Church Of St Michael

The Church of St Michael, located on Cornhill EC3, was built between 1670 and 1677 by Sir Christopher Wren, with the tower added from 1715 to 1721 by Nicholas Hawksmoor. The church was remodeled and refitted around 1860 by Sir George Gilbert Scott. It features an aisled body supported by arcades on Doric columns and has plaster vaults. The church includes circular clerestory windows and circular top lights in the aisles. The west tower, which is open to the church, has a vestibule to the south and a porch, entirely designed by Scott, to the north. Much of the exterior is hidden by nearby buildings. The south side of the nave is made of Portland stone and has four round-arched windows filled with 19th-century tracery. The clerestory is rendered with a wooden cornice. The tower, designed in a Gothic style, is made of Portland stone and consists of four main stages, with polygonal turrets topped with ogee caps. The porch is richly decorated in Gothic style, featuring polished pink granite shafts at the archway and extensive carvings. A First World War memorial by Richard Goulden is attached to the north-west corner, consisting of a small bronze group on a narrow stone pedestal.

The interior reflects the work of both Scott and Wren, showcasing Venetian Renaissance tracery in the windows along with fine stained glass. Above the reredos of colored marble is a circular east window that incorporates 17th-century paintings of Moses and Aaron. The mid-19th-century features include altar rails, a tiled pavement in the choir, an elaborate pulpit and lectern, and pews. A 17th-century marble font sits on a new base and is adorned with a carving of a pelican. The church also contains notable wall memorials.