Overview

St Vedast-alias-Foster is one of the small City churches guilt by Sir Christopher Wren and is a couple of minutes from St Paul's Cathedral. Next door to the church is its tranquil courtyard garden. This review is for the courtyard only.

Transport & Parking

The nearest tube station is St Paul's which is not step free. The nearest step free tube station is Farringdon. City Thameslink Railway Station is close by and had step free access. There are several buses that stop in the vicinity. The church is just off Cheapside, the main stopping street in the City of London, and opposite One New Change Shopping Centre. Look out for the church spire, see photo.

Access

The entrance to the courtyard is through blue double doors next to the church. There is one step to reach the doors, which where open when I visited. Then there are three steps up into the courtyard. There is a single handrail on the left hand side as you enter you are initially in a short corridor which opens up to the external courtyard, see photos. The courtyard is quite small. There is a veranda on two sides of the courtyard where there are some benches with back support and arms. Then to enter the centre of the courtyard there are a couple of shallow steps down, but without handrail. The garden itself has a large tree in the centre and an assortment of plotted plants. There are a couple of unexpected things to look out for in the garden. On the wall there is some Roman paving, the head of Cannon Charles Bernard Mortlock’s head, artwork by Jacob Epstein and an Assyrian Brick with a Cuneiform inscription, one of the world's earliest forms of writing.

Toilets

There are no accessible toilets. However, One New Change, the shopping centre on Cheapside, is a couple of minutes walk away and has two accessible toilets. (It's a while since I've been to One New Change so won't comment on their toilets in this review).

Staff

I didn't see any staff when I visited but the gardens are well maintained.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

There is a notice on the side of the church saying that the courtyard is open weekdays 8am to 5.30pm. I visited on a Sunday afternoon after 4pm. Please check with the church if you are unsure. There are signs saying no mobile phones and that it is a place for peace, contemplation and prayer. This is the perfect place if you just want to sit out quietly and the veranda provides some shelter from weather, which makes it a ideal place to sit and relax. I love coming here and it's one of the hidden gems of the City.

Photos