Watercolour. 7¾ by 7½ in.
The priory of the Augustine Friars in London was founded A.D. 1253,
and the church was rebuilt about a century afterwards. In 1550 the
nave was made over to the Dutch community in London, and it has been
in their hands ever since. The choir and steeple were destroyed by
the then Marquess of Winchester at the beginning of the seventeenth
century. In 1862 what remained of the church was very much injured
by fire, the roof and all the fittings being burnt. It was “restored”
at a cost of about £12,000.
The interest of this drawing is due to the fact that it shows the
church, with its decorated tracery and staircase turret, before the
disastrous fire.
_Lent by Sir E. Coates._