church of St James's, which comes shortly after, was built by Sir
Christopher Wren at the cost of Henry Jermyn, Earl of St. Albans, and
consecrated at first as a chapel of ease to St. Martin's. The first
rector was Tenison, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury. Wren considered
this one of his best works. He says: "In this church ... though very
broad and the nave arched, yet there are no walls of a second order, nor
lantherns, nor buttresses, but the whole roof rests upon the pillars, as
do also the galleries; I think it may be found beautiful and convenient,
and as such the cheapest of any form I could invent."

The church is very wide in proportion to its length, and is said to seat
2,000 people easily. The reredos, a handsome piece of wood carving with
a central group of the pelican in her piety, typical of Christ giving
His life's blood for fainting souls, is the work of Grinling Gibbons.
The organ, in the western gallery, is supposed to have been the work of
Bernard Schmidt and was built for the Roman Catholic Oratory at
Whitehall, but was given to St. James's by Queen Mary, 1691.

The font which stands in the vestibule at the west end is a most
excellent piece of work. It was carved from a block of white marble by
Grinling Gibbons, and is about 5 feet in height. The shaft is the tree
of life, round which is twined the serpent, while figures of Adam and
Eve stand on either side. It is well worth going into the church to see
this alone. The font originally possessed a cover, which was stolen in
1800, and is said to have been hung up in a spirit shop. In the church
are many monuments hanging on the walls, and on the pillars. One or two
of these at the east end are very cumbrous, and many are heavily
decorated, but none are worthy of note for any intrinsic beauty they
possess. Walcott notes as the most important those of the eighth Earl of
Huntingdon, 1704, and Count de la Roche Foucault, 1741. James Dodsley,
the well-known bookseller, 1797, was buried here, also Haysman, the
rival of Lely, and Lieutenant-General Sir Colin Campbell, K.C.B., 1847.

Among the entries in the register we have the burials of the two
Vanderveldes, father and son.

In the old graveyard there are stones in abundance, one or two on the
wall of the church, and many alternating with the flagstones over which
the feet of the living carelessly pass.

In Sackville Street, just opposite to the church, Sheridan died.

There are various other pub