Church of St Benet, Paul's Wharf is a Grade I listed building in the City of London local planning authority area, England. First listed on 4 January 1950. A 1677 to 85 Church.
Church of St Benet, Paul's Wharf
- WRENN ID
- crooked-bastion-lichen
- Grade
- I
- Local Planning Authority
- City of London
- Constituency
- Cities of London and Westminster MP: Rachel Blake (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 4 January 1950
- Type
- Church
- Address
- Church of St Benet, Paul's Wharf, Upper Thames Street Ec4, City and County of the City of London
- OS grid reference
- TQ 320 809
- Coordinates
- 51.51168, -0.09919
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Church of St Benet at Paul's Wharf, built between 1677 and 1685 by Sir Christopher Wren, is a Grade I listed building located on Upper Thames Street, EC4. This church features a square compartment with three bays, a north aisle, and a short west aisle adjacent to the west tower. The exterior is constructed of red brick with simple stone dressings and elaborately carved festoons above the windows. It has a hipped, tiled roof divided into three sections over the north aisle, and a blind panel is present at the center of the east front.
At the south end of the west aisle, there is a pedimented doorcase. The tower is simple, comprising three main stages with quoins, circular and round-arched windows framed in stone, and belfry openings that are simply mullioned. The timber cornice is topped with a lead-covered cupola featuring a lantern and weathervane.
Inside, the flat-ceiled space is adorned with an order of Corinthian pilasters and colonnades that separate the aisles, with high pedestals supporting galleries that have carved fronts. The vestry, which was formerly the entrance vestibule, is located beneath the west gallery, while the current entrance is under the tower. Notable interior features include a finely carved reredos, a communion table and rails, a pulpit, a west door, a marble font with corner details, a modest sword-rest, wall tablets, and marble paving with inscribed slabs. The Church of St Benet is recognized as one of the least altered of Wren's churches.
Local climate
Church of St Benet, Paul's Wharf sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 690 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 95% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 98% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 57% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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