London Churches
St Dunstan-in-the-West
St Dunstan-in-the-West stands on the site of an earlier church which escaped the Great Fire of 1666 but was pulled down in the early 19th century because it caused congestion in Fleet Street. Thankfully, many monuments were saved from the ancient church.
The Church is noted for its unusual Gothic appearance and graceful, lantern tower and can boast some of the oldest statues in the capital; above one of the entrances to the church is one of the most interesting statues in London, that of Queen Elizabeth I, the only one known to have been made in her lifetime and which she herself passed, as she rode to a service of thanksgiving at St. Paul's Cathedral after the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Beneath her and hidden in the doorway is the ancient statue of King Lud and his two sons.
St. Dunstan's is home to the famous 17th century clock that has two wooden giants striking the time, as they have from 1671 when the clock was made. They are said to be the mythical spirits,Gog and Magog.
Samuel Pepys mentions the church in his diary and worshipped here a number of times in the old medieval building. Izaak Walton was a churchwarden here when he had an ironmonger's shop in Fleet Street; William Tyndale, who pioneered the translation of the Bible into English, was a lecturer here and Lord Baltimore, who founded the State of Maryland, was buried here in 1632.
The man who crowned Elizabeth I, (Bishop Oglethorpe) is also buried here as are over 500 people who died in three months of plague.
Nearest tube:Blackfriars or Temple.
Admission free
Website: www.stdunstaninthewest.org
St Olave's
St Olave's is in Hart Street in the City of London and was one of the few City churches the Great Fire passed by. The present building dates from around 1450 but it was badly damaged during the Second World War and needed extensive restoration.
St Olave's is deservedly famous for the macabre 1658 entrance arch to the churchyard, which is decorated with grinning skulls. The novelist Charles Dickens was both horrified and fascinated by them and he included the church in his Uncommon Traveller, renaming it "St Ghastly Grim".
The church was a favourite of the diarist Samuel Pepys, who worked in the nearby Navy Office and worshipped regularly at St Olave's. He referred to it affectionately in his diary as "our own church" and both he and his wife are buried there, in the nave. The monument to Elizabeth Pepys, paid for by Samuel Pepys still survive as does the pulpit said to be the work of Grinling Gibbons.
During the Great Plague of 1665, over three hundred people were buried here in five months and in his Diary Pepy's describes how the many new graves frightened him.
All Hallows-by-the-Tower
The church of All Hallows-by-the-Tower is near to the Tower of London and was founded in 675. Built on the site of a former Roman building, it still retains the Roman floor and many other ancient artefacts which can be seen in the small museum in the medieval crypt.
Although the church was very badly damaged in the Blitz, the 15th century outer walls and 7th century Saxon doorway still survive from the original church. Among the church's treasures are three wooden statues of saints dating from the 15th and 16th centuries and a font cover (1682) thought to be by Grinling Gibbons.
Its closeness to the Tower of London meant that many beheaded victims of Tower executions were sent for temporary burial at All Hallows.
In 1666 Samuel Pepy's watched the progress of the Great Fire of London from the tower of this church.
Famous people associated with the church include;
John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the United States, married here in 1797.
Judge Jeffreys, notorious for being the "hanging judge" was married here in 1667.
William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania was baptised in the church in 1644.
Archbishop William Laud, beheaded at the Tower was buried here in 1645.
location: Byward Street, EC3.
Website:www.allhallowsbythetower.org.uk
Open: Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat-Sun 10-5.
Tube: ( Underground ) Tower Hill.
St. Sepulchre-without-Newgate
St. Sepulchre-without-Newgate is located almost opposite the Old Bailey in the City of London and in medieval times stood just outside the now-demolished old city wall, near the city gate named Newgate.
St Sepulchre is one of the "Cockney bells" of London, named in the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons as the "bells of Old Bailey". Traditionally, the great bell would be rung to mark the execution of a prisoner at the nearby gallows at Newgate. The clerk of St Sepulchre's was also responsible for ringing a handbell outside the condemned man's cell in Newgate Prison to inform him of his impending execution. This handbell, known as the Execution Bell, now resides in a glass case to the south of the nave.
The church has been the official musicians' church for many years and is associated with many famous musicians. The conductor Sir Henry Wood, a former organist at St Sepulchre's, is buried here. He is commemorated by one of four windows; the other three commemorate the composer John Ireland, the singer Dame Nellie Melba and Walter Carroll.
St Bride's Church
St Bride's Church is located just off Fleet Street by Ludgate Circus and has long been known as Fleet Street's church because of its long association with journalists and newspapers. Its distinctive steeple is a familiar sight on London's skyline with its tiered spire which is said to be the inspiration of modern tiered wedding cakes.
The church that was designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1672 took seven years to build but was extensively damaged in the Second World War and was rebuilt by newspaper proprietors and journalists. The present St. Bride's is at least the seventh church to have stood on the site.
Among those buried here are John Nicholls, one of Dr. Johnson's printers, Samuel Richardson, one of the first novelists and Caxton's pupil, Wynkyn de Worde as well as the remains of hundreds of people who perished in the parish during the Great Plague.
Nearest tube: St. Pauls and Blackfriars.
St. Bartholomew-the-Great
The 13th century stone archway which is surmounted by a half-timbered Tudor building from 1559, marks the entrance to the peaceful churchyard of St. Bartholomew-the-Great, London's oldest Church. Founded By Rahere, Henry I's court jester, as an Augustinian priory in 1123, the church possesses the most significant Norman interior in London. Rahere himself is buried here and was said to have founded the priory out of gratitude after recovering from a fever. His miraculous recovery led to the church gaining a reputation for having curative powers and sick people pack the church in the hope of a cure each year on the 24th of August to mark St. Bartholomew's Day.
The church nave was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, under Henry VIII, but the choir was spared and survives largely intact.
Although the church escaped the Great Fire of London in 1666, it fell into disrepair and has been restored several times leading to the building exhibiting a varied and interesting collection of architectural styles.
William Hogarth was baptised in St Bartholomew's Church in 1697.
Trivia:
The film "Four Weddings and a Funeral" used the church as the location of the fourth wedding.
Location: West Smithfield EC1
Open: Mon-Fri 8.30am-5pm,Sat 10.30am-1.30pm, Closed on Sunday mornings, except for services.
Tube ( Underground ) : Barbican.
