The plaque, that is
in good condition, reads:
| |
The Corporation
of
Site of
St. Bartholomew
by the
Exchange,
burnt 1666
rebuilt by Wren,
demolished
1841
The City of London
|
|
The AIM25 website
[visit
link] tells us:
"The church of
Saint Bartholomew by the Exchange, Bartholomew Lane, was also referred to as
Little Saint Bartholomew and Saint Bartholomew the Less (although it should not
be confused with Saint Bartholomew the Less, West Smithfield. It was first
mentioned in records in 1150. The church was destroyed during the Great Fire of
London in 1666, but was rebuilt by Wren in 1674-1679. In 1840 it was demolished
as part of the construction of the new Royal Exchange. The parish was united
with the parish of Saint Margaret Lothbury."
Wikipedia [visit
link] tells us:
"Early
history:
St. Bartholomew was
dedicated to the apostle who, by tradition, was martyred in Armenia by being
flayed alive. The Royal Exchange was opened next to the church in
1571.
The earliest
surviving reference to the church is in a document of 1225/6. As this was 3 ½
centuries before the foundation of the Royal Exchange, early references to the
church are as “St. Bartholomew the Less” or “Little St. Bartholomew”, to
distinguish it from the priory of St Bartholomew-the-Great. In 1547, upon the
dissolution of the monasteries, the nearby chapel that stood within St
Bartholomew's Hospital itself, was renamed St Bartholomew the Little, as a
parish church. — now St. Bartholomew-the-Less. In the interim between this date
and the building of the Royal Exchange, the church later called “St.
Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange” became lytyll saynt Bathellmuw besyd sunt
Antony's.
According to
John Stow the church was rebuilt by an alderman assisted by a sheriff in 1438.
In 1509, a south chapel was added by Lord Mayor and Draper Sir William Capel,
whose mansion was in the parish.
Although he was
rector of St Magnus-the-Martyr, Miles Coverdale - the creator of the first
complete translation of the Bible into English - was buried in St.
Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange in 1568. Upon the destruction of the church, his
remains were moved to St. Magnus’.
Rebuilding:
St. Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange was one of 89 churches
destroyed in the Great Fire. An entry in Robert Hooke’s diary of 1674 records a
decision to pull down the damaged steeple. Rebuilding began the following year
and finished in 1683 at a total cost of £5077.
Parish boundary mark on wall
of the Bank of England
Only the west
face of the church, on Bartholomew Lane, was exposed. This was three bays wide,
the central bay being equal in width to the two outer bays combined. The two
outer bays had large round headed windows, while the central bay had a Venetian
window above the main entrance. The tower was in the south west corner and was
built of brick, with a parapet on top. In the middle of each side was an open
arch supported by ramps. This was either a whimsical design or preparation for a
steeple that was never erected.
Inside, the
church was divided into a nave and two aisles by two rows of eight columns which
also supported a clerestory. St. Bartholomew’s was one of the few Wren churches
to have a protruding chancel. In addition to the tower, also projecting from the
quadrilateral body from the church was a chapel on the south side – on the site
of the 1509 Capel chapel and a vestry room on the north east
corner.
Demolition:
In 1838, the Royal Exchange, which had also been rebuilt
after the Great Fire, burnt down. In order to improve access to the site of the
Exchange, the Corporation of London petitioned Parliament for permission to
demolish St. Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange – as well as the neighbouring St. Benet
Fink, so that Threadneedle Street may be widened. This was granted and the
church demolished in 1840. Edward John Carlos, wrting in The Gentleman's
Magazine prophesied: “The apathy with which the removal of St Bartholomew’s
church will be remembered and felt when perhaps the loss of this church will be
found a trifle in comparison with the wholesale destruction to which, ere long,
the churches of the metropolis may chance to be destined”.
The parish was
combined with that of St Margaret Lothbury and proceeds of the sale of the site
were used to build St. Bartholomew Moor Lane. This church, designed by Charles
Robert Cockerell, was a replica of St. Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange and included
much of its furnishings. This, in turn, was demolished in 1902 and the £20,400
realised from the sale of this site were used to build St. Bartholomew Stamford
Hill.
Cockerell also
designed the Sun Life Assurance building that was erected on the site of the
demolished church. This, in turn, was demolished and the site is now occupied by
the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Since the
demolition of St. Bartholomew’s, 31 City churches have been lost due to
demolition or bombing during the World War
II."