OPINION - John Darlington on great London monuments: St George’s — London’s most eccentric church

In 1751, William Hogarth, the great London painter and satirist, produced Gin Lane, one of his famous etchings. This raucous image is a good place to introduce the story of the city’s most eccentric church, because in the background is the unique spire of St George’s in Bloomsbury.

In the late 1600s, London was expanding. To the north of the city, new mansions were being constructed and squares lain out on open land by people such as the Earl of Southampton. Others followed suit and soon a genteel neighbourhood was established. But, there was a problem!