St Paul

The architect Inigo Jones, famous for bringing the renaissance style to Britain, designed the Italianate masterpiece of St Paul's in 1663. The church’s façade is a famous part of the Covent Garden cityscape, although the entrance to the church is in fact via the side of the building as the ‘entrance’ in Covent Garden is fake.

St Paul's is widely known as the Actors' Church and has been associated with local theatres since it was built. It is even credited as the site of the first Punch and Judy show, recorded by the famous diarist Samuel Pepys, who is most well known for documenting the Great Fire of London. The church has a leading role in My Fair Lady, as the place where Eliza Doolittle, played by Audrey Hepburn in the 1964 film, sells violets to customers at the market. However, the church itself was not used in the film, as a replica Covent Garden (with some creative license) was constructed in California for the shoot. 

Memorials in the church are dedicated to many famous actors, including Charlie Chaplin and Noel Coward. Among those buried at the church are Grinling Gibbons (Master Carver of the late 17th/early 18th century) and the pulpit is said to be his work. Also buried here is Margaret Ponteous, the first known victim of the Great Plague.