St Mary Aldermary. Wren's beautiful plaster fan vaulting led Nikolaus Pevsner to describe St Mary's as ‘the chief surviving monument of the 17th century Gothic revival in the City and – with Warwick – the most important late 17th century Gothic church in England.’

Pevsner says Wren ‘had fun’ playing with the gothic forms of the glorious gilded barrel vault above the altar. The weird-looking perspective reflects the odd shape of the building as Wren shoe-horned his church into the site of the pre-fire church...

...as shown by the site plan here. The wonky barrel vault in previous image is to the RHS of the nave. (Image from Paul Jeffrey’s book on Wren’s churches).

The original St Mary’s is considered the oldest of the several City of London churches dedicated to St Mary. It is first mentioned about 1080 and thought to be older, probably Saxon in origin.

Wren’s version is a cracker, whichever way you look at it...

From its tippy-tips...

...to its fine Gothic lines and stonework.