Church Of St Botolph

The Church of St Botolph is a former city church with origins in the medieval period. The stone base of the original tower remains below the present tower. Significant rebuilding occurred in 1751 and a virtual rebuilding took place between 1789 and 1791, under the direction of Nathaniel Wright, Surveyor to the north district of the City of London. The east front was rebuilt in 1831, and further restorations followed in 1874, 1892, 1953, and 1966.

The church is built primarily of red stock brick, with a stone base to the tower, and the east end rendered in Roman Cement. The roof is copper. Externally, the church is rectangular with a square bell tower set at a slight angle against the west wall. Internally, the galleried nave is four bays long, with apses at each end, one serving as a sanctuary and the other as an organ gallery. Behind these apses are several small rooms and passages. The north and south walls are of yellow brick, featuring segmental arches to the lower windows and round arches above. A parapet runs along the roof. The east front, rebuilt in 1831, features a stuccoed facade with an engaged four-columned Ionic portico and a pediment framing a Venetian window. The tower at the west end is of stock brick, with a stepped base and a cupola topped with a square wooden lantern.

The interior is well-preserved and galleried, with Corinthian colonnades and enriched plaster vaulting. There are lunette windows in the central aisle, and apses to the east and west. Original features include the organ case (in the west gallery), altar rails, a pulpit, and a sword rest. The east window contains stained glass dating to the late 18th century. Wall monuments from the earlier building are also present, along with later 19th-century fittings of quality, such as pews, brass lamp standards, a lectern, and paving.