Holy Trinity, Minories, was a

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

outside the eastern boundaries of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

, but within the

Liberties of the Tower of London The Liberties of the Tower, or the Tower Liberty is a small neighbourhood in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, East London, which includes both Tower Hill and the Tower of London. The area was defined sometime after 1200 to provide an open are ...

. The liberty was incorporated in the

Metropolitan Borough of Stepney The Metropolitan Borough of Stepney was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London created in 1900. In 1965 it became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Formation and boundaries The borough was formed from thirteen civil parishes a ...

in 1899, and today is within the

. Converted from the chapel of a nunnery, Holy Trinity was in use as a church from the 16th century until the end of the 19th century. It survived as a parish hall until it was destroyed by bombing during World War II.

History

The parish covered an area previously occupied by the precincts of the

Abbey of the Minoresses of St. Clare without Aldgate The Abbey of the Minoresses of St. Clare without Aldgate known also variously as the "Abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Aldgate" or the "House of Minoresses of the Order of St Clare of the Grace of the Blessed Virgin Mary" or the "Minoresses witho ...

, founded by

Edmund Crouchback Edmund, Earl of Lancaster and Earl of Leicester (16 January 12455 June 1296) nicknamed Edmund Crouchback was a member of the House of Plantagenet. He was the second surviving son of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. In his ch ...

, in 1293, for a group of Spanish nuns of the

Order of St. Clare The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare ( la, Ordo sanctae Clarae) – originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and later the Clarisses, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Order, and the Second Order of Saint Francis ...

who arrived with his wife.East of London FHS
The nuns were also known as the ''Minoresses'' – which came to be adapted as the name for the district,

Minories Minories ( ) is the name of a small former administrative unit, and also of a street in central London. Both the street and the former administrative area take their name from the Abbey of the Minoresses of St. Clare without Aldgate. Both are ...

. The nunnery was surrendered to the Crown in 1539, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and the buildings, excluding the chapel, were used as an armory for the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

, and later, as a

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...

. Some of the abbey buildings survived until their destruction by fire in 1797. The nuns' chapel became a parish church. Considerable changes were made to the building: all the ancient monuments were removed, a gallery, a new pulpit and pews were installed, and a steeple was built.Tomlinson 1907, pp. 241–87 The first recorded reference to a dedication to the Holy Trinity dates from 1563. Later in the 16th century, the church was a

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...

stronghold, where both

John Field John Field may refer to: *John Field (American football) (1886–1979), American football player and coach *John Field (brigadier) (1899–1974), Australian Army officer *John Field (composer) (1782–1837), Irish composer *John Field (dancer) (192 ...

and

Thomas Wilcox Thomas Wilcox ( – 1608) was a British Puritan clergyman and controversialist. Life In 1571, with John Field he authored the ''Admonition to Parliament'', that called for the removal of Bishops and ecclesiastical hierarchy. Wilcox and Field we ...

preached. Until 1730, the church claimed the rights of a

royal peculiar A royal peculiar is a Church of England parish or church exempt from the jurisdiction of the diocese and the province in which it lies, and subject to the direct jurisdiction of the monarch, or in Cornwall by the duke. Definition The church par ...

– including freedom from the authority of the

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

; and the right to perform marriages "without licence".

Monuments A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

in the church included those for William Legge (1608-1670), a commander for King Charles I during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

, his wife, Elizabeth Washington (distantly related to

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

) and their son,

George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth PC (c. 1647 – 1691) was an English Royal Navy officer, who was appointed Admiral of the Fleet by James II in September 1688. However, he failed to intercept the invasion force under William III that landed ...

. In 1849, a

mummified A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...

head was found in the under-floor vaults, which was reputed to be that of

Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 3rd Marquess of Dorset (17 January 151723 February 1554), was an Kingdom of England, English courtier and nobleman of the Tudor period. He was the father of Lady Jane Grey, known as "the Nine Days' Queen". Orig ...

, who had been executed for treason by

Queen Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...

in 1554. The head was displayed in a glass case in the vestry, but later went to

St Botolph's Aldgate St Botolph's Aldgate is a Church of England parish church in the City of London and also, as it lies outside the line of the city's former eastern walls, a part of the East End of London. The full name of the church is St Botolph without Aldga ...

where it was interred in a vault and eventually buried in the churchyard in 1990. Holy Trinity Minories reredos 1898

The church escaped the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the ...

but fell into disrepair and was rebuilt in brick in 1706, retaining the north wall of the medieval building. The new church was a plain structure, a single space undivided by pillars or columns, long and wide, built at a cost of £700.Hughson 1805, p,186 The bells were housed in a wooden turret above the projecting porch.

Burials

William Legge (Royalist) William Legge (1608 – 13 October 1670) was an English royalist army officer, a close associate of Prince Rupert of the Rhine. Early life He was the eldest son of Edward Legge, who was vice-president of Munster by the influence of his kinsman ...

William Legge, 1st Earl of Dartmouth William Legge, 1st Earl of Dartmouth (14 October 1672 – 15 December 1750), was Lord Privy Seal from 1713 to 1714. He was a Hanoverian Tory, supporting the Hanoverian succession following the death of Queen Anne. Life The only son of George Le ...

William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth, PC, FRS (20 June 1731 – 15 July 1801), styled as Viscount Lewisham from 1732 to 1750, was a British statesman who is most remembered as the namesake of Dartmouth College. Background Dartmouth was the so ...

George Legge, 3rd Earl of Dartmouth George Legge, 3rd Earl of Dartmouth KG, PC, FRS (3 October 1755 – 10 November 1810), styled Viscount Lewisham until 1801, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1778 to 1784. Background George Legge, known from birt ...

Arthur Kaye Legge Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more ...

William Legge, 4th Earl of Dartmouth William Legge, 4th Earl of Dartmouth FRS, SA (29 November 1784 – 22 November 1853), styled The Honourable William Legge until 1801 and Viscount Lewisham between 1801 and 1810, was a British peer. Background Dartmouth was the son of George Le ...

Closure and destruction

In 1899, the church was closed under the provisions of the

Union of Benefices Act 1860 The Union of Benefices Act was legislation which prevented the need for other Acts if following its prescribed three-stage scheme. It enabled reduction of the number of parish churches and vicars/rectors in London's "Metropolis", as defined by a ...

and united with the parish of

. The pulpit was taken to

All Saints Church, East Meon All Saints' Church is an Anglican parish church in the village of East Meon, Hampshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building and the oldest building in the village, lying so tight to a hill to the north of the village – part of the South Do ...

in 1906. The former church was used as a parish room until destroyed by bombing during the Second World War. The medieval north wall survived until the clearance of the site in 1956–8.Collins 1960, p.160

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holy Trinity, Minories 13th-century establishments in England 1941 disestablishments in England Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Religion in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Former Royal Peculiars

Former churches in London Destroyed churches in London