Walks in London . Cross of Dickens was removed When the square was laid II. A 2 Walks in London Behnes. On a pedestal at the north-east corner is an equestrian statueof George IV. by Chantrey, intended to surmount the Marble Archwhen it stood in front of Buckingham Palace. The correspondingpedestal on the north-west is vacant, and likely to remain so : therehas never been a pendent to George IV. On the east side of Trafalgar Square is its one ornament. Here, ona noble basement, approached by a broad flight of steps, rises thebeautiful portico of the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.
Walks in London . Cross of Dickens was removed When the square was laid II. A 2 Walks in London Behnes. On a pedestal at the north-east corner is an equestrian statueof George IV. by Chantrey, intended to surmount the Marble Archwhen it stood in front of Buckingham Palace. The correspondingpedestal on the north-west is vacant, and likely to remain so : therehas never been a pendent to George IV. On the east side of Trafalgar Square is its one ornament. Here, ona noble basement, approached by a broad flight of steps, rises thebeautiful portico of the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. It is themasterpiece of Gibbs, the best church of its class (1721-26), and theonly perfect example of a Grecian portico in London. The regularrectangular plan on which Trafalgar .Square was first laid out wasabandoned simply to bring it into view ; yet, in 1877, the MetropolitanBoard of Works, for the sak« of giving uniformity to a new street,seriously contemplated the destruction of the well-graded basement to. ONE OF LANDSEER S LIONS. which it owes all its beauty of proportion, and which is one of thechief features of a Greek However, Parliament happily inter-fered, and the portico survives. Beautiful for situation, elegant in proportion, and perfect in construction, itis precisely the kind of building that the angle of Trafalgar Square requires. Itis thoroughly in its place, is in harmony with all its surroundings, and lends moregrace than it receives to the finest site in Europe. From whatever point, it isseen, it impresses the beholder as a work of art, impelling him to draw nearerand examine it in detail, and unlike many other architectural structures, it doesnot disappoint upon examination.—Morning Post, Feb. 1877. The building of St. Martins is commemorated in the lines ofSavage— O Gibbs ! whose art the solemn fane can raise,Where God delights to dwell, and man to praise. 1 An effort is still (iqoi) being made to effect this injury to London. St. Martin-
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