A church that became a garden. This watercolour study captures St Dunstan-in-the-East, the roofless shell of a medieval City church on St Dunstan's Hill between London Bridge and the Tower of London, where ivy, fig trees, and climbing hydrangeas pour through empty Gothic window arches.
 
Originally built around 1100 and severely damaged in the Great Fire of 1666, the church was repaired and given a new tower and steeple by Sir Christopher Wren in 1695–1701, designed in the Gothic style to match the original. Rebuilt again in 1817–21 by David Laing after the church was deemed unstable, it was then gutted by German bombing in the Blitz of 1941, leaving only the perimeter walls and Wren's tower and steeple standing. Rather than rebuild, the City of London converted the ruins into a public garden in 1967, which opened in 1970,a decision that preserved the church as a living ruin rather than restoring it. Totally awesome.
 
Today the garden is Grade I listed, with lawns, trees, climbing shrubs, and a low fountain planted directly within the roofless nave, creating a "secret garden" atmosphere that has made it one of London's most photographed hidden spaces.
Interesting facts...
The church is dedicated to St Dunstan, a 10th-century Archbishop of Canterbury who was said to have tempted the devil into a fight.
 
When Wren was told that the steeples of every City church had been struck by lightning in 1703, he confidently replied: "Not St Dunstan's, I am sure"
 
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Location: St Dunstan's Hill, City of London, EC3R 5DD