London churches of the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries

birch01.jpg

This is another of those books that I’ve been led to by the requirements of the current workload, in this case the need to find pictures of a particular London church. George H. Birch’s book was published in 1896, and while it’s possible to find contemporary photographs of these buildings, I like the exterior views for showing the churches in a different time to our own.

birch02.jpg

The photographs were by Charles Latham who avoids the usual street-level portraits in favour of views of each steeple from the highest floors of surrounding offices and warehouses. The buildings of London in the 1890s didn’t reach very far, St Paul’s Cathedral still dominated the City skyline, but Latham’s pictures have the additional attraction of showing us that skyline as it was over a century ago, before it was radically reconfigured by the bombs of the Luftwaffe and several generations of planners and architects. George H. Birch was the curator at the time of one of my favourite places in London, the Sir John Soane Museum. Browse or download the rest of his book here.

birch03.jpg

birch04.jpg

birch05.jpg

birch06.jpg

birch07.jpg

birch08.jpg

birch09.jpg

birch10.jpg

birch11.jpg

birch12.jpg

birch13.jpg

birch14.jpg

birch15.jpg

birch16.jpg

birch17.jpg

birch18.jpg

birch19.jpg

birch20.jpg

birch21.jpg

Previously on { feuilleton }
Terror and magnificence

Discover more from { feuilleton }

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading