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Tube: Bank. Bank is the finest architectural arena in the City. Heart of the finance sector and the busy meeting point of eight streets, it's overlooked by a handsome collection of Neoclassical buildings - among them, the Bank of England, the Royal Exchange and Mansion House (the Lord Mayor's official residence) - each one faced in Portland stone. Sadly, only the Bank of England ( www.bankofengland.co.uk), which stores the nation's vast gold reserves in its vaults, actually encourages visitors. Established in 1694 by William III to raise funds for the war against France, the so-called "Grand Old Lady of Threadneedle Street" wasn't erected on its present site until 1734. All that remains of the building on which Sir John Soane spent the best part of his career from 1788 onwards is the windowless, outer curtain wall, which wraps itself round the 3.5-acre island site. However, you can view a reconstruction of Soane's Bank Stock Office, with its characteristic domed skylight, in the museum (Mon-Fri 10am-5pm; free), which has its entrance on Bartholomew Lane. Three churches worth exploring are situated to the south of Bank. On Walbrook, behind Mansion House, stands the church of St Stephen Walbrook (Mon-Thurs 10am-4pm, Fri 10am-3pm), Wren's most spectacular after St Paul's, with dark-wood furnishings by Grinling Gibbons. Hidden a short distance down King William Street is St Mary Woolnoth (F4; Mon-Fri 8am-5pm), a typically idiosyncratic creation of Nicholas Hawksmoor, one of Wren's pupils, featuring a striking altar canopy held up by barley-sugar columns. A complete contrast to Hawksmoor's church is provided by Wren's St Mary Abchurch (Mon-Thurs 10.30am-3pm, Fri 10.30am-noon), on Abchurch Lane, off King William Street. The interior is dominated by a vast dome fresco painted by a local parishioner and lit by oval lunettes, while the lime-wood reredos is again by Gibbons.
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