The church was built in the middle of the eighteenth century
and was designed by George Dance the Elder. The construction is mainly of
Portland stone and brick.
The church is Grade I listed and the entry at the English
Heritage website (visit
link) tells us:
"Parish Church. 1736 by George Dance the elder.
Classical church with brick core and plentiful dressings of Portland stone. Full
height pedimented Doric portico has tower above with clock stage, bell stage,
drum, cupola, upper drum and short spire, all of Portland stone. Arched windows,
These and doors all in moulded architraves; cornice and pediment on scrolled
consoles to main door. Inside a groin vaulted lobby leads to nave whose round
arcading rests on Doric entablatures of piers. West bay is gallery for handsome
baroque organ case. East bay has good oak choir benches. Pulpit of C17
appearance with early-mid C18 stair, Interesting monuments, in particular that
to Elizabeth Benson (d,1710) by Francis Bird. Groin vaulted undercroft with old
tomb chests, Later south extension."
The church's website (visit link) gives an
excellent history of the site:
"Dedicated to St Leonard, the patron saint of prisoners
and those who are mentally ill, there has been a church here for many centuries.
The first Christians in England were probably soldiers in the roman army. The
church stands on the site where all the roman roads joined. You can travel from
here to Chester, Bath, Lincoln, York, Chichester and Colchester along their old
routes. The Wallbrook river rises outside the front door which made it a perfect
site for the army camp. It is just possible, although hopeful, that Christians
were here while Claudius was still emperor and Luke was writing his
gospel.
We know little of those early days but there is some
description of an Anglo-Saxon church which was demolished when the Normans built
a replacement. This had its first vicar in 1185.
It was this church which became the actors’ church. The
first English theatre was close by in New Inn Yard where several of
Shakespeare’s plays had their initial performance. Many of the Elizabethan
theatrical fraternity are buried in the medieval church under our crypt. This
includes three Burbages, James who built the first English theatre,; his son
Cuthbert who built the Globe theatre and his other son Richard who was the first
to play Macbeth, Hamlet, Richard 3rd, Othello and especially Romeo. So the first
Romeo is buried in the crypt where Shakespeare placed the final scene of his
tragic play.
It was enlarged over many years until it had three
aisles and became a substantial building. This however was a problem, for the
river outside regularly overflowed and eventually damaged the
foundations.
When the church finally collapsed in the eighteenth
century, the present building was erected over and across its floor. It was
designed by George Dance the Elder. Although as a student he had worked on the
cathedral, and subsequently repaired and reordered several churches, this was
the only church he designed and built from an original design. His main work was
with public buildings, for example he built the Mansion House for the Lord
Mayor. However, this new church caused a scandal when first opened. It was very
unlike the chunky and ornate Hawksmoor style so popular in the late Baroque
period. The slender columns and subtle colonnades, and bright windows were an
innovation that was hard to accept as a church. Luckily tastes have changed and
now it is seen as a national treasure. It is, with its Clerk’s House, the oldest
building in Shoreditch.
In 1870, the Victorians vandalised it, stripping out the
galleries and bricking up the ground floor windows. They did not realise that
they compromised the structural integrity of the building. Twentieth century war
damage hastened its problems. It was apparent by 1990 that the building was
becoming unsafe, so eventually it was closed for nearly two years to be rebuilt
nearer to its original form.
Shoreditch Church has always been committed to its
community. (When the Spanish Armada was coming up the channel, the church was
giving out bread and coal to poor people.) So when it was recently rebuilt, a
large amount of money was spent on its community needs and no funds were left to
buy paint. Hence it still looks a bit sad and tatty.
The current community is highly diverse. The wealth of
the City meets the deprivation of Hackney and Tower Hamlets. The estates to the
east have traditionally been dumping areas for the disaffected and poor
immigrants. However, the large Bengali community is being assimilated into the
newly rich creating yet another wonderfully fruitful village.
However, there is another community of semi-derelict
people who live on the streets. To help this community, the church has built
‘Acorn House’ the 18 bed residential unit for those who need a roof and security
while they recover from various addictions. This is operated for us by the
Spitalfields Crypt Trust.
More recently the Hanbury Project began its work to help
give practical skills to those in recovery. Among other projects, they have
relandscaped the church gardens with stunning plants creating a valuable asset
for our community.
We also have four addicts groups that use the church
hall in the week and a daily drop-in centre. We now help nearly five hundred
people a month.
The wonderful acoustics have made it a favourite venue
for music; about twelve hundred musicians have played here in the last four
years. This ranges from the B.B.C. Symphony Orchestra to grade one piano
students via Jack White and Dead Weather.
Of course, its primary purpose is to retain its ancient
and holy presence in Shoreditch. More than two hundred people a week come to
pray and worship.
If you would like to visit us or arrange a tour please
contact Revd. Paul Turp email p.turp48@btinternet.com
For the future, we are exploring the possibility of
reopening the twelfth century church crypt in such a way that you will be able
to walk the floor that Shakespeare walked and maybe see the last resting place
of those early English actors."
The British History website (visit
link) tells us:
"The foundation-stone of the present structure was laid
on 15th November, 1736, and the first service was held in the church on 23rd
August, 1740. The cost of building, including the provision of the "tabernacle,"
parliamentary expenses, etc., but not including the vestry, churchyard wall, and
a few other items, amounted to £7,485. To meet this the trustees appointed under
the Act of 1735 were authorised to borrow money and grant annuities on the
burial and other rates to an amount not exceeding £8,000 at 8½ per cent. This
authority was apparently exercised to the full."
The main service is held at 10.30am on
Sundays.