Returning to the point from whence we set out, we find St. John's Wood
Chapel, which is in the classical style, designed by Hardwicke in 1814.
The chapel stands well at the junction of four important roads; its
Ionic portico is dignified and suitable to the position. The body of the
chapel is covered with ivy, and the windows look down on a large
burial-ground, now open as a public garden, which is peculiarly bright
and well kept. In it are many fine trees, chiefly willows, which
overhang the seats placed for public comfort. The gravestones, which are
many, have not been removed, and with few exceptions are of the regular
round-topped pattern. In the vault beneath the chapel lies the wife of
Benjamin West, P.R.A. In 1833 there had been about 40,000 persons buried
in this ground, and it is probable this number was greatly exceeded
before the burials ceased. Joanna Southcott was buried here in 1814.
Further north in the Finchley Road All Saints' Church stands up
conspicuously. This is a fine church in the Perpendicular style, built
in 1846. The chancel was added in 1866, and the tower and spire in 1889.
It is really the church of the Eyre estate, and was largely built by the
Eyre family. There is in it a beautiful marble font of uncommon
pattern, and a pulpit to match.
This part of Marylebone, to the north of Regent's Park, has a High
Street of its own--a wide street with comparatively low buildings. The
vista, on looking back from the top to the trees of the burial-ground
and Regent's Park, is not unattractive. The shops which line either side
of the road, though small, are clean and bright. St. John's Wood Terrace
is a very wide thoroughfare. In it stands St. John's Wood Church,
chiefly distinguished by a very heavy portico. The church is at present
used by the Congregationalists, and was formerly known as Connaught
Chapel. Just beyond the chapel we come to the St. Marylebone Almshouses.
They are built round three sides of a square, and enclose a quadrangle
of green grass. The blue slate roofs and drab stuccoed walls form a
gentle contrast. The central house, occupied by the superintendent, is
fronted by a clock over the Royal Arms.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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