Christ Church Greyfriars - Newgate Street, London, UK
N 51° 30.951 W 000° 05.954
30U E 701260 N 5711181
This church, built to a Wren design between 1677 and 1691, was bombed during the Second World War. All that remains is the tower and the area where the main part of the church was situated has been turned into a garden.
Waymark Code: WMFF2K
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/09/2012
Views: 2
A grey, slate attached to the tower is
inscribed:
The steeple which as built to the design
of Sir Christopher Wren in 1691 sustained serious damage when the church
itself was destroyed by bombing during the World War 1939-1945. After being
dismantled the original stonework with all necessary repairs and replacements
was re-erected in 1960 when through the initiative of Lord Morristone,
Architect and by the generosity of Mrs A M Moore of Leicester, the twelve urns
at high level which had been removed for reasons of safety in the nineteenth
century were reinstated. Apart from this benefaction, the cost of the whole
undertaking was jointly met by the War Damage Comission, the Ministry of Works
and the London Diocesan Reorganisation Committee.
'Walk about Sion and go round about her
and tell the towers thereof'
The tower and remains of the church are Grade I listed and
the brief entry at the English Heritage website [visit
link] tells us:
"1677 to 91 Sir Christopher Wren. Tower 1704. Coursed
rubble and Portland stone. Particularly fine west tower and steeple, the urns
replaced in fibre-glass. Only 5 bays of north wall of church and a fragment of
the south wall remain."
The Loves Guide website [visit link]
tells us that the tower used to house two bells. The large bell was scrapped in
1960 and the smaller bell was transferred to Christ's Hospital in
1982.
The Laura Linehan Blog [visit
link] gives an insight to religion at this site:
"It was upon a long walk after work on Friday night not
only did I stumble upon Smithfield market 5 minutes down the road but also a
beautiful set of ruins that had been converted into gardens. That discovery is
the inspiration for this blog post as it required some research and extra
reading.
There has been Christian place of worship on the sight of
Christ Church Greyfriars in new street opposite St Paul’s since
1200s.
It got the name Greyfriars from the colour of the habit worn
by the Franciscan monks that lived in the monastery.
At the
beginning of the 14th century a new church was built to be able to house more
monks and it was consecrated in 1326. This build was paid for by the King’s wife
and queen consort to Edward I, Marguerite of France. The medieval buildings
dimension have measured as 300 feet in length by 89 feet in withe and is thought
to be the second largest church in 14th century London.
In 1429
Dick Wittington, the lord mayor of London founded the building of a library for
the monastery and its monks.
The monastery remained and thrived on
the site until 1538 when it was dissolved under the orders of Thomas Cromwell
and Henry VIII in the English Reformation. 8 years later the church to the city
corporation of London to be used a parish church but no longer a monastic
house.
Those monks under 24 were given freedom; ordained monks were
sent to parishes to work as priests while older monks were supposed to be
pensioned off.
The priory buildings were later used as Christ
hospital school and was founded by Edward VI.
Disaster strikes
again in 1666. Along with St Pauls and 50 other churches Christ Church grey
friars was destroyed in the great fire of London. For a building to have come
out reasonably unscathed from the dissolution, its heart breaking to think of it
burning down 130 odd years later.
New life was breathed on the site
when restoration architect Sir Christopher Wren was assigned to rebuild this
site.
The congregation were able to raise £1000 to start the work
to rebuild the church, £1,000 not being a small sum in the 17th century. Many of
the gothic foundations were reused to save both time and money. The church was
smaller and the western part of the site that was not utilized would be come the
church and grave yard.
In 1704 a steeple was added to the tower
costing £1963 8shillings and 3 pence. 56 years later a vestry was added to the
site as well.
The church attracted some big names to play music
there and they include Felix Mendelsosohnin 1837 and Samuel
Wesley.
So far we have seen our church survive many of the biggest
events in early modern history. But Christ Church Greyfriars was about to suffer
its saddest fate yet in the first part of the 20th century.
Having
escaped the Great War and the thirties depression, it would be the blitz bombing
of the second world war that would ultimately be the nemesis for Christ church
Greyfriars Newgate. The fateful night was 29th December 1940. The roof was hit
by a fire bomb and destroyed the nave of the church. Miraculously the steeple
remained standing but was taken down in the 60ks and then rebuild to make it
safe. In 1949 it was decided by the Anglican church not to rebuild the destroyed
church. Finally in the late 80s the old nave of the church was turned in to the
stunning memorial garden we see today.
The 21st century saw the
ruin get a new neighbour from the multinational American company Merrill Lynch.
They have their HQ on what was the western end of the site and the former church
yard. They also helped finance major renovation and archaeological investigation
of the site.
It is worth noting that Christ Church Greyfriars is
the final resting place of some amazing characters of our history
including:
Isabella of France (Queen of England), Marguerite of
France (queen of England), Joan of the Tower (Queen of Scotland), Isabella de
Coucy (Princess), Thomas Mallory (author), Richard Baxter (theologian),
Elizabeth Barton (the mad maid of Kent), Venetia Stanley (socialite and
beauty)
So the next time your in the area around and near St Pauls
and you seek refuge from the hustle and bustle of busy London life, I recommend
the quiet Greyfriars gardens with the tranquillity that only a ruin and its
history can bring."
The church is no longer used for worship and the tower has
been converted to a house. The gardens are open 24/7 and present a nice place to
sit and relax.