St George's Cathedral

St George’s Cathedral stands at the corner of Redhill Street and Albany Street in the London Borough of Camden. Designed by James Pennethorne, the brick building with stone dressings was consecrated as Christ Church in 1837. Its classical style includes a stucco entablature, round-headed windows and a small octagonal spire above the entrance. Four tower-like corners project slightly beyond the walls, giving the plan a rectangular shape. The ceremonial east end faces west of north instead of the usual east. William Collins R.A. recommended Raphael’s Transfiguration as the altarpiece. The church became an important centre of the high-church Oxford Movement under its first incumbent, William Dodsworth. Alterations in the 1840s by R.C. Carpenter added Gothic touches, while William Butterfield installed an elaborate marble floor in 1867. Christina Rossetti lived nearby and attended services, and her brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti created a stained-glass window of the Sermon on the Mount. In 1950 George Orwell’s funeral took place here, and in 1974 the Albany Consort, an early music group, gave its first concerts. Inside, the building retains classical proportions with a deep stucco cornice and simple parapet. The small tower above the entrance carries the octagonal spire that marks the front. Round-headed windows line the walls, and the interior layout reflects the slight misalignment of the east end. Outside, the stucco and stone dressings contrast with the plain brickwork, while the four projecting corners give the corners a solid appearance. The building’s classical style and careful proportions make it an unassuming but distinctive landmark in the area.