Church Of St Stephen

The Church of St Stephen, built between 1672 and 1687 by Sir Christopher Wren, is a Grade I listed building located on the east side of Walbrook, EC4. It features a rectangular body supported by stone columns, which hold up a large plaster dome with barrel-vaulted arms and flat ceilings in the corner compartments. The west lobby and porch, along with a vestry and tower to the north, extend to the street.

The exterior is plain, constructed from ashlar, rubble, and brick, with some areas rendered. It includes a simple cornice and blocking, round-arched, circular, and elliptical windows, and a recessed clerestory. The dome is covered with copper, and the tower is plain, built in four stages of squared stone with some Portland stone dressings and refacing. It features a crowning cornice and balustrade, along with an open stone steeple in five diminishing stages topped with a weather vane and Ionic columns at the lowest stage. There is a new enclosed staircase at the base of the north side of the tower. The corniced porch has a round-arched entrance and an enriched elliptical opening above, with stone steps inside leading up to a corniced doorway.

Inside, the church has a Corinthian order of columns and pilasters on low pedestals, complemented by a rich entablature. Eight arches support the coffered dome and lantern, all adorned with plaster enrichment. The clerestory windows are segmentally arched or in the shape of lunettes. While the pavement and some fittings date from the 19th century, several original features remain, including fine wainscot with benching, a reredos (with a 19th-century pediment), a communion table and rails, a pulpit and tester, a west gallery with an organ and a doorway below, and a font with a cover. There is also a large altar piece from the late 18th century by Benjamin West, now located in the north transept, along with notable wall monuments.