The City Churches Tour
Cannon Street underground station, London
Guided by Rick Jones
Adult: £20 · Students & Seniors: £15 · Children: £5
Walk Times
| Day | Walk Type | Start Time | End Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | Weekly | 10.30 am | 12.30 pm | Winter Summer | Reserve Online |
Discover the City of London’s extraordinary spires. After the devastating Great Fire of 1666, the renowned architect Sir Christopher Wren worked on rebuilding the city. That included, not just his famous work on St Paul’s Cathedral, but also a further 51 city churches.
What’s on this guided tour? We’ll explore five London churches designed by Sir Christopher Wren, along with others that have fascinating stories of their own. Here’s a taster: fan vaulting, Bow bells, a Mediterranean courtyard, a sermon timer, a mighty organ beneath Sir Christopher Wren’s most beautiful dome… Served up by a brilliant guide.
Want a five-word distillation of the tour? Visual feast, no dull moments.
The Wren Churches Walking Tour – The Practicals
Every Friday, the tour begins at 10.30 am outside Cannon Street tube station. It ends 2 hours later near St Paul’s Cathedral.
Your Wren Churches Walking Tour guide is the distinguished arts critic Rick Jones, Secretary of the Critics Circle.
The Wren Churches Walking Tour – The Itinerary
Starting at Cannon Street Station, our walking tour takes in five Wren churches. This old part of the city of London is endlessly fascinating. Make sure you look down the alleyways and up at the spires and intricate architecture of London buildings within the Square Mile. It’s brought to life by the interesting insights and stories from your illustrious guide (don’t just take it from us, be sure to feast your eyes on the rave reviews Rick gets, see what his walkers say about him).
St Mary Aldermary, Bow Lane
This Gothic-style church is the only surviving one of its kind. Its fan-vaulting is delicate as lace, so don’t forget to look up. Whilst this is cited as a Wren church, most of the work was done by one of his pupils as Sir Christopher was a very busy man in the late 17th-century.
St Mary-le-Bow, Bow Lane
This church isn’t only known for being designed by Wren. Its bells determine whether you can be legitimately called a Cockney (born within the sound of Bow bells). These same bells also made Dick Whittington turn again and return to London. Its Norman crypt is a show stopper (let alone a time stopper – yes, welcome to the 11th-century).
St Vedast, Foster Lane
The Great Fire of 1666 swept through this church on day three. Along with Wren, Nicholas Hawksmoor was involved in its reconstruction. Its discreet Mediterranean courtyard is a hidden gem in the midst of the bustling financial district of the city.
St Lawrence Jewry, Gresham Street
Right in the Square Mile and banking capital (pretty much within the shadows of the Bank of England and Mansion House), is St Lawrence Jewry. It’s in the courtyard of the Guildhall with its mayoral connections and the Lord Mayor’s Coach on the front. It’s on the site of a Roman amphitheatre, dating back to 1136.
St Stephen Walbrook
This wonderful church has the architect’s rehearsal dome (the precursor to St Paul’s Cathedral). It’s accompanied by Sir Henry Moore’s sculptured stone altar in the centre. This is where the tour ends in time for the free lunchtime organ recital. The glorious acoustics here make it well worth stopping to enjoy.
Other churches on the tour
The walking tour also includes non-Wren churches with their own interesting histories. There’s St Giles Cripplegate with links to Shakespeare, Milton, Cromwell and Bunyan. Then there’s Hawksmoor’s St Mary Woolnoth which has links to TS Eliot and Revd John Newton, slaver turned abolitionist and author of Amazing Grace.
If you want to explore more Wren churches nearby, take a look at:
St James Garlickhythe
St Michael Paternoster Royal
St Nicholas Cole Abbey
St Andrew Holborn
St Michael’s Cornhill
Did you know that Sir Christopher Wren also turned his hand to pub architecture? The Old Bell Tavern on Fleet Street was built by Sir Christopher Wren to keep his masons happy as they rebuilt the city in the wake of the Great Fire of London. Discover this and more of London’s oldest pubs on our guided tour.
Private tours
If you want a tour on a different day or in a different way, chat to us about private tours. We can provide guided tours for groups – a wonderful way to explore the city and to find out more about it at your pace. Have the tour guide to yourself or with your family, friends or colleagues. Our architecture and art gallery private tours are always guided by professional art experts – art historians or art critics (like Rick Jones) – who are, into the bargain, professionally qualified, award-winning Blue Badge guides.
Shane –
Even if you don’t think of yourself as interested in churches, do strongly consider this walk! Rick Jones is the consummate guide–and his highly organized walk is fascinating and well-delivered. It was a total pleasure–I just wish I’d taken it sooner!
Sabrina Budalica –
Fantastic introduction to some of the city churches, made even more interesting by our guide’s extensive knowledge and passion for music. An absolutely wonderful tour.
Ben howard –
Rick, an erudite gentleman who knows all things cultural, social and religious associated with the wonderful churches visited, wove fascinating glimpses around our two hour tour of the old city of London.
No matter if this is your first time exploring the city or not, Rick certainly knows his way around all the hidden gems associated with this historic area of London. Highly recommended.
Mary Wilson –
Hubby and I took Rick Jones’s City Churches walk yesterday, and it exceeded our expectations. It’s now one of our very favourites, and we’ve done many over the past 20-odd years. Rick is a debonair gent who reminded us of the actor Bill Nighy. His fact-filled walk focused more on the church architecture and social history than on the religious services. We were fascinated, and the two hours flew by. Have to give this one an A+.
Joyce –
Ricky’s walk and talk on City churches was excellent. Thoroughly enjoyed it and warmly recommend.
John –
Rick led an excellent and highly enjoyable tour. He showed us the beauty of the churches and their fascinating histories and contents in an easy and digestible way. He then pointed us to a beautiful organ recital in one of Wren’s churches to complete the experience. Thank you Rick for a great morning in the City.
Allison –
Rick Jones is a perfect tour guide, and this tour hits the spot for anyone interested in Wren Churches in the City. Note that the tour could take longer than 2 hours, but only if you choose to attend the organ recital at the end – very well-planned and timed. Highly recommend.
Paul Reynolds –
A terrific walk with the highly informed Rick. One of the very best London Walks we have been on over many years. Rick brought these wonderful buildings to life and what a treasure they are. He did them justice.
Olga –
One of the best London Walks and Rick Jones is just magnificent .
Peter Garrod –
We did this walk during a long weekend in London. I’ve always been interested in the City churches but have never had the time to visit them. Rick’s walk started at Cannon Street and ended near St Paul’s, and brought the churches along the route alive in a continuous narrative. Definitely worth it! We liked it so much we decided to do Rick’s Shakespeare’s London tour the following day.