St Giles in the Fields, Grade I listed church in St Giles district, London, England
St Giles in the Fields is a neoclassical church built from pale Portland limestone with a roof supported by Ionic columns. The tall semicircular windows contain colored glass that filters light into the interior and emphasizes the understated elegance of the architecture.
The first chapel appeared here in 1101 as part of a leper hospital founded by Queen Matilda. The current building dates from the 1730s and replaced the medieval structure that had become unsafe.
The dedication comes from an Irish saint known for his care of those cast out by society. Today visitors find the churchyard used as a quiet resting spot by office workers and students crossing between the surrounding districts.
The churchyard is accessible from several streets and offers a quiet passage between the busy corners of Covent Garden. Visitors reach the entrance most easily from St Giles High Street, where the facade is clearly visible.
The churchyard holds several thousand victims of the 1665 plague buried in mass graves. The number of people laid to rest here makes this site one of the largest plague burial grounds in the city, though no markers remain to show the graves today.
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