St Dunstan-in-the-West

The church of St. Dunstan-in-the-West dates from the Middle Ages, but the current building with an octagonal nave was built in the 1830s in the design of John Shaw. Seven sides open into arched recesses. The eighth goes out onto a short corridor, leading under the organs to the lowest step of the tower and serves as an entrance porch. Above the entrance to the old parish school is the sculpture of Queen Elizabeth I, considered the oldest statue standing outside in London.

On the facade of the building there is a beating clock, with figures of giants, perhaps Goga and Magoga, who strike the bells with their clubs. It was installed on the previous church in 1671 and was likely to commemorate the salvation of the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was the first public clock in London that had a minute hand.

It is one of three churches in England that share the building with the Romanian Orthodox community. The chapel on the left of the main altar closes with an iconostasis from the Antim monastery in Bucharest.