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Some of the finest churches, synagogues, mosques and temples. Architectural + decorative beauty plus historical significance.
Handel's church: the Duke of Chandos rebuilt it in 1715 as a baroque painted box beside his palace, and the organ at the east end is one Handel played.
ChurchesMusic & choirs
James Brydges, soon to be Duke of Chandos and building himself the grandest house in England at Cannons next door, had the parish church rebuilt by John James in 1714 and 1715, keeping only the tower of about 1360, and had the inside painted from floor to ceiling by Louis Laguerre, Antonio Bellucci and Francesco Sleter in a Continental baroque that no other English parish church attempted: trompe-l'oeil columns, the Evangelists, the Nativity and the Deposition, with the duke's own gallery at the west end and a mausoleum by James Gibbs at the east, its walls painted by Brunetti around Grinling Gibbons's monument to the duke and his first two wives. Handel was Brydges's composer in residence in 1717 and 1718, and the Chandos Anthems were almost certainly first sung here; the organ behind the altar dates from about 1717, was rebuilt around its surviving pipes and keyboard in 1994, and is one of very few instruments with a real claim to have been under Handel's hands. The duke's vicar was Desaguliers, the scientist. In the churchyard is the grave of William Powell, parish clerk, whom legend made Handel's harmonious blacksmith.
No regular opening: visits are arranged through the parish with thirty-six hours' notice, and the church is open for Sunday services.
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Data is compiled from public sources including OpenStreetMap, under the ODbL. Hours change often, so check before making a journey.