It
consists of a group of nine figures, besides that of St. Paul, with
books, &c., lively represented by the same hand as "The Conversion."
On the south side of the church, near the west end, is a forum or
portal, the doorcase being enriched with cartouches, volutas, and
fruit, very excellently carved under a pediment, and opposite to
this on the north side is the like doorcase. And, in brief, all the
apertures are not only judiciously disposed for commodiousness,
illumination of the fabric, &c., but are very ornamental.
At the west end is an acroteria of the figures of the twelve
apostles, each about eleven feet high, with that of St. Paul on the
angle of the pediment, and those of the four evangelists, two of
each cumbent between as many angles on a circular pediment. Over
the dials of the clock on the fronts of the two towers, also an
entablature and circles of enrichment, where twelve stones compose
the aperture, answering to the twelve hours.
The said towers are adorned with circular ranges of columns of the
Corinthian order, with domes upon the upper part, and at the vertex
of each a curious pineapple.
The choir has its roof supported with six spacious pillars, and the
church with six more, besides which there are eight that support the
cupola and two very spacious ones at the west end. All which
pillars are adorned with pilasters of the Corinthian and Composite
orders, and also with columns fronting the cross-aisle, or
ambulatory, between the consistory and morning prayer chapel, which
have each a very beautiful screen of curious wainscot, and adorned
each with twelve columns, their entablatures arched pediments, and
the king's arms, enriched with cherubims, and each pediment between
four vases, all curiously carved. These screens are fenced with
ironwork, as is also the cornice at the west end of the church, and
so eastward beyond the first arch.
The pillars of the church that support the roof are two ranges, with
their entablature and beautiful arches, whereby the body of the
church and choir are divided into three parts or aisles. The roof
of each is adorned with arches and spacious peripheries of
enrichments, as shields, leaves, chaplets, &c. (the spaces included
being somewhat concave), admirably carved in stone; and there is a
large cross aisle between the north and south porticoes, and two
ambulatories, the one a little eastward, the other westward from the
said cross-aisle, and running parallel therewith. The floor of the
whole is paved with marble, but under the cupola and within the rail
of the altar with fine porphyry, polished and laid in several
geometrical figures.
The altar-piece is adorned with four noble fluted pilasters, finely
painted and veined with gold, in imitation of lapis lazuli, with
their entablature, where the enrichments, and also the capitals of
the pilasters, are double gilt with gold. These intercolumns are
twenty-one panels of figured crimson velvet, and above them six
windows, viz., in each intercolumniation seven panels and two
windows, one above the other; at the greatest altitude above all
which is a glory finely done. The aperture north and south into the
choir are (ascending up three steps of black marble) by two iron
folding-doors, being, as that under the organ-gallery, &c.,
exquisitely wrought into divers figures, spiral branches, and other
flourishes. There are two others at the west end of the choir, the
one opening into the south aisle, the other in the north, done by
the celebrated artist in this way, M. Tijan.
And what contributes to the beauty of this choir are the galleries,
the bishop's throne, Lord Mayor's seat, with the stalls, all which
being contiguous, compose one vast body of carved work of the finest
wainscot, constituting three sides of a quadrangle.
The cupola (within the church) appears erected and elevated on eight
pillars of a large magnitude, adorned with pilasters, entablature,
circular pediments, and arches of the Corinthian order, and each
pillar enriched with a spacious festoon. Here are also as many
alcoves fronted with curious ironwork, and over the arches, at a
great height from the ground, is an entablature, and on the cornice
an ambulatory, fronted or fenced in with handsome ironwork,
extending round the inside of the cupola, above which is a range of
thirty-two pilasters of the Corinthian order, where every fourth
intercolumn is adorned with a niche and some enrichments; and it
said that in every foot of altitude the diameter of this decreaseth
one inch.
On the outside of the dome, about twenty feet above the outer roof
of the church, is a range of thirty-two columns, with niches of the
same altitude, and directly counter to those aforesaid within the
cupola. To these columns there is entablament, and above that a
gallery with acroteria, where are placed very spacious and
ornamental vases all round the cupola. At twelve feet above the
tops of these vases (which space is adorned with pilasters and
entablament, and the intercolumns are windows) the diameter is taken
in (as appears outwardly) five feet, and two feet higher it
decreases five feet, and a foot above that it is still five feet
less, where the dome outwardly begins to arch, which arches meet
about fifty-two feet higher in perpendicular altitude, on the vertex
of which dome is a neat balcony, and above this a large and
beautiful lantern, adorned with columns of the Corinthian order,
with a ball and cross at the top.
Christ's Hospital is situated between Newgate Street and St.
Bartholomew's Hospital in Smithfield. Here, as has been observed
already, was anciently a monastery of grey friars, founded about the
year 1325, which, upon the dissolution of monasteries, was
surrendered to King Henry VIII., anno 1538, who, in the last year of
his reign, transferred it to the City of London for the use of the
poor. King Edward VI. endowed this hospital - together with those of
Bridewell and St. Thomas's Hospital in Southwark - with large
revenues, of which the City were made trustees, and incorporated by
the name of the mayor, commonalty, and citizens of the City of
London, governors of the possessions, revenues, and goods of the
hospitals of Christ, Bridewell, and St. Thomas the Apostle, to whom
the king granted 3,266 pounds 13s. 4d. per annum.
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