St Nicholas Cole Abbey is at 114 Queen Victoria Street, EC4V 4BJ.
The City of London entry for this church tells me:
The church is dedicated to the 4th century St Nicholas of Myra. The name “Cole Abbey” is derived from “coldharbour”, a medieval word for a traveller’s shelter or shelter from the cold.
It still performs this sheltering function. There is a large squarish space inside, very open and light, with stained glass, tables, gentle murmurings. And there is the wonderful Wren café, a welcoming place. St Nicholas Cole Abbey is an active church, offering “workplace ministry” according to its website.
Yesterday, however, the church and the café were closed. I found shelter from the rain in the overhang of 1 Distaff Lane, Bracken House, and drew this picture.
You see the magnificent trumpet shape of the spire. There is a boat on top! According to the Wikipedia entry:
This [weathervane] came from St Michael Queenhithe (demolished 1876), and was added to the spire in 1962.
Here is work in progress on the picture, and a map:
On sunnier days, I have drawn St Paul’s Cathedral from a bench to the south of the church:
St Paul’s Cathedral from Wren Coffee
Wren Coffee has re-opened! This is a marvellous coffee shop in the Church of St Nicholas Cole Abbey, on Queen Victoria St. I went there and sat on the raised terrace, sketching the view Northwards towards St Paul’s Cathedral. The grey building in the foreground is a nightclub. It has dark windows, and a barred…
City Churches
This is one of an emerging collection of drawings of City churches. You can see the drawings so far by clicking this link:
Jane Sketching 