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This Georgian church was commissioned
by parliament under the Fifty New Churches Act. Passed
in 1711, this act aimed to combat the spread of Non-Conformism.
St George's was designed by Nicholas
Hawksmore, and built between 1716 - 31 as the place of worship
for the wealthy residents of the newly-developed, Bloomsbury.
By the time it was completed the Duke of Bedford and the Duke
of Montagu had become local residents and vestrymen of the
church.
The eccentric building has a
Corinthian portico, supported by six columns, with a pyramid-like
steeple rising on the west side. The steeple was inspired
by Pliny's description of the tomb of King Mausolus, the original
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus in Turkey. Depicted by Hogarth
in 'Gin Lane' in 1751, the steeple originally was adorned
with lions, unicorns, festoons and crowns but these were removed
in 1871. Crowning the steeple is a statue of George I wearing
a Roman toga, which for many years was an object of derision
as the king was thought to look too heroic.
St George's has an unusual centralised
plan. Despite the high social status of the locality
the church was built on a cramped site with a north -south
axis rather than the usual east - west. Nevertheless,
Hawksmore created an apse at the traditional east end to house
the altar and reredos. When the interior was changed
to provide more seating in 1781, the altar and reredos were
moved to the north wall.
St George's originally had north
and south galleries, with the Duke of Monatagu's to the north
and the Duke of Bedford's to the south. The black and
white marble paving dates from the 1930s, but the splendid
neo-Classical interior is enhanced by some fine gilded plasterwork.
The only prominent monument at
St George's commemorates Charles Grant, Chairman of the East
India Company, who died in 1823. The memorial was commissioned
by the East India Company and carved by Samuel Manning.
Admission free
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