I wandered into Christ Church, Spitalfields mostly to shelter from a sudden downpour. Built between 1714 and and 1719 it was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor who worked alongside Christopher Wren. It was one of the first “commissioners’ churches” which had been established by Act of Parliament in 1711 to build fifty new churches for London’s expanding population.
St Leonard’s Church in Wollaton, Nottingham, has been around since the 1200s and it would have fallen under the care of the Mortein and then the Willoughby families, owners of the nearby Wollaton Hall.
I’ve been to the Rock Cemetery, next to the Forest Recreation Ground, a number of times to take photographs (as you’ll see it contains some lovely monuments) but the main reason for my visit on this occasion was to make a pilgrimage of sorts to the grave of Watson Fothergill, the Nottingham architect I’ve written about a number of times.
Derby Cathedral, or the Cathedral of All Saints, became a cathedral in 1927 with much of the current building dating from around 1725 and having been designed by James Gibbs, who also designed St Martin-in-the-Fields. There has been a church on the site however dating back to around 943.
The Monument was designed by Christopher Wren to commemorate the Great Fire of London which started in nearby Pudding Lane on 2 September 1666. The Monument is 202 feet high, the exact distance between it and where the fire began.
Although Witley Parish Church is adjacent to Witley Court, the church is separate and does not receive any aid from English Heritage. It is, however, an absolute must-see if you are intending to visit the Court. It doesn’t look very impressive from the outside, but the inside is nothing short of breathtaking. I had been told that it was beautiful, but nothing had quite prepared me for the reality.
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