St Mary Abchurch Greater London hotels:

The name comes possibly from 'Up Church'. It is a little square box of a church, by Wren, tucked away in a little courtyard which was once the graveyard, but now a place to sit and eat your sandwiches.
It is not only one of Wren's prettiest churches, but also the one that has least altered since it was built in 1686. It is reknowned for its splendid carved wood interior, especially the reredos, or altar piece, by the master Grinling Gibbons, with its lively swags of flowers. After the church was bombed in 1940 the reredos lay in over 2000 pieces. It took five years of painstaking work to restore it. Sadly the dog kennel which used to be under one of the pews has not survived. One of Wren's finest churches and least spoilt churches. It has a magnificent dome and an altarpiece by Grinling Gibbons and has been described as a treasury of 17thC art. Features examples of work by the greatest craftsmen of the day, including magnificent reredos with carving by Grinling Gibbons, pulpit by William Grey, door cases, font cover, rails and Royal Arms by William Emmett. Original high box pews on 3 sides of the church. The glorious painted dome is the work of William Snow and depicts worship in heaven.