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Favorite thing: All Hallows by the Tower is the oldest church in the City of London and a living church serving today's City community.
All Hallows by the Tower established in 675 as "All Hallows Barking" (after Saxon Barking Abbey).
The 7th century Saxon doorway surviving from the original church.
Couple names from many connected with the All Hallows by the Tower:
- Thomas More, Catholic humanist, beheaded at Tower of London and buried here in 1535.
- John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the United States - married here in 1797.
Downstairs is the Undercroft Museum, with a treasury of communion plates, and a crypt.
Fondest memory: In 1926 a Roman pavement and many artifacts were discovered many feet below the church.
Updated Jan 30, 2011
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Favorite thing: Yeoman Warders (know as 'Beefeaters') have been at the Tower of London since the 14th century.
Fondest memory: Join one of their famous tours and learn about the Tower's intriguing past as they take you to the locations where history was made.
Updated Jan 29, 2011
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Favorite thing: One of the most famous, celebrated, visited, and imitated churches in London - if not the world!
James Gibbs of Edinburgh was the architect for this masterpiece, completed in the 1720s. Gibbs had earlier designed a similar spired-church at St. Mary-le-Strand. Here he took the precedent and expanded upon it - particularly with the magnificent portico that faces the National Gallery and Trafalgar Square. It's an "icon" of modern urban design.
Many concerts held here throughout the week - a celebrated cafe in the crypt - and an excellent brass-rubbing center help to ensure that St. Martin in the Fields's is visited by thousands of people every day.
"St. Martin's rises on its corner of Trafalgar Square like an elderly maestro trying to bring order to the cacophony below. This is England's most loved, most photographed, and most imitated church. Across the British Empire and across much of North America, James Gibbs' eccentric composition of tapering steeple atop a classical portico has been reproduced again and again." -- from "England's Thousand Best Churches," by Simon Jenkins
Written Sep 10, 2009
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Favorite thing: Were you born within "earshot" of the bells of St. Mary-le-Bow? If so, you're a cockney. If not, at best you're a "wannabe." Sorry!
Another traditional story related to the parish of St. Mary-le-Bow is that Dick Whittington heard the bells of St. Mary-le-Bow as he was climbing Highgate Hill. He turned back to return to the city where he was eventually destined to become Lord Mayor.
Turn again, Whittington,
Once Lord Mayor of London!
Turn again, Whittington,
Twice Lord Mayor of London!
Turn again, Whittington,
Thrice Lord Mayor of London
This is a very historic church in the Cheapside neighborhood of the City. The medieval church was destroyed in the Fire of 1666, and a new structure was built under the direction of Christopher Wren in the 1670s. Largely destroyed in the bombings of World War II, it was carefully rebuilt in the 1950s.
Wren's famous steeple reaches a height of 223 feet.
John Smith, the founder of Virginia, was a parishioner here before setting out for the new colony in the far west. There is a statue of Smith in the churchyard, along with one of Arthur Philip, the first Governor of Australia, who was born nearby.
Written Aug 24, 2009
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Favorite thing: St. Mary Woolnoth is the only City of London church designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor. It's located on the corner of Lombard and King William Streets, close to the Bank of England - and has a very distinctive facade!
Although the medieval structure that had long dominated this site survived the Fire of 1666, it was heavily damaged, and the surviving building had to be torn down for safety reasons. Hawksmoor received the commission to design the new church, and completed the structure in a fast and efficient manner. He created a "cube within a cube" - a classic format that made the most of the limited space available to him. He used an unusual style on the exterior with Corinithian columns that are also used to great effect on the interior.
St. Mary Woolnoth is now a guild church (not a parish church) but it is still used regularly for religious services and for occasional concerts as well.
Written Aug 22, 2009
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Favorite thing: Baroque grandeur - a splendid Christopher Wren interior dating from the 1670s and early 1680s. It was heavily damaged by bombing during World War II, but carefully restored in the 1950s. This is the official church of the Corporation of the City of London - next door to the Guildhall - and no longer a functioning parish church. It's located on Gresham Street.
The name derives from its location close to the medieval Jewish ghetto. Later, during the Renaissance, Thomas More used to preach here before he became a Cardinal.
Updated Aug 22, 2009
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Favorite thing: A particularly brilliant example of high baroque - and regarded by many as Christopher Wren's most outstanding parish church. St. Stephen Walbrook replaced an important medieval structure that was destroyed during the Great Fire of 1666. The dome is a prototype of St. Paul's - it was the first classical dome to be constructed in England.
The interior of the church was "cleared" of pews in the 1980s, and well-known developer Lord Palumbo commissioned the great sculptor Henry Moore (1898-1986) to create the unique stone altar that now stands directly under the dome's apex. The altar is 8 feet wide, weighs several tons, and caused enormous controversy at the time, with the dispute eventually going to the highest Ecclestiastical Court in England. I think the altar is now regarded as an apt complement to the rest of the church - I certainly find it to be very fitting.
