St Paul’s – The Actors’ Church

I know this is completely ridiculous but in all my *cough* years in London, I have never noticed that this is an actual building. I think I thought of it as a lid to the public toilets (nice ones at that) underneath it. How pathetic and wrong!
This past Saturday I went to see a great cast put on a great show of Die Fledermaus. It was hilarious, and we just strolled up and bought some tickets, waited for a friend in the lovely little garden behind the church (where I think Midsummer Night’s Dream is being performed at the moment), and then sat in some marvellous surroundings. I’m assuming it’s called the actors church as so many famous actors have been buried here — their plaques line the walls — but there are shows on through the year as well.
A great start to a night out in town and a real find in the craziness of Covent Graden market.

From the Covent Garden piazza side it’s not much to look at and if you did not know about it, you would possibly turn up your nose and miss a beautiful little church.
We navigated around to the other side and were welcomed to a beautiful oasis of calm and beauty. The garden area outside of the church entrance is lovely and the flowers were in full bloom. People were sitting on the benches quietly enjoying the sun and their snacks. We did not venture far into the church as there was a group rehearsing in it.
Don’t let this little jewel fall off your list whilst you are trying to see the larger — and much more crowded — other churches in London.

After a cranky morning at work one day I thought a lunchtime jaunt to Covent Garden might put me in a better mood. It certainly did!
I’ve been to Covent Garden a few times and never paid much attention to the church beside the Piazza. After reading about it in «1000 Things to do for under £10 I’ve been eager to check it out. St. Pauls church is often referred to as «The Actors Church» due to its association with the theatre community and because of its many memorials to actors and performers.
What a warm and welcoming church this is! I was greeted the minute I set foot in the door by a couple of parishioners that were cleaning the entrance hall. They happily led me into the sanctuary and pointed me towards a table where I found leaflets on events and services held there at the church. The church wasn’t full, but there was a fair amount of people that had wandered in to pray or sit and enjoy the silence for a bit. I had a wander around and checked out the many memorials on the walls for various actors and writers. I’ll be honest and admit that I have never heard of many of these people, but a few were recognisable-​Charlie Chaplin and Boris Karloff caught my eye and, having just reading Gone With the Wind for the first time, I was very pleased to see a beautiful memorial to Vivien Leigh.
After looking around it was nice to sit down in a pew and just bask in the peacefulness for awhile before venturing back out into the chaos of Covent Garden. I went back to work in a much better mood!

Not to be confused with his cathedral, St Paul’s Church on the west end of the Covent Garden Piazza is a lovely place for quiet contemplation.
The churchyard is an albeit extremely popular urban oasis for lunch or just taking a break. There’s a cute kitty roaming around too along with a few desperate characters here and there (but it’s safe and at least during lunch hours there are so many people you should be okay).

For the secret garden seekers among us, the wee area behind The Actors’ Church is a calm oasis of tucked-​away goodness and a perfect way to escape the swarm of Covent Garden tourists.
Somehow despite its incredibly central location, it manages to remain peaceful, clean, secluded and sun drenched whenever I sneak by for an afternoon book-​read or catnap. Grab a take away, (or a pot of FroYo), roll up those trousers and sun those vitamin D-​prived legs! Thank me later.

This is more a review of the church yard rather than the church itself. On a summers day you can not find a more perfect relaxing spot to sit and eat your sandwiches. God’s garden really is for everyone!
It does get quite busy but there are loads of benches and a pretty grassy area with flowers that you can sit on too. Great for book reading and people watching. What I love so much about this is that it’s secluded so even if it is busy, it’s never that busy and you avoid all the noise from the square and surrounding traffic. It’s my not so secret London garden!

On one side of the Piazza, the St Paul’s Church is a quiet haven away from the bustle of the square. There is a small garden on which you can soak up some sun in the summer, and a number of benches too. This is my favorite spot to eat a takeaway lunch in the summer, and perhaps lie in the sun for a while during a work break.
There are always some street acts taking place in the Piazza in front of the church, so if they take your fancy, you can sit on the steps and enjoy the show. There is still a service that takes place on Sundays, as well as other times through the day. Its an oasis of calm, and a great contrast from the busy piazza.

St Paul’s church (not to be confused with the London landmark) known as the actors church has a great little garden around the back to get away from the busy west end crowds that infest Covent Garden. Located at the west end of the piazza. Just behind where tha busker with the biggest crowd is and its probably my favourite little lunch getaways in London as it isn’t such a walk away as Hyde or Russell Square. Known as the actors church the garden is littered with wooden benches to commemorate famous people of the area. Unfortunately its closes really earlynormally at 4pm.