Oranges and Lemons, say the bells of St Clements…’ It is historically unsure whether the famous nursery rhyme refers to St Clement Danes or St Clements Eastcheap. Many researchers favour the latter. Nevertheless, it is the former that has appropriated the song, and proudly refers to itself as the ‘Oranges and Lemons Church’. Standing in […]
St Brides Fleet Street
St Brides has a long history, probably due to the proximity of a Holy Well once dedicated to St Bridget, from which the church received its dedication. Indeed, the name Bridewell has been synonymous with the area for centuries, and is now the name of a nearby theatre. On the site of the future church, […]
St Bartholomew The Great
Smithfield is not an attractive area, with the sprawling hospital complex of St Barts on one side and the untidy meat market on the other. A couple of plaques on the hospital wall remind the passerby of certain less savoury aspects of the area’s history, by memorialising Protestant martyrs who were burned here during the […]
St Andrew Undershaft
At the start of the new Millenium, after centuries of obselescence, St Andrew’s suffix has now gained new meaning, as it stands today in the shadow of the soaring Swiss RE building, more colloquially known as the Gherkin. Originally, however, the name had a different meaning. The history of the site may extend as far […]
All Hallows by the Tower
Barking Abbey, the remains of which still be seen, was founded by Erkenwald in the year 666. Owning land on the eastern edge of the City, the Abbey constructed the Saxon church of All Hallows Berkyngechirche on Tower Hill in 675. Over the centuries, the name mutated to All Hallows Barking. The exterior of the […]
St Margaret Westminster
Despite being a fair size, St Margaret is often overlooked because it is dwarfed by its proximity to Westminster Abbey, the entrance to which stands only a few yards away. The mighty Gothic colossus that is the Houses of Parliament dominates the view to the east, and it is unsurprising that the casual visitor to […]