Notre Dame de France, French Catholic church at Leicester Place in London, United Kingdom.
Notre Dame de France is a Catholic church in a Gothic Revival style, located on Leicester Place in the City of Westminster, London. The building has a circular floor plan built around a cast-iron frame, which gives it a structure quite different from most London churches.
The building began its life as Burford's Panorama, a cylindrical hall used to display large painted panoramic scenes for paying audiences. Father Charles Faure bought it in 1865 and converted it into a church; after bomb damage in World War II, it was fully rebuilt during the 1950s.
Notre Dame de France still holds regular services in French, making it a living gathering point for French speakers in London today. Inside, a side chapel is covered with murals painted by Jean Cocteau in 1960, which draw as many art lovers as worshippers.
The church sits just off Leicester Square and can be reached on foot in a few minutes from Leicester Square underground station. It is worth checking opening times before visiting, as access may be limited around scheduled services.
Jean Cocteau painted his murals inside the church in 1960 in just a few days, despite being over 70 years old and in poor health at the time. The work includes a depiction of the Crucifixion that he completed shortly before his death, making it one of his final major works.
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