Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury - Churchill Memorial - Fulton, Missouri
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 38° 50.993 W 091° 57.255
15S E 590745 N 4300637
Historic church from near London's city center now located in central Missouri.
Waymark Code: WM3T4F
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 05/13/2008
Views: 105
The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, dates to the 12th century
when it was first built near London's city center at Aldermanbury Street and
Love Lane. The original church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in
1666. The church was rebuilt in in 1677 in an English Baroque style by the 17th
century architect, Sir Christopher Wren. In 1941, it was hit by a German
incendiary bomb and gutted. All that remained is the exterior walls, tower and
twelve of the interior columns.
In 1962 the ruins were given to the Board of Trustees of Westminster College.
Westminster College wanted the ruins to construct a Memorial to Winston
Churchill. Westminster College was the location where Churchill gave his "Sinews
of Peace" speech in 1946. The speech is commonly known as Churchill's "Iron
Curtain" speech. Winston Churchill was proclaimed an honorary citizen of the
United States in 1963. In its history, the United States has honored only one
other person ,the Marquis de Lafayette, with honorary citizenship.
The reconstruction began in 1964. The ruins were painstakingly dismantled and
labeled. The stones and other recovered remains were shipped from London to
Fulton, Missouri. Only minor amounts of exterior stones had to be replaced and
those were quarried from the same Portland quarry as the originals. The church
was reconstructed in accordance to Wren's original plans. The reconstruction
took nearly five years with the dedication of the memorial May 7, 1969.
The Churchill Memorial and Library are located in the lower level of the church
and the main portion of the church is a sanctuary often used for weddings.
For more information on Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury see the
Churchill Memorial
website and the
National Register of Historic Place Nomination Form.
The original location of the Church in London is a small park with the
foundation of the church outlining a sunken portion of the park.