Tower Of Former Church Of St Augustine

Tower of Former Church of St Augustine

This is the tower of a former church, rebuilt by Christopher Wren between 1680 and 1684, with completion in 1695–6. The spire was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor. The church body was destroyed during bombing in 1941, and the spire was reconstructed in 1966 by Paul Paget of Seely and Paget based on Hawksmoor's original design. The spire itself was restored in 1967.

The tower is square in plan and built in Portland stone in three stages. The second stage features an oculus, whilst the third stage has rectangular belfry apertures. This third stage is capped with a cornice, a lacy Baroque pierced parapet, and corner pinnacles in the form of Baroque obelisks. Behind this rises the lead spire, which features curved brackets rising to an open stage with urns and a distinctive elongated onion dome. To the south is a pedimented door, and to the east, exposed rubble walling and quoins are visible at the lower stage.

The tower was originally rebuilt following the Great Fire of 1666. The initial spire was tall and leaded, but was modified in 1830. The 1941 bombing destroyed both the church body and the spire, leaving only the bottom two stages of the tower with its four Baroque obelisk finials standing. Drawings by Nicholas Hawksmoor survive showing that he designed the original spire with its brackets rising to an open stage with urns and the distinctive elongated onion dome. A drawing by Hawksmoor dating to around 1695 shows the onion dome as an elongated pineapple with the crown serving as an extra finial. The current reconstruction largely follows this design but uses the onion rather than the pineapple form.

Attached to the north is the Grade II* St Paul's Cathedral Choir School, built between 1962 and 1967 by the Architects' Co-partnership. The interior of the tower contains full-height open well staircases serving as fire escapes for the attached school. A ladder stair leads into the spire but was not inspected.