The name ‘Walbrook’ attached to the name of this church indicates that it was built on the bank of a river. In early times the Walbrook entered London under the walls where the Barbican and the Museum of London now stand, meandered through the old city, and emptied into the Thames where Walbrook Street runs into Thames Street. The original church (first mentioned about 1096) was built on the west bank, but in 1439 it was rebuilt across the stream. After the Great Fire, Wren’s reconstruction, completed in 1679, was also on the east bank. This building was burnt out in May 1941, and restored by Godfrey Allen in 1954. Extensive work was again done in the late 1980s.
St Stephen’s is said to be one of Wren’s masterpieces, the construction of which he personally supervised. Out of a simple rectangle he created a cruciform using Corinthian columns, eight of which support a magnificent dome weighing over fifty tons. Light comes from a cupola atop the dome as well as from the windows. This dome is said to be the first of its kind built in England and the prototype for St Paul’s. Some fine furnishings from Wren’s time include an organ gallery and case, pulpit and reredos. Under the dome is a massive Henry Moore altar of rough-hewn stone. Look for the unusually beautiful octagonal font cover and the painting by Benjamin West of the stoning of St Stephen, which hangs on the north wall.