4. St Benet

Two drawings in two days. Not so busy at work yesterday so took the chance to go down to Benet's Hill and discovered a church that took me completely by surprise. It looks unlike any of the other churches I have drawn and sits on an island of green on the side of a hill. It must have been quite close to the water when Wren built it. Paul's Wharf, a Roman wharf is close by. It's now surrounded by roads and looks a bit lost and forgotten.
Wren designed St Benet in the manner of a Dutch country church. The tower sits on the foundations of the tower destroyed in the great fire. Underneath Wren's stucco are some very ancient and sooty walls.
The Victorians had no use for St. Benet and it was planned to be demolished. The Welsh saved it and there are Welsh language services in it every Sunday. St. Benet is one of only four Wren churches to avoid the kiss of the Luftwaffe.
It started drizzling as I cycled down there, so I had to sit in an underpass. This is why the angle I drew from is so extreme and I'm not that happy with the result.
Seat: borrowed from council depot next to underpass. I borrowed a lump of wood, but a very nice lady offered me a seat sized piece instead.
A local tramp came and sat down with me and we conversed a little. His most common question was 'Youallrighmate?'
I want to go back and draw it again with the roads and traffic encompassing it. We'll see whether the attraction of going to new churches outweighs this desire.
Two and a quarter hours. Absolutely freezing toes.
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3. St Vedast-Alias-Foster

November 08
Cold bright November day. Sun came out at one point and illuminated the church so beautifully I couldn't help laughing.
St Vedast is just off Cheapside on Foster Lane, thus the name. It's about 200 yards from St Mary le Bow, my number two. Wren could have checked on building works on both churches from on spot. St Vedast is a much smaller church than St Mary and I thought much more attractive.
It was an ancient church destroyed by the Great Fire in 1666. wren rebuilt it 'from the ground up' so I assume it is on it's original footings. The Luftwaffe destroyed it again, but the spire survived. It was restored in the 60s.
Wanted this drawing to be more energetic, I'll need to give it time before I can decide whether it's successful. The line got wobblier as I got colder. The foreground drawing is pretty loose as a result.
Height of spire divided into 3 equal sections but when I tried to draw the top section it looked too squat. So I made it much taller on the page.
I really wanted to have more of the bike rack in the foreground but cold and time conspired against me. Also, at the time, I felt there should have been more traffic.
Grabbed napkin from Starbucks to blot the wet ink so I could go home. Must remember - take blotter.
Two and a quarter hours.
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2. St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside

September 08
Approached this drawing with more confidence. St Mary-le-Bow is a big church on Cheapside with loads of Wren's twiddley bits on the spire. Worked hard at initial phase of proportions, definitely worth it, drawing looked better than St Martins as a result. However, took over two hours - questions asked when I got back to work.
Big building site behind church, enormous modern building being finished off. Works much better with St Mary than the disaster in the foreground though.
Couldn't work out why the enormous heavy black clock had been deemed appropriate for Wren's delicate classicism...
Sat on planter on pavement.
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1. St Martin Within Ludgate

September 08
The first drawing. Found the kind of angle I was hoping to. Down a narrow street, right opposite the front door.
St. Martin is on Ludgate Hill within a few yards of St Pauls and Wren designed the spire to look right in such close proximity.
Sat on a bread tray from outside 'Fresh Snacks' right next to an air-con outlet. Nice and warm. Drew for an hour and three quarters.
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