Parish of St George, Bloosmbury , Church of England

The parish of Saint George, Bloomsbury, was formed in the early 18th century as respectable Bloomsbury residents complained at having to pass through the notorious slum area known as 'The Rookery' to reach the parish church of Saint Giles in the Fields. The Commissioners of the Fifty New Churches Act of 1711 agreed to fund a new church and Nicholas Hawksmoor was engaged to design the building. The church was completed in 1731. The stepped pyramid steeple was inspired by Pliny's description of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus: it used to have lions and unicorns at the base, while the statue on top is King George I in Roman dress. More recently the parish has united with St John the Evangelist, Red Lion Square.