They appointed Nicholas Hawksmoor, a pupil and former assistant of Sir Christopher Wren, to design and build this church, which he then did between 1716 and 1731.

Richard Meux Benson, founder of the first Anglican religious order for men, the Society of St John the Evangelist (also known as the "Cowley Fathers"), was baptised in the church.

A funeral service for Emily Davison, the suffragette who died when she was hit by the King's horse during the 1913 Derby, took place that same year.

The funeral was officiated by Claude Hinscliff and Charles Baumgarten, both part of the Church League for Women's Suffrage.

Until 2006 the church was the subject of major conservation work led by the World Monuments Fund and closed to visitors, with the congregation continuing as normal in its parish life, holding services in a nearby chapel.

The building reopened fully from October 2006, including a new exhibition on the church, Hawksmoor and Bloomsbury housed in its undercroft.

The stepped tower is influenced by Pliny the Elder's description of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, and topped with a statue of King George I in Roman dress.

The tower is depicted in William Hogarth's well-known engraving "Gin Lane" (1751) and by James Mayhew in the children's book Gaspard's Foxtrot (2021).

begins: A maid in fetters wailing Her sore and sorry plight A foul and slimy dragon A brave and glorious knight!