St Augustine's Church, Queen's Gate, Kensington & Chelsea, London

St Augustine's Church was built by William Butterfield in 1871; All Saints, Margaret Street was built in 1859. It is a much lighter, brighter version of All Saints but with just as much tile work within a rich decorative scheme, albeit mostly arranged in eighteen discrete panels rather than covering entire walls. Sixteen of the panels lead from Genesis at the west end of the north aisle around to Ascension at the east end of the south aisle; shown here are Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (top right); Noah and his family offering thanks after their rescue in the Ark - note the church-like superstructure of the Ark (bottom right); the Resurrection (bottom left); and Jesus throwing the vendors out of the temple (top left).

All these panels were covered with whitewash during the 1920s, and have only recently been revealed. The two central panels, located on the west wall, escaped the whitewash; these show the Nativity (top) and the Annunciation (below). There are also smaller panels in the spandrels of the nave arches, and a large mural behind the reredos (the latter is not visible now). And as to the designer, painter and manufacturer of this wealth of tiles? Perhaps one can assume the designer was Butterfield, but painter and manufacturer are still the subject of debate. The church is often open during weekday mornings, and has an excellent guidebook, from which much of the information above is drawn.