Written Aug 22, 2009
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Favorite thing: Interesting story of historical survival this is.
From the middle ages onwards "turnpikes" or gateways guarded the roads in and out of the city of London. "Temple Bar" was located close to "The Temple Church," where Fleet Street becomes the Strand, and the parish of Westminster takes over the maintenance of the road. After the devastation of the Great Fire of 1666, Christopher Wren designed the current Temple Bar in the early 1670s; it is made of the finest Portland stone. "During the 18th century, the heads of traitors were mounted on pikes and exhibited on the roof." (Thank you Wikipedia.)
Because of the great growth in traffic and congestion, the city of London decided to get rid of Temple Bar in the 1870s. In 1878, it was dismantled stone by stone, and then sold to a wealthy brewer, Henry Meux, who had the gate reconstructed on the grounds of his country house in Hertfortshire. The Meux Trust sold the gate back to a "Temple Bar Trust" in 1984 for one pound; and in 2004 the Trust was able to ensure its recreation in the city of London. Now the Temple Bar stands just opposite St. Paul's Cathedral, as an entrance to the Paternoster Square redevelopment.
Written Aug 20, 2009
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Favorite thing: The courtyard of Somerset House has the "coolest" fountain in Central London. Somerset House is a majestic mansion on the Thames, just upriver from Charing Cross. It's been recently reconverted from governmental offices to a new incarnation as the home of the excellent Courtauld Collection of Paintings, as well as the London outpost for St. Petersburg's Hermitage Collection. The main entrance is just off the Strand.
Updated Aug 20, 2009
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Favorite thing: Although London itself is a city, not everyone realises that within its boundaries lies another city, the original City of London, sometimes referred to as the “Square Mile”. This small city dates back to the Middle Ages, and with its neighbour Westminster was the core around which the sprawling modern metropolis developed. But it has remained an autonomous (at local government level) authority and has a culture and atmosphere all its own.
There are probably two main reasons to come here – history and money. Indeed the term “The Square Mile” is used not only to designate the geographical area but also London’s financial services industry. Prior to the recession, and to some extent even now during it, London owes its international standing and much of its wealth to the activities that happen in just this small corner of the metropolis. That wealth is evident in the large number of modern office blocks squeezed into this small space, and any admirer of modern architecture will find something to appeal to them here. My own and many others’ favourite is the so-called “Gherkin”, more properly known as 30 St Mary Axe, designed by Sir Norman Foster and built to house the London headquarters of a Swiss bank. This is at present the second tallest building in the City; the tallest is Tower 42 (formerly known as the Nat West Tower and still called that by many Londoners, me included!) This is 42 storeys and 183 metres high, but it will be surpassed by the currently under construction Pinnacle or “Helter-Skelter” which is planned to rise to a massive 288 metres, and which looks set to become another iconic building for London.
For history buffs, the City of London offers even more than it does for fans of modern architecture. This history goes back to Roman times, with the building of the city wall within which the mediaeval city later developed. You can still see fragments of this wall in the grounds of the (excellent) Museum of London and in the area around the Tower of London. It was during this medieval period that the growth of London really accelerated, happening in two distinct areas. The nearby up-river town of Westminster became the Royal capital and centre of government, while here the City of London developed as the centre of commerce and trade. It was not until around 1600 that the area between them became entirely built-up, so it is not surprising that to this day they retain such different cultures and atmospheres.
The defining historical moment in the history of the City was the Great Fire of 1666. It ripped through the heart of the mediaeval maze of streets, and after it had passed grand plans were proposed to rebuild the city on more modern lines, with grand boulevards such as those already shaping the centre of Paris. The main proponent of this plan was the architect Sir Christopher Wren, and at the centre of his plan was to be a majestic cathedral. That cathedral was St Paul’s, and indeed it is wonderful, but the rest of his plan never cam to fruition, and many of us are glad that it did not. Instead the new city grew up on much the same street pattern as the old one and it that pattern that makes the City what it is today. You can still trace the winding lanes in today’s narrow passageways, and the small size and irregular shape of the city blocks has given rise to real inventiveness in modern building design as epitomised by the Gherkin and Pinnacle.
Fondest memory: The main historical sights to be seen in the City include the Tower of London, St Paul’s Cathedral, numerous other Wren churches (i.e. designed by Sir Christopher Wren to replace those lost in the Great Fire), the Monument (marking the site of the same Great Fire), the Royal Courts of Justice and the Inns of Court, the Guildhall, the Royal Exchange and many more. There is a good suggested walking tour on the website below, although I think the idea that you might complete this is one day is very optimistic (unless you choose not to stop anywhere at all en route). There are also plenty of quaint historic pubs when you’re in need of refreshment, but be warned that these get very busy at lunch-times and in the period immediately after work (5.00 – 7.00 PM) and can be very quiet later in the evening and at weekends – indeed, the whole city takes on an altogether sleepier atmosphere at that time.
Written May 7, 2009
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