All Souls

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John Nash, All Soul's, 1822-1824
In the latter-most part of his architectural career, John Nash designed two churches of entirely different stylistic constitutions. The church that would receive the brunt of the criticism from his contemporaries, All Souls, would later find itself critical acclaim. Now, in the modern view, we can recognize the transcendence All Souls realized. Not only does Nash’s All Souls provide architectural ingenuity in its construction, but also in its ability to marry the two streets of Regent and Portland Place. It is through this adept marriage of the two streets that Nash exhibits his prowess.

At first glance All Souls’ primary vistas sharply tuck away the body of the church. But this “tucking away” effect has been achieved and compounded through the making of an ideal link beginning with the steeple and portico. All Souls’ steeple can be best described as the corrugated tapered kind, and is enclosed by peristyle of Corinthian columns.

Alternately, the capitals of the portico are comprised of an intricate meshing of the Ionic order. The capitals’ material consists of Coade’s pale terra cotta. An interesting removal of the structure’s original balustrade still leaves critics at a quandary, but it should be noted that the balustrade was made of similar material as the capitals – this can be discerned since the balustrade was removed shoddily.

All Souls’ interior adheres to the customary design of its contemporary Classical churches. Yellow marble columns meet its cornice while the gallery covers three sides. The high ceiling has a coffering effect about it and has been elaborately decorated with plaster moldings and sizable rosettes. The organ case, marble font, and Communion balusters can all be attributed to Nash’s original plan.

Around the middle of the Second World War, a bomb crashed through the roof of All Souls. This crash effectively destroyed the church’s interior and smashed the uppermost section of its spire. Credit for its repair should be given to restoration artist, H.S. Goodhar-Rendel.

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