7. St Stephen Walbrook

Lovely day, not too much on, took the tube down to Bank, emerged right by St Stephen. Then spent 15 minutes walking round it, trying to find an interesting angle. It's not a beautiful church from the outside - looks very unprepossessing with a plain tower and flank walls that are a mixture of unrelated shapes and materials. There's a Starbucks built inches from the south east corner, a new steel and glass edifice going up behind and the Mansion House dominates the church on the north side. Only the tower can be seen and then only from the north side.
So that's what I drew. Had to sit on the steps of the Nat West, pedestrians stepping on my toes, breathing fumes from the busy road and right in the sun. The sun was so hot that the ink kept drying on the nib which meant drawing was a frustrating experience.
I tried to draw the chaos and confusion that surrounds the ancient building - not sure how successfully.
The church exterior may be uninspiring but the interior is one of Wren's masterpieces. Pevsner says it is one of the 10 most important buildings in the country. Maybe I should include some interiors in this enterprise.
The exterior is as it is because it was completely hemmed in. It was Wren's own parish church and maybe because of this he used it as a test bed for his ideas for St Pauls, particularly the dome. St. Stephen was probably briefly the only church in the country with a dome as St Pauls wasn't finished till much later.
St Stephen's spire was added later - was this Hawksmoor's job again?
Nat West staff came out and smoked nearby. A lady teller professed delight at the drawing. A grandpa stooped with his grand-daughter and they watched for a few minutes.
Two and a quarter hours. Possible sunburn.
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6. St. James, Garlickhythe

Had the chance to zip off at lunchtime to do another church and took it slightly hesitantly. No problems though.
Went looking for St James, found it down a narrow street south east of St Pauls. It's one of the old river bank churches in the maze of medieval lanes that led down to the wharves and jetties along the Thames. The garlic that was unloaded here came in with wine from France and St. James is the Vintners Guild church.
Not my favourite Wren church, it sits awkwardly alongside Upper Thames Street, which was driven through the buildings which used to huddle up to St. James. The south wall of the church was shared with other buildings but is now exposed, with a set of mock windows that match those of the north side.
This church was built tall and its large windows led to it being called 'Wren's lantern' The spire was added to the tower by Hawksmoor 30 years after the church was re-opened.
The Luftwaffe's contribution to the story of St. James was to drop a 500lb HE bomb through the roof, which buried itself under the nave. Luckily it didn't explode, or I would have being drawing somewhere else today.
Apparently, St James suffered a bizarre accident in 1991 when a crane fell across the road to demolish the centre of the South front. Luckily, it was possible to repair the damage.
The new road meant that I could get a great view from a coffee shop (probably built in 1991!). So I sat in air-conditioned comfort with the pad on a table. Luxury.
I used the same nib as last time and went for the thick wobbly line that worked so well. I drew the steel and glass wall of the coffee shop, and didn't even think about drawing traffic or people.
Visited by two of the local alkies who, after giving me the thumbs up through the window, came in to discuss art. They professed themselves stunned by the brilliance of the drawing and after I wished them a good day they replied they certainly would, having seen such a great drawing.
Cafe staff left me alone. My only regret - didn't have any cash and the cafe didn't take cards, so couldn't buy a coffee.
Two and a quarter hours total.
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5. St Bride's, Fleet Street

At last. Six months since the last drawing and finally felt OK about going off for two hours at lunchtime. Lovely warm day, came back with one of best drawings so far.
In 1500, England's first press with movable type was brought to rooms next to the old St Pauls, to be close to one of it's best customers. This is why Fleet Street has been associated with the press ever since. St. Brides is the journalists' church just south of the street of shame near Ludgate Circus.

After the great fire, the congregation quickly raised £500 to start the rebuilding and Wren got straight on with the job. The Old Bell pub right next to the church was built by Wren for the workmen.
It was damaged by the Luftwaffe incendiary bombing. The church was burned to the ground, but the steeple survived, despite the fire being so hot that the church bell melted. St Bride's was restored in the '50s to Wren's original plans, thus losing all the additional bits it had gained over the centuries.
St Bride's spire is supposed to have been the inspiration behind countless wedding cakes.
Arriving on the bike from Fleet Street, St. Bride can just be seen down a narrow walkway. It turns out to be hemmed in on all sides by tall buildings and impossible to see from any distance. (I bet there's a great view from the top floor of one of the offices though.) So, I retired across Fleet St. and sat in the doorway to the old, beautifully Deco Daily Express building.
Really pleased with the result - spent much longer drawing the buildings and street than St Bride's which is mostly hidden. But, this is the idea - Wren's churches in their 21st century setting. Used a thicker wobbly line, didn't get obsessed by church detail, like result.
2 hours 15 mins, to get back to my desk. Sat on pavement in doorway. Forgot blotter - Eat generously provided one for finished drawing.
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