St James Garlickhythe

St James Garlickhythe is a Church of England parish church in Vintry ward of the City of London, nicknamed "Wren's lantern" owing to its profusion of windows. Recorded since the 12th century, the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and rebuilt by the office of Sir Christopher Wren. It is also the official church of several City livery companies.

The official dedication is The Parish Church of St James Garlickhythe with St Michael Queenhythe and Holy Trinity the Less. The parish stretches from Gardners Lane in the west to Angel Passage in the east. Its southern border is the River Thames, and to the north it snakes through the lanes south of Cannon Street. The area now covers seven pre Fire parishes: St James Garlickhythe, St Michael Queenhythe, Holy Trinity the Less, St Michael Paternoster Royal, St Martin Vintry, All Hallows the Great, and All Hallows the Less. It is also responsible for services at the nearby St Michael Paternoster Royal, which lies within the parish boundary. Sunday and daily services are drawn from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. It is the church for more than a dozen livery companies (Clockmakers, Coachmakers, Dyers, Educators, Fanmakers, Glass Sellers, Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers, Horners, Joiners and Ceilers, Needlemakers, Painter Stainers, Parish Clerks, Skinners, Vintners, and Weavers), as well as being the church of the Intelligence Corps. The parish has passed resolutions A and B of the Priests (Ordination of Women) Measure 1993; this means that female priests and bishops are not permitted to officiate in the church. It receives alternative episcopal oversight from the Bishop of Fulham (currently Jonathan Baker).

St James Garlickhythe is in the shape of a rectangle, with the tower adjacent to the West and a protruding chancel (uniquely for a Wren church) projecting from the East. It is built from brick and Kentish ragstone, partly stuccoed, partly faced (since World War II) with Portland stone. Entrance is through a pedimented doorway with a cherub keystone in the tower, which is flanked by pairs of round headed windows in the west wall. Above is a recessed clerestory wall joined to the tower by semi rounded pediments. The south front, facing Upper Thames Street, was formerly built against, and it has only become the main façade since 1971. It is five bays long, with blind round headed windows, the one in the centre being much larger. Above the four outer windows are round clerestory windows. These additions were only made in 1981. The north front is similar, although the windows are real. The 125 foot tower was originally stuccoed. The plaster was removed in 1897 and old photographs of the church show the undressed wall. It was faced with Portland stone after World War II. The clock on the West face, with the image of St James, is a 1988 replica of a 1682 original. The figure of St James originally stood between two urns. The tower is plain, with round headed belfry windows, until the spire. At the top is a parapet with stirrup shaped piercings and squat urns on the corners. The stone spire was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and is similar to those of St Stephen Walbrook, St. Michael Paternoster Royal and, to a lesser extent, the west towers of St. Paul’s Cathedral. It has three levels. The lowest is square, with a contraption of two columns standing in front of two pilasters protruding from each corner on top of which is an entablature and tiny urns. This is linked to the next stage by corner volutes, with a smaller square stage with more urns, and at the top is a tiny concave stage. The whole is capped with a flag finial. Sacheverell Sitwell stated the spire suggested the grinding out of bell music by turning, as in a hurdy gurdy. The vine leaf and grape motif gates to the west were a gift from the Vintners' Company. The church was designated a Grade I listed building on 4 January 1950.

The church interior is, at 40 feet, the highest of any Wren church. As it was originally surrounded by other buildings, Wren created tall main windows, as well as clerestory windows. The largest window of all was in the East, filling the arched alcove. Early in the 19th century, this was found to be weakening the wall and so was filled in. In 1815, the painting of the Ascension by Andrew Geddes was installed above the reredos in the place previously occupied by the window. When built, the main entrance was in the middle of the north wall. This, too, has now been filled in. The church has a nave and two narrow aisles and is of five bays. There are two rows of five Ionic columns and two semi columns, running from West to East. The columns support an entablature, which is broken in the middle and turned to the outside walls, effectively forming transepts. The columns are evenly spaced, except for those in the middle. With the original round headed windows in the centre (now replaced by round windows), this would have given St. James a strong north–south axis. The cross axial design was a conceit also used by Wren in St Magnus the Martyr and St Martin Ludgate. Subsequent rearrangement has made this less apparent. The church was much renovated by the Victorians, most significantly by Basil Champneys in 1866. Their legacy, including stained glass windows, has been removed in the post World War II renovation. The chancel to the east is flanked by pilasters, and is slightly narrower than the nave, the ratio of the width being 1/3 chancel and 1/6 each for the aisles. Unlike the rest of the church, which has a flat ceiling, it has a barrel vault. To the west is a gallery, erected in 1714 and supported by iron columns. It supports the original organ case of 1719 by Father Smith, decorated with trumpeting cherubs and palm trees. It is surmounted by a scallop shell. The crystal chandelier, a gift from the Glass Sellers' Company, is a replica of that destroyed by the crashing crane in 1991 and is based on an 18th century original hanging in Wren's Emmanuel College, Cambridge. The reredos is original, with Corinthian columns flanking a Decalogue and supporting an entablature. The pediment was removed in 1815 to accommodate the painting. Also original are the communion table, with doves carved on the legs, the communion rail, and the churchwardens' pews with iron hat stands. The font was made by the church's mason, Christopher Kempster, and has an ogee cover. The joiners for the original furnishings were Fuller and Cleer, and the carver William Newman. In 1876, the parish was combined with that of St Michael Queenhithe – a nearby Wren church, and St James received much of the furnishings. From St Michael's are the pulpit, with a tester and twisted balusters, as well as a wig peg for the preacher. A royal coat of arms of the House of Stuart on the south wall and a sword rest also come from St Michael's, as do two grand doorways, now used as screens. In addition, the church's own royal arms (which is of the House of Hanover) is on display on the north wall, almost opposite the other royal arms – making St James Garlickhythe the only City church with two reliefs of the royal arms. No longer on display is a well preserved mummy of a man known as "Jimmy Garlick". His embalmed body was discovered in the vaults in 1855. Analysis by the British Museum at one time had postulated that he was an adolescent who died at the turn of the 18th century. The body used to be on display in a glass cabinet, but has been closed to public view. In 2004, Jimmy Garlick featured in the Discovery Channel documentary series Mummy Autopsy, which used modern analytical techniques including carbon dating and x ray analysis, establishing that he died between 1641 and 1801 and that he suffered from osteoarthritis, a disease that afflicts older people. Physical examination by the Discovery team showed that the mummy appeared to be balding and suffered tooth decay at the time of death, both consistent with an older person. The body is now interred in a sarcophagus in the only remaining part of the church crypt, and so is no longer open for public viewing.

A new ring of eight bells, which were granted the title "The Royal Jubilee Bells", was cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry on 3 June 2012. They were temporarily installed on a barge and rung on the River Thames during the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, part of the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, and have since been installed permanently in the tower of the church.