You can imagine why the artistically gifted Lady Sarah Chatto, daughter of Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon, would have chosen to have her wedding held underneath this beautiful dome.
This is St Stephen Walbrook in the heart of the City of London and nestling in the shadow of the Lord Mayor’s Mansion House. It was re-built by Christopher Wren after it was destroyed in the great fire of London in 1666.
After more damage in World War Two bombing raids, it was re-built again in the same style. Wren was more than likely a parishioner of the original destroyed church, and this one was considered to be his blueprint for his major creation, St Paul’s Cathedral, less than half a mile up the road.
It’s crowning glory, for me anyway, is this dome. That and knowing that the man who masterminded the church’s construction was hailed as “that miracle of youth”.
He was certainly one who as a mathematician, astronomer and alumni of Oxford University believed heartily in, as he put it, “beauty through geometry”. His finished buildings amply demonstrate this.
