Sacred London

St Paul's Covent Garden

Inigo Jones's barn of a church, and the actors' church since the theatres arrived.

Churches

The Earl of Bedford asked for something plain and cheap — not much better than a barn, he is supposed to have said — and Jones answered that he should have the handsomest barn in England. It went up in 1633 as the first wholly classical church in the country and the first new Anglican church since the Reformation. The great Tuscan portico facing the piazza is a false front: the altar is behind it, so the real door is round the other side in the churchyard. Punch and Judy was first recorded in England under that portico in 1662, which is why the buskers pitch there still, and the walls inside carry memorials to Chaplin, Coward, Hattie Jacques and half the London stage.

Where

Bedford Street, WC2E 9ED

Nearest station

Covent Garden · 2 min walk

Hours

Hours from the page that lists them, checked 6 September 2026.

Weekdays only, and the church says it is sometimes closed for weddings, memorials and its summer theatre season — worth ringing ahead for a special visit. Services Wednesday 13:10 and Sunday 11:00.

NearbySacred London

• St Martin-in-the-Fields5 min walk
• St George's Bloomsbury9 min walk
• Temple Church12 min walk

NearbyOther Categories

• % ArabicaCoffee1 min walk
• King StreetBeautiful Streets1 min walk
• Inigo PlaceBeautiful Streets1 min walk

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