THE CITY OF LONDON CHURCHES (8); Queen Victoria Street and Cheapside

[This is the eighth of 10 articles briefly describing the 39 functioning historic Anglican churches in the City of London]

In this piece, I want first to cover two rather overlooked churches All Hallows–on-the --Wall and St Nicholas Cole Abbey:  then two major churches St Mary Aldermary and famous St Mary-le-Bow.

All Hallows-on-the-Wall

All Hallows-on-the-Wall is rather a straggler in my series, as it does not fit in easily geographically. The church we see was built in 1765 by George Dance the Younger in the Georgian manner when he was 24, although there had been a church on this site since the 12^th century. It is plain brick with a cheerful tower in Portland stone; internally there is striking Italianate decoration on the barrel-vaulted ceiling. Services are rare at this church as it has for some time been principally used as offices for a selection of church charities.

------------------------------------------

Half-way down Queen Victoria Street is the handsome church of St Nicholas Cole Abbey, designed by Wren in 1671, with a particularly fine tower and lead spire. To the North is the splendour of St Paul’s Cathedral and to the South the walkway across the once shaky bridge to Tate Modern. St Nicholas is now on a spacious site but this is mainly thanks to the 19^th century building of wide Queen Victoria Street, sweeping away the old narrow alleys and the 1940-41 Blitz which flattened the whole area.

But St Nicholas always struggled to keep a congregation as a parish church. The neighbouring river wharves declined as London’s docks were developed and the local population plummeted. After the Blitz the devastated church was maybe quixotically rebuilt. It has been closed as an active church for some years and is the headquarters of the Culham Institute, an Anglican religious education organisation. Currently a notice on the door promises it will reopen soon offering “workplace ministries”...Do not hold your breath!

st Nicholas Cole Abbey

--------------------------------------------

Walking up Queen Victoria Street towards Bank soon takes you to the elegant Gothic tower and fine church of St Mary Aldermary, rebuilt after the Fire by Wren in 1682.

St Mary Aldermary in Wren Gothic

 The original church was Gothic and the rich parishioners wanted to retain the Gothic. style after the Fire; so uniquely, Wren set aside his usual Baroque and invented his own cheerful version of Gothic. The tower is pleasing but the most spectacular feature is internally with Wren’s version of fan vaulting. This comprises circular saucer domes and semi-circles with the spaces in between filled with quatrefoil panelling.

St Mary Aldermary's Fan Vaulting

 Wren has created a joyful place. The church currently is very active and has become the home of the Moot Community, a new Anglican monastic order. It also hosts the Syriac Orthodox Church, a mainly Indian sect, which has a regular Sunday service there.

On a recent visit to St Mary I unexpectedly saw the Lord Mayor, in scarlet robes, attended by two bewigged Sheriffs, his Sword-bearer and his Mace-bearer attired in a gorgeously embroidered tunic. The Bearer told me the gold mace dates from just after the Great Fire of 1666. The Lord Mayor was there for a service relating to the City Ward elections for Common Councilmen. The church is in Cordwainer Ward and the ancient Cordwainers (shoemakers) Livery Company is closely associated with St Mary Aldermary.

This pageantry with its historic continuity is one of the most attractive features of the life of the City.

----------------------------------------

From St Mary Aldermary it is but a short walk up narrow but bustling Bow Lane to the most renowned City church St Mary-le-Bow. Famously a London “Cockney” is defined as one born within earshot of the sound of Bow Bells and though the bells fell from their tower in the Blitz, they were re-hung when the gutted church was rebuilt after the war.

Wren had remodelled the church after the Fire in the 1670s and paid special attention to the tower. As most of the City Churches were hemmed in by shops, the towers were often the most visible feature and the skyline, especially from the Thames, was carefully orchestrated. The tower of St Mary-le-Bow is particularly splendid.

St Mary-le-Bow

 The gutted interior was lavishly renovated by Laurence King in blue, white and gold. A large Rood, a gift from West Germany in 1962, hangs before the altar. There is striking modern stained glass. The unusual twin pulpits have often been put to good use for lively adversarial debates on ethical and political subjects. There is also a majestic rusticated doorway from Cheapside

St Mary-le-Bow interior

 There is a strong Australian connection as Admiral Arthur Phillip, founder of Sydney and first Governor of New South Wales was a parishioner and has a memorial in the church. Another parishioner, whose statue graces the churchyard, was Captain John Smith of Jamestown (1580-1631), who explored Chesapeake Bay, promoted the colonisation of Virginia and coined the phrase “New England”.

Statue of Captain John Smith at St Mary-le-Bow

---------------------------------------------------

SMD

29.03.13

Text Copyright © Sidney Donald 2013