The present National Gallery may be looked upon as a fair example of the Revived Classic style, inaugurated by Sir William Chambers in the latter half of the eighteenth century. It was built between 1832 - 36, after the designs of Wilkins, and the columns of the portico are from the celebrated Canton House, formerly the residence of the Prince Regent.
The fountains, opposite the National Gallery, were designed by Sir Charles Barry, and are supplied from a well near Charing Cross, sunk by order of Government for securing a supply of fresh water to the offices in Whitehall and to Buckingham Palace.
For many years the rooms of the National Gallery were divided between the national collection of pictures and those exhibited by the Royal Academy, but even after the removal of the latter to Burlington House a few years ago, the accommodation was quite inadequate for the proper hanging of the works bequeathed to the nation, or acquired by purchase.
To remedy this an addition was subsequently been made, after the designs of Mr. E. M. Barry, R.A., on the north of the original building, which consists of a ground floor and galleries, the latter approached from the old rooms by a handsome central hail; these form a portion of a scheme for the remodelling of the entire structure on a grand scale.
St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, the only object of importance in our view still to be noticed, also in the Revived Classic style, is considered the finest work of the great architect, Gibbs, and was completed in 1726. The handsome Corinthian portico, though much admired, is, however, really little more than a copy of an antique design, and harmonizes ill with the steeple.