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 St Mary Aldermary - Watling Street, London, UK
N 51° 30.758 W 000° 05.605
30U E 701678 N 5710839
The tall, gothic tower of St Mary Aldermary church contains one bell. Prior to the Great Fire of London the tower had contained five bells.
Waymark Code: WMJ9VN
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/16/2013
Views: 1
Love's Guide
website tells us about St Mary Aldermary's bell.
The
church's website tells us:
The Great Fire of London
Although the church was one of the 89 City churches destroyed or badly
damaged in the Great Fire of 1666, the foundations and parts of the walls,
as well as the base of the tower, remained intact. Some money was provided
for temporary repair of the tower in 1676, but it was not until 1679 that
finance became available for major restoration of the church. In many of the
histories of the church it is said that the money came from the estate of
Henry Rogers, a wealthy Somerset gentleman, and was given on condition that
the new church would be a copy of the old building. While it is true that
the benefactor was Henry Rogers, it is now established that no such
condition was imposed by him.
After the Great Fire - Christopher Wren - new Gothic design
The post-Fire church, built in the period 1679-82 under the supervision of
John Oliver, one of Christopher Wren's deputies, does, however follow the
Late Perpendicular style of the Keeble church. There are probably several
reasons for this: the fact that it was the wish of the parish that the
structure of the new church should as far as possible be like that of the
old, the greater independence which the parish had in the design of the
church because they were not reliant on money from the Coal Tax, and the
economic sense of making use of the walls and the foundations that remained
after the Fire. The church is the only surviving Wren church in the City of
London built in the Gothic style.
World War II
The church escaped relatively lightly in the 1939-45 War: all the windows
were shattered and some plaster fell from the vaulting but the building
itself remained intact.
The
church's website also tells us:
There has been a church on this site for over 900
years and its name is usually taken to mean that it is the oldest of the
City churches dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Stow, in his 1598 Survey of
London, mentioned various dignitaries who were benefactors or who were
buried in the early church. These include Richard Chaucer, vintner, a
relative of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer.
In 1510, Sir Henry Keeble, a grocer and Lord Mayor, financed the building of
a new church on the site. When he died in 1518, however, the tower was
substantially unfinished and remained so until 1629 when two legacies
enabled it to be completed. The church was said to have been among the
largest and finest of the City's churches and a number of City notables were
buried there. John Milton, the poet, married his third wife in the church in
1663. The parish registers date from 1558, the year Elizabeth I ascended the
throne. All documents now extant are deposited in the Guildhall Library.
The church is a Grade I listed building with the entry at the
English Heritage website telling us:
Late C17, by Wren, incorporating work of early C16 and
early C17, especially in tower. Perpendicular Gothic style. Aisled body of 6
bays with clerestory and very short chancel. South west tower. Portland
stone with buttresses, south doorway etc added in C19. Pair of elaborate
finials to chancel. Tower has octagonal, panelled turrets with ogee caps and
a pierced parapet. North east vestry. Adjoining buildings at north west
corner. Interior has rich fan vault in plaster, with shallow domes. Further
plaster enrichment to spandrels of arcade. Panelling, reredos, pews and
organ case C19 Gothic. Carved pulpit, doorway at west end, font and railing
are late C17. Wall monuments.
Address of Tower:
Watling Street
London, United Kingdom
Still Operational: yes
Number of bells in tower?: 1
Relevant website?: [Web Link]
Rate tower: 
Tours or visits allowed in tower?: Unknown
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Visit Instructions:
Please post an original picture of the tower taken while you were there. Please also record how you came to be at this tower and any other interesting information you learned about it while there.
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