London (England) -- Description and travel; London (England) -- History -- 18th century
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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