St. Pauls, Covent Garden

The Actors Church

I must have passed St. Pauls Church (Covent Garden) a thousand times. In front of the 4 Doric columns of this old church can be found countless entertainers performing for the tourists at different times of the year. This is normally accompanied by a cacophony of sound as the performers whip the crowd up into a frenzy. However, instead of rushing past this time I slipped into the churchyard to see what lay behind the pillared façade. What I found was a beautiful little oasis of fascinating calm.

The churchyard is on three sides of the church and where I entered there is an incredible bronze sculpture of St. Paul (nee Saul) in his damascene moment. It is an absolutely stunning piece by Bruce Denny and I found it to be quite awe inspiring. Moving to the back of the church there is a little oasis of greenery and more peaceful sitting areas to be found on the other side.

However once inside this Inigo Jones designed building I found out just why this is called the actors church. Displayed on the walls are countless commemorative plaques to actors and actresses who have passed and I found myself gazing reflectively and at many of the bygone names from the stage and screen. Memorials in the church are dedicated to many famous personalities of the 20th century, including Sir Charlie Chaplin, Sir Noël Coward, Gracie Fields, Stanley Holloway, Boris Karloff, Vivien Leigh and Ivor Novello. The church is an incredible haven of peace and tranquillity and there is much memorabilia to occupy the curious mind.

My favourite is the memorial to Actor Charles Macklin one of London’s most famous 18th-century actors. He once killed a fellow actor during a backstage argument by stabbing him in the eye. Although found guilty of manslaughter, Macklin never went to prison. The shame of his deed on his own memorial plaque—in the churchyard of St. Paul’s Church in Covent Garden— depicts a knife plunging through the eye of a theatrical mask. Gruesome stuff perhaps but contagiously compelling.

Evie The Scribbler

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