Pen and wash drawing. 16½ by 17½ in.
After the Great Fire Wren rebuilt the church in his usual style
excepting the tower, which is a bold attempt at Gothic with a spire
on four flying buttresses. In 1817, the body of the church having
become dilapidated, it was resolved to take it down and rebuild it
to match the tower. The first stone of the new structure was laid on
26 November of that year. If the date under this drawing be correct,
the work must have proceeded slowly. The roof is off, but Wren’s
renaissance arches still remain.
Date 1819.
_Lent by Sir E. Coates._