St. Paul’s Church, Covent Garden, London, UK - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

In 1973, Great Britain issued a set of four postage stamps celebrating the 400th anniversary of the birth of Inigo Jones. Jones is considered to be the first notable English architect and the one who introduced the classical architectural elements of ancient Rome and the Italian Renaissance to England.

Around 1630, Francis Russell, the fourth Earl of Bedford, undertook to redevelop some of the land he owned north of The Strand by demolishing the existing structures and building new houses to attract court society. Inigo Jones was commissioned to do the design work. Jones laid out the streets in the form of a square or piazza, the first of its kind in London. The church depicted on the stamp was located at the west end of the square. Around the north and east sides were residences described by Jones as “portico” houses, none of which survive today.

An often repeated anecdote has Lord Bedford, who wanted a church as part of his new development, suggesting to Jones that it be kept simple, “not much better than a barn.” Inigo Jones’ alleged reply was “then you shall have the handsomest barn in England!” The resulting design shows the influences Jones received from Italian Renaissance architects such as Andrea Palladio who had been resurrecting elements of ancient Etruscan temples in their own designs.

Jones had wanted the entrance to the church facing the square and designed it thus. However, members of the clergy insisted that the altar be located on the east side, so although there is still a door facing the square, it’s only a decoration. The actual entrance is through the courtyard around the back.

Inigo Jones’ other notable designs include the Queen’s House at Greenwich, the new Exchange in the Strand in London and the Prince’s Lodging in Newmarket. This latter building is also shown on one of the stamps in the set as is Jones’ other passion: set and costume design for the Masque at Court. Jones designed elaborate sets and costumes for these productions, often in collaboration with poet Ben Jonson, throughout the first half of the 17th century. This continued up until the time the Court Masque fell out of favor after the British Civil War.

There have been some minor alterations made to the church over the years due to fires and other repairs but Jones’ original design remains largely intact. The church has also had a longstanding association with the theater community and is sometimes affectionately called the “actors’ church.” In fact, the church’s official website is called actorschurch.org.

Stamp Issuing Country: Great Britain Date of Issue: 15-Aug-1973 Denomination: 3p Color: multicolored Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

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