According to the large plan. published by Gwyn, the external length of the building, from east to west. exclusive of the projection of the portico, appears to be 502 feet ; from north to south, the two circular porticos, ;244 feet ; the breadth of the western front, 177 ; the diameter of the octagonal area, at the crossing of the nave and transept, 107 ; the diameter of the tambour of the dome, 112 ; and the diameter of the dome itself, U. The total height, from the pavement of the church-yard, to the top of the cross, is 370 feet. The total expense of the building amounted to £7.17.95t. 3s. which was defrayed by a duty on coals imported into London ; but not less than Os. 5d. was furnished by voluntary contributions, chiefly from the clergy. See The Fine Arts of the English School, edited by John Britton, F. S. A.
Sir Christopher was architect of no less than fifty-one parish-ehurches in the metropolis, besides the cathedral and other public buildings, but of these we cannot speak parti cularly, we can only mention such as are more deserving of notice.
St.. Stephen's, Walbrook, is looked upon by some as Wren's master-piece, not even excepting St. Paul's, and the interior certainly is worthy of much praise both for taste and pro portion, although by no means thultless. The exterior of the church, like those of the greater number of his churches, has no pretensions to beauty, being plain even to ugliness, if we except the steeple.
The interior, which approaches a parallelogram in plan, is divided into three aisles, and a cross aisle by four rows of Corinthian columns raised on pedestals ; these support the roof, which is divided into compartments. The central por tion of the church is covered by a dome, which is finely pro portioned and divided into small compartments, decorated with great elegance, and crowned with a lantern. On the sides. under the lower roofs., are circular windows, but those which light the upper roof are small arched ones; and at the east end are three larger arched windows. The dimen sions of the building are :—length 75 feet, breadth 36 feet, height to roof 34 feet, and to lantern 55 feet.
Of' the remaining churches, those most worthy of notice are St. Bride's and St. Mary-le-Bow, and these are remark able more especially for their steeples, a feature introduced by Wren into his churches, and one on which he bestowed his principal care, many of his churches beinp-. in other respects little worthy of the praise that has been bestowed upon them..
The steeple of St. Bride's is certainly a very excellent
composition. The spire is placed on a lofty tower, is octagon in plan, and consists of fimr similar octagonal stories placed one above another, and decreasing in dimension as they rise, so as to present a pyramidal appearance. Each tier com prises a single order, having a semicircular-headed aperture on each side of the octagon, and a pilaster at each of its angles, the two lower stories being of the Tuscan order, the third ionic. and the fourth Composite. Above these is a smaller story, which is surmounted by a small spire. The height of this steeple is 220 feet, but it was origi nally eight feet higher, the difference having been deducted after au accident by lightning in 1704.
The spire of St. rises in a similar manner from a lofty square tower ; from a stylobate, on the top of which rises a circular peristyle surmounted by entablature and balustrade. Upon this rises above each column a kind of buttress assuming in profile a curve of double curvature, and falling inwards towards the summit, so as to diminish the horizontal arca. Above this is another peristyle with entablature and buttresses of a similar form above, support ing a small spire which carries the vane. This steeple is deservedly admired.
\V pass by Wren's other churches, and content our selves with enumerating some few of his other works, amongst which the most conspienous in this style are— Greenwich llospital, Theatre at Oxford, College of Physi cians, and Temple Bar.
Of all Wren's pupils, only one attained to any great emi nence, and this was Nicholas Ilawksmore, one of whose churches, that of St. Mary, is of considerable merit ; this church is thus described by Al r. Godwin. Speaking of the interior, he says—• It is nearly square, and on the model of a Roman atrium. Twelve well-proportioned Cor inthian columns, placed three in each angle, at a distance from the outer equal to about one-sixth of the whole width of the church, support an entablature and a clerestory above it, which latter presents a large semicircular window on each of the four sides. The ceiling of the square area enclosed by the elere-story walls, as well as the soffit of the aisles formed by the columns, is profusely decorated with panels and carved mouldings. A ponderous but elegantly ornamented gallery, is introduced on three sides of the church with so much skill, that it does not mar the general effect, as is often, nay, with some few exceptions, always the ca-e.