St Augustine's Tower stands in St John's Church Gardens, in

central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

Hackney, in the

London Borough of Hackney London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, just off the southern end of the Narrow Way (formerly Church Street). It is all that remains of the early 16th-century

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

church of Hackney of

St Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

, which replaced the 13th-century

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

church founded by the

Knights of St John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...

. The Tower comprises four stages beneath a restored parapet with diagonal buttressing. A fine working 16th-century

turret clock A turret clock or tower clock is a clock designed to be mounted high in the wall of a building, usually in a clock tower, in public buildings such as churches, university buildings, and town halls. As a public amenity to enable the community ...

has remained on the third floor of the Tower since at least 1608. The Tower and contents are

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The Tower is seen as a symbol for Hackney, and is represented in the

coat of arms of the London Borough of Hackney The coat of arms of the London Borough of Hackney is the official heraldic arms of the London Borough of Hackney. The coat of arms were granted on 25 July 1969. The present arms is mainly based on the arms of the former Metropolitan Borough of Hac ...

. During the First World War, it appeared on the cap-badge of the 10th (Hackney) Battalions of the London Regiment, together with the

Metropolitan Borough of Hackney The Metropolitan Borough of Hackney was a Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, Metropolitan borough of the County of London from 1900 to 1965. Its area became part of the London Borough of Hackney. Formation and boundaries The borough ...

motto ''Justitia Turris Nostra'', Latin for ''Justice is our tower''.

St Augustine's Church

History

The parish church of Hackney became a sinecure rectory in 1275. This meant there was a

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

and a

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

representing the parish, both positions being in the gift 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 parish served the entire area of the present London Borough of Hackney until the parish was eventually divided up in the 18th century. Many of the position holders were absentee pluralists (i.e. they had other jobs, and Hackney just formed a part of their income). From the 14th century to the 17th century the church was dedicated to

. From about 1660, the church was dedicated to St John of Jerusalem, St

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

, and known as St John at Hackney, representing the links of the parish with the

Order of St John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

.''Hackney: The Parish Church'', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 10: Hackney (1995), pp. 115-122
accessed: 26 July 2008 The church tower was constructed as part of the early 16th-century rebuilding of the church itself, commemorated by the arms of Sir John Heron (d. 1521) carved between each arch of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and also placed, with those of the rector

Christopher Urswick Christopher Urswick (1448–1522) was a priest and confessor of Margaret Beaufort. He was Rector of Puttenham, Hertfordshire, and later Dean of Windsor. Urswick is thought to have acted as a go-between in the plotting to place her son Henry VII of ...

(d. 1522), in the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

. Thereafter the church consisted of a chancel, aisled and

clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

ed nave, and south-west tower. The "so-called" Rowe Chapel, properly a mausoleum, was built on the south side of the chancel in 1614 and a

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

was added on the north side. In 1741, the church measured along its north wall and across; the tower bore a vane surmounted by a crown which reached to . The walls, with fenestration of c.1500, showed a variety of materials, as they did at the time of the church's demolition, when the exterior presented 'an incomprehensible jumble of dissonant repairs, without a trace of the original building, except the windows of part of it'. In

Tudor times The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England that began with t ...

, many members of the court used the church, including

Ralph Sadleir Ralph Sadleir (1579 – 12 February 1661) of Standon, Hertfordshire was an English landowner. He was Sheriff of Hertfordshire in 1609. He was the eldest son, and heir, of Sir Thomas Sadleir (c. 1536 – 1607), lord of the manor of Standon, b ...

( Bryck Place),

Thomas Sutton Thomas Sutton (1532 – 12 December 1611) was an English civil servant and businessman, born in Knaith, Lincolnshire. He is remembered as the founder of the London Charterhouse and of Charterhouse School. Life Sutton was the son of an official ...

(The Tan House),

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...

and the

Earl of Northumberland The title of Earl of Northumberland has been created several times in the Peerage of England and of Great Britain, succeeding the title Earl of Northumbria. Its most famous holders are the House of Percy (''alias'' Perci), who were the most po ...

(Brooke House). Lady Lucy Neville (d.1583), daughter-in-law of Queen

Catherine Parr Catherine Parr (sometimes alternatively spelled Katherine, Katheryn, Kateryn, or Katharine; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until ...

, was buried there. Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford (12 April 1550 – 24 June 1604) was probably buried here.

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...

visited the church in 1667, after resting at the local Mermaid Inn. He remarked on the fine organ but confessed in his diary that ''that which we went chiefly to see was the young ladies of the schools, whereof this is great store, very pretty'' – Hackney being renowned for its girls' schools at the time. The constant increasing of Hackney's population meant that galleries were added to the church, and by 1789 it was able to hold a congregation upwards of 1,000. This was still inadequate to the needs of the parish, and on the advice of architect

William Blackburn William Blackburn (17501790) was the leading prison architect of the Georgian Era. Following the principles of John Howard, his designs aimed to provide inmates with dry and airy cells. Blackburn was born in Southwark, London, the son of a tr ...

, the vestry petitioned

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in 1790 for the church's complete rebuilding at an adjacent site to the north. Blackburn died suddenly in November 1790;

James Spiller James Spiller (c.1761–1829) was an English architect and surveyor, a close associate of Sir John Soane. His designs included the Church of St John-at-Hackney, and the Great Synagogue, London. Life Spiller was a pupil of the architect James Wy ...

, a friend of

John Soane Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neoclassical architecture, Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professo ...

, was chosen from six architect candidates to replace him as designer of the new church. The body of the old church was pulled down in 1798, with many of the monuments preserved in the new

Church of St John-at-Hackney St John at Hackney is a Grade II* listed Anglican Church in the heart of the London Borough of Hackney with a large capacity of around 2,000. It was built in 1792 to replace Hackney's medieval parish church, of which St Augustine's Tower rem ...

. The stone was sold as building material. The extent of the original church is marked by four cornerstones to the east of the Tower. The Tower remained to house the eight bells of Hackney; these were finally relocated in the new church in 1854, after the new church tower was underpinned to take the weight.

In modern times

The Tower was subsequently used as a public mortuary, and a tool shed for the gardens of St John. The

became responsible for the maintenance of the Tower and gardens in 1912. In more recent times, the Tower was made safe in 1983, and has been used for occasional art exhibits. It is normally opened as part of

London Open House Open House London is an annual festival celebrating the architecture and urban landscape of London. It is staged by the charity Open City which campaigns to make London a more accessible, equitable and open city. During the Open House festival, ...

each year. Since 1990, the Tower has been in the care of the Hackney Historic Buildings Trust. A grant from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

has made possible repairs and improvements and a permanent exhibition on the history of the Tower, and its church, is now open to the public on the last Sunday of every month. It is now possible to climb its narrow winding stairway to the roof. St John's Church Gardens, around the Tower and later church, were awarded both a

Green Flag Award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...

, and Green Flag Heritage status, in 2008.

References

External links

Hackney Parish churches at British History Online
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Augustine's Tower Grade I listed churches in London Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Hackney History of the London Borough of Hackney Churches in the London Borough of Hackney Hackney, London Hackney Central

St Augustine's Church

History

In modern times

See also

References

External links