 St Mary le Strand was designed by James Gibbs and completed in 1717 , to replace a previous church demolished to make way for Somerset House . It was the first building to be designed by Gibbs , who was influenced by Wren and <unk> . The column on top of the church was originally designed to support a statue of Queen Anne , but was replaced with a spire following Anne 's death in 1714 . It survived the Blitz but was in poor shape until John Betjeman led a campaign to restore it in the 1970s . Essex Street Chapel , the birthplace of British <unk> , <unk> onto the Strand . The original chapel was built in 1774 , but damaged in the Blitz . It was restored after the war , and now serves as the denominational headquarters . 
