincy Adams. Items to look out for include the marriage register mentioned above.

William Penn junior was baptised in the church and this memorial to commemorate the event was erected in 1911. It was damaged in the wartime bombing …

William’s father, Admiral Sir William Penn, was Commissioner of the nearby Navy Office and his son’s baptism took place on 23 October 1644. The Baptismal Register recording the occasion …

Penn’s entry is number 23 on the right hand page.

More about John Quincy Adams’s very talented wife …

The relevant entry in the 1797 Marriage Register …

As our King Charles III declared on his recent visit there: ‘God Bless the United States, and God Bless the United Kingdom’.

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Sculpture selection (plus some birds, a weird brand name and a sad sight in the recycling corner).

By The City Gent

On 30th April 2026

In Animals, Sculpture

Sculpture is going to feature highly in my next book so I’ve been out in the recent lovely weather revisiting some old favourites. I know they have featured in previous blogs but I hope you won’t mind me sharing them again.

First up is the Royal Fusiliers War Memorial, a work by Albert Toft. Unveiled by the Lord Mayor in 1922, the inscriptions read …

To the glorious memory of the 22,000 Royal Fusiliers who fell in the Great War 1914-1919 (and added later) To the Royal Fusiliers who fell in the World war 1939-1945 and those fusiliers killed in subsequent campaigns.

Toft’s soldier stands confidently as he surveys the terrain, his foot resting on a rock, his rifle bayoneted, his left hand clenched in determination. At the boundary of the City, he looks defiantly towards Westminster. The general consensus on the internet is that the model for the sculpture was a Sergeant Cox, who served throughout the First World War.

Behind him is the magnificent, red terracotta, Gothic-style building by J.W. Waterhouse, which once housed the headquarters of the Prudential Insurance Company. The entrance incorporates a sculpture of Prudence carrying one of the attributes of this Virtue, a hand mirror …

Every now and then I have to travel to King’s Cross St Pancras and when I do I occasionally like to make my way up to the Upper Level (where Eurostar terminates). From there I admire the stunning architecture and one of my favourite statues, a bronze by Martin Jennings of the poet John Betjeman, the man who did most to save the station from demolition …

Apart from the magnificent shed roof you can admire Tracey Emin’s message …

It’s a hot pink neon sculpture, the largest she has ever created …

She made this sweet comment …

I cannot think of anything more romantic than being met by someone I love at a train station and as they put their arms around me, I hear them say ‘I want my time with you‘.

On City Road I encountered these remarkably lifelike characters and their dog …

Always nice to visit St Michael Cornhill. Look to the left on entering and you’ll see the noteworthy Churchwarden’s pew …

The carving shows St Michael thrusting a lance into the mouth of a truly evil-looking devil. It’s a work by the eminent wood carver William Gibbs Rogers (1792-1875) …

The Platt Family cherub endeavours to keep his feet warm …

In Paternoster Square is a 1975 bronze sculpture by Elisabeth Frink which I particularly like – a ‘naked’ shepherd with a crook in his left hand walks behind a small flock of five sheep …

Dame Elisabeth was, anecdotally, very fond of putting large testicles on her sculptures of both men and animals. In fact, her Catalogue Raisonné informs us that she ‘drew testicles on man and beast better than anyone’ and saw them with ‘a fresh, matter-of-fact delight’. It was reported in 1975, however, that the nude figure had been emasculated ‘to avoid any embarrassment in an ecclesiastical setting’. The sculpture is called, appropriately, Paternoster.

This is Alma Boyes’s The Cordwainer …

Here on Watling Street (EC4N 1SR) you are in the Ward of Cordwainer which in medieval times was the centre of shoe-making in the City of London. The finest leather from Cordoba in Spain was used which gave rise to the name of the craftsmen and the Ward.

The magnificent Minotaur by Michael Ayrton. After an itinerant life, he now looks rather wonderful in his more recent location in St Alphage Gardens …

St Stephen Walbrook is another great Wren church. The earliest monument in the Church is to John Lilburne (d.1678), citizen and grocer, of the Lilburn family of Sunderland, and his wife Isabella …

And how about its memento mori, a sculpture of a woman dancing with Death, who is a skeleton wearing a long skirt …

I love visiting St Olave Hart Street. It’s tiny and wonderfully atmospheric, being one of the few surviving Medieval buildings in London. It was badly damaged during the War but many of its treasures had been removed to safety and others have been beautifully restored.

I first visited with my camera some years ago when I was writing about Samuel Pepys and I was immediately captivated by this sculpture of his wife Elizabeth. She died of typhoid fever at the age of 29 and, despite his dalliances with other women, Pepys was devastated by her death at such a young age. He commissioned this bust in white marble from the sculptor John Bushnell …

She is shown with her gaze directed towards the location of the Navy Office Pew where her husband would have sat, her mouth open as if in conversation.

His pew was in the gallery he had had built on the south wall of the church with an added outside stairway from the Royal Navy Offices so that he could go to church without getting soaked by the rain. The gallery is now gone but a memorial to Pepys marks the location of the stairway’s door …

Pepys never married again and arranged to be buried in St Olave’s next to Christine. Now they face one another across the aisle for eternity.

On a more lighthearted vein, walk east from the Memorial on the north side of the road and you’ll find this chap frantically trying to hail a taxi …

Taxi! by the American Sculptor J Seward Johnson is cast bronze and is now interestingly weathered. If you think the baggy trousers, moustache and side parting are erring on the retro, that’s because this particular office worker was transferred from New York in 2014. It was sculpted in 1983 and originally stood on Park Avenue and 47th Street.

Prince Albert at Holborn …

Here is a close up of the Prince taken from the north …

Still a very handsome chap despite the bald patch. The statue was sited to show off his profile ‘from the new street leading to the market’.

Another handsome chap. Since the weather was so nice, I took the opportunity to capture this profile of the one-time Dean of St Paul’s John Donne …

*John Donne 1572 – 1631 by Nigel Boonham (2012)*

Not quite so handsome – the only statue I know of where the subject has an obvious squint …

The inscription reads: A champion of English freedom, John Wilkes 1727-1797, Member of Parliament, Lord Mayor.

In my local church, St Giles-without-Cripplegate, there is this touching memorial to Sir William Staines, a contemporary of Wilkes …

And here is the man himself …

Staines had extremely humble beginnings working as a bricklayer’s labourer, but eventually accumulated a large fortune which he generously used for philanthropic purposes. He seemed to recall his own earlier penury when he ensured that the houses he built for ‘aged and indigent’ folk would have ‘nothing to distinguish them from the other dwelling-houses … to denote the poverty of the inhabitant’.

British History Online records an encounter he had with the notorious Wilkes who referred rather rudely to Staines’ original occupation …

The alderman was an illiterate man, and was a sort of butt amongst his brethren. At one of the Old Bailey dinners, after a sumptuous repast of turtle and venison, Sir William was eating a great quantity of butter with his cheese. “Why, brother,” said Wilkes, “you lay it on with a trowel!”

Sir William’s family vault outside the church …

So good it survived the Second World War bombing, although I’m afraid the remains of its 15 occupants (including eight ‘infants’) did not.

You can read the full inscription here.

Every now and then someone puts breadcrumbs out for the pigeons on the Barbican Terrace and this time two ducks decided to have a snack too. I didn’t think their beaks would be suitable for this task but obviously they were …

A weird brand name …

It oviously sparked my curiosity and I Googled it. Bet you do too.

And finally …

One minute you’re being cuddled, next minute you’re a ‘Bulky Household Item’ put out for recycling. Life for a soft toy is very precarious.

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