The model, that stands about 45cm tall, has a
museum plaque that reads:
"Model of the tower of St Dunstan's church,
Fleet Street, 1832
Stephen Salter
Old St Dunstan's church was demolished in 1830. Its replacement, designed by the
architect John Shaw, had seating for a congregation of 800. The church's tower
was an early example of the gothic revival, described by A. W. N. Pugin as 'the
only true Christian architecture'. The most famous London building in this style
is the Palace of Westminster."
The museum website (visit
link) tells us:
"This architectural model of the church of
St Dunstan-in-the-West was made by Stephen Salter. Architects would usually
employ specialist model makers for this work. Models were used extensively by
architects to illustrate their ideas three dimensionally for clients.
St Dunstan's was designed by the architect John Shaw. It was built on the site
of an original Medieval church which was demolished in 1830. Shaw's design is an
example of the nineteenth century Gothic Revival style of architecture. The
model shows the church's lantern tower with its unglazed windows. Shaw died in
1832 leaving his son to finish his work the following year."
The St Dunstan's-in-the-West website (visit
link) tells us:
"St. Dunstan-in-the-West has a long and
illustrious history. Visitors are often struck by how St. Dunstan’s differs in
appearance and style to other Anglican churches. The church looks traditionally
Neo-Gothic on the outside, yet is octagonal inside.
Saint Dunstan
Dunstan was one of the foremost Saints of
Anglo-Saxon England: he was also one of the most venerated before the cult of
St. Thomas Becket took hold of the popular imagination. He was born in 909 A.D.
and was taught by Irish monks at Glastonbury Abbey, Somerset, where he developed
a reputation as a formidable scholar. He also learnt metalworking, and was later
adopted as the patron Saint of Goldsmiths.
Dunstan became a companion to King Aethelstan’s stepbrothers, Edmund and Eadred,
although he was banished after the king died in 939. He then lived at
Glastonbury as a hermit, before being appointed Abbot there in 945. He was
appointed as the Bishop of Worcester and then the Bishop of London, before being
elected Archbishop of Canterbury in 960. Dunstan sought peace with the Danes and
promoted monastic living, as well as establishing the library at Canterbury
Cathedral, where he was buried in 988. St. Dunstan’s feast day is the 19th May,
and is still celebrated at this church.
The Original Church
The original St. Dunstan-in-the-West stood
on the same site as today, spilling in the past onto what is now the tarmac of
Fleet Street. It is not known exactly when the original church was built, but it
was between 988 and 1070 A.D. It is not impossible that Saint Dunstan himself,
or priests who knew him well, decreed that a church was needed here.
The Church narrowly escaped the Great Fire of London in 1666. The quick thinking
of the Dean of Westminster saved the church: he roused forty scholars from
Westminster School in the middle of the night, who extinguished the flames with
buckets of water. The flames came within three doors of St. Dunstan’s.
The Church is Rebuilt
The wear and tear of time took its toll,
however, and St. Dunstan’s was rebuilt in 1831. The architect, John Shaw, died
in 1832, leaving his son, who bore the same name, to complete the task.
The tower was badly damaged by German bombers in 1944, and was rebuilt in 1950
through the generosity of newspaper magnate Viscount Camrose. In 1952, St.
Dunstan-in-the-West became a Guild Church, dedicating its ministry to the
daytime working population around Fleet Street.
The Church Today
The Clock and Giants
St Dunstan-in-the-West was a well-known
landmark in previous centuries because of its magnificent clock. This dates from
1671, and was the first public clock in London to have a minute hand. The
figures of the two giants strike the hours and quarters, and turn their heads.
There are numerous literary references to the clock, including in Tom Brown’s
Schooldays, the Vicar of Wakefield and a poem by William Cowper (1782):
When labour and when
dullness, club in hand,
Like the two figures at St. Dunstan’s stand,
Beating alternately in measured time
The clockwork tintinnabulum of rhyme,
Exact and regular the sounds will be,
But such mere quarter-strokes are not for me.
The courtyard also contains statues of King
Lud, the mythical sovereign, and his sons and Queen Elizabeth I, all of which
originally stood in Ludgate. The statue of Queen Elizabeth I dates from 1586 and
is the only one known to have been carved during her reign.
Inside the Church
Much of the internal fabric pre-dates the
rebuilding of the Church in the 1830s.
The high altar and reredos are Flemish woodwork dating from the seventeenth
century. There are also a large number of monuments from the original church.
Some of the earliest are two bronze figures thought to date from 1530.
The Organ
The original church has an organ dating from
1674-75 made by Renatus Harris. However, none of the original parts are likely
to have remained as over the years it has had to be entirely rebuilt. Much of
the present organ dates from 1834, when a Joseph Robson organ was bought at the
same time as the Church was being rebuilt. Many distinguished organists have
played here, including John Reading, the composer of Adeste Fideles, who died in
1764. Handel was even invited to play here, although whether the great composer
ever accepted the invitation remains unknown.
The Romanian Orthodox Church
As well as being an Anglican church, the
building of St. Dunstan’s is home to the Romanian Orthodox Church in London. The
beautiful iconostasis (altar screen) was brought here from a monastery in
Bucharest in 1966.
St. Dunstan-in-the-West is home to the
Anglican and Eastern Churches Association, and is a centre of prayer for
Christian Unity. It is therefore appropriate that the side chapels contain
altars dedicated to various traditions, including the Lutheran Church in Berlin
(EKD). There is also an altar of the Oriental Churches (Armenian, Coptic,
Ethiopian, Syrian, Syro-Indian) and a shrine of the Lutheran and Reformed
Churches. St Dunstan’s continues in its special role of promoting good relations
with Churches outside the Anglican Communion, including through its role as the
Diocese of London’s Church for Europe.
Other Famous Connections
The poet John Donne held the benefice here
from 1624-31, while he was Dean of St. Paul’s. William Tyndale, who pioneered
the translation of the Bible into English, was a lecturer here. The famous
diarist Samuel Pepys worshipped here a number of times. Lord Baltimore, who
founded the State of Maryland in the USA, was buried here in 1632, as was his
son. The church has been associated with the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers
(old English for shoemakers) since the fifteenth century. Once a year the
company holds a service here to commemorate the benefactors John Fisher and
Richard Minge, after which children used to be given a penny for each time they
ran around the church!
The Hoare Bank
The church has long had an association with
C. Hoare and Co., whose bank has been situated opposite the church since 1690.
The Hoare family donated the four stained glass windows behind the high altar
and the carved canopies of the altar-piece. The windows show Archbishop
Lanfrance; St Dunstan beside a roaring furnace into which he has thrust his
pincers ready to pull a devil’s nose; St. Anselm and Archbishop Langton with
King John at the signing of the Magna Carta. Members of the Hoare family, as
well as being generous benefactors, have maintained a tradition of service as
churchwardens over the centuries. Two have been Lord Mayors of London and a
family vault still lies in the church crypt.
The staple of Victorian penny shockers, the story of Sweeney Todd, the Demon
Barber of Fleet Street, stalks the no-man’s land between urban myth and
historical fact. According to some sources, Todd, a barber, tooth-puller and
surgeon, did actually exist, and in 1785 set up shop at 186 Fleet Street. It is
claimed that he murdered over 100 of his clients, before selling their flesh on
to Margery Lovett, who owned a pie shop in nearby Bell Yard!"