St George's Bloomsbury, London, UK
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Team Sieni
N 51° 31.062 W 000° 07.452
30U E 699520 N 5711318
The steeple of St George's Church Bloomsbury, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, is a stepped pyramid of classical design; it appears in William Hogarth's engraving "Gin Lane" and has recently been extensively restored.
Waymark Code: WM2YR1
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 01/12/2008
Views: 74
St George's Church, Bloomsbury was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and consecrated in 1730.
The steeple is a stepped pyramid, inspired by Pliny's description of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. At the top is a statue of King George I, in Roman dress. This was thought somewhat vainglorious and inappropriate in its time - see here for more details.
At the time of its construction, the steeple was adorned at its base with great stone lions and unicorns. The Lion (of England) and the Unicorn (of Scotland) support the coat of arms of the Monarch. The lions and unicorns on this steeple were "fighting for the crown" quite savagely, reflecting national and political divisions of the time.
The beasts were removed in 1871, and replaced with some nondescript Victorian stonework of drapery and fruits. The sculptor Tim Crawley, working from original drawings, recently re-created them, the project being completed in 2006.
This website details the restoration project, and there is further discussion of the steeple and its restoration in this article from The Daily Telegraph.
The steeple appears in William Hogarth's engraving Gin lane (complete with lion and unicorn). In this print, George the I stands loftily in his toga above the scenes of degradation and debauchery below. An interesting discussion can be found here