Christ Church
Fournier Street, Spitalfields, London E1 6QE
Built in pale Portland stone by Nicholas Hawksmoor between 1714 and 1729, Christ Church is an imposing presence in the Spitalfields area, backed by Huguenot houses and fronting onto the old market. With its elongated facade and spiked steeple, it was designed to dwarf the non-conformist chapels of the French Huguenot community, and the soaring stucco interior is equally dramatic, its slim columns and gleaming wooden balconies playing host to a great programme of concerts and recitals. This wonderful building was rescued from near dereliction in the 1970s, and now funds are being raised to restore the beautiful early 18th-century organ, which has over 2,000 pipes.