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where the east end of Somerset house is
placed; and for the erecting of this last
edifice it was taken down in 1549, by
order of Edward Seymour, Duke of
Somerset, Prime Minister to Edward
VI. which depriving the parishioners
of a place of worship, they joined
themselves to the church fo St. Cle-
ment's Danes, and afterwards to that of
St. John Baptist in the Savoy, where they
continued till the year 1723. At length,
the act having passed for erecting the fifty
new churches within the bills of morta-
lity, one was appointed for this parish,
and the first stone laid on the 25th of Fe-
bruary 1714; it was finished in three
years and a half, though it was not con-
secrated till the 1st of January 1723, when,
instead of its ancient name, it was called
St. Mary le Strand. It was the first fi-
nished of any of the fifty new churches.
This is a very superb, though not a
very extensive edifice; massy, without the
appearance of being heavy, and formed
to stand for ages. At the entrance on
the west end is an ascent by a flight of
steps cut in the sweep of a circle. These
lead to a circular portico of Ionic columns
covered with a dome, which is crowned
with an elegant vase. These columns are
continued along the body of the church,
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with pilasters of the same order at the
corners, and in the intercolumniations are
niches handsomely ornamented. Over
the dome is a pediment supported by Co-
rinthian columns, which are also conti-
nued round the body of the structure,
over those of the Ionic order beneath;
between these are the windows placed
over the niches. These columns are sup-
ported on pedestals, and have pilasters
behind with arches sprung from them,
and the windows have angular and circu-
lar pediments alternately. In short, a
handsome balustrade is carried round the
top, and its summit is adorned with vases.
The steeple is light though solid, and or-
namented with Composite columns and
capitals.
This structure, in the opinion of some,
will shew late posterity, that the period
when it was built afforded architects who
might have done honour to Italy; while
others condemn it, as little more than a
cluster of ornaments without a proper plan
or model to be adorned.
We shall not here decide which of
these opinions is most judicious; but shall
leave it to the decision of each person's
judgment who examines the edifice itself:
we cannot however help observing, that
the situation of the west front is as happy
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