St Mildred, Poultry, was a parish church in the Cheap ward of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

dedicated to Anglo-Saxon Saint Mildred. It was rebuilt after the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

, and demolished in 1872. St Mildred in the Poultry was the burial place of the writer

Thomas Tusser Thomas Tusser (c. 15243 May 1580) was an English poet and farmer, best known for his instructional poem ''Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry'', an expanded version of his original title, ''A Hundreth Good Pointes of Husbandrie'', first publishe ...

. Some description of the church and its monuments is given in

John Stow John Stow (''also'' Stowe; 1524/25 – 5 April 1605) was an English historian and antiquarian. He wrote a series of chronicles of History of England, English history, published from 1565 onwards under such titles as ''The Summarie of Englyshe C ...

's ''Survey of London''.

History

Medieval building

The church stood on the north side of

Poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

at its junction with Mansion House Street. The first church can be traced back to 1175, in the reign of

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

; by 1456 it had fallen into disrepair, and had to be taken down and rebuilt.

Rebuilding after the Great Fire

The medieval building was destroyed in the

in 1666. A new church was completed in 1676 to the designs of Sir

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was ac ...

, after which the parish was united with that of St Mary Colechurch, which was not rebuilt. George Godwin described the interior of the new church as "a simple room with a flat ceiling coved at the sides … remarkable for nothing but a strange want of symmetry apparent at the west end". It was 56 feet long, 42 feet wide and 36 feet high. The most ornamented part of the exterior was the south side, towards Poultry, with a central pediment and Ionic

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s. There was a 75-foot-high tower, topped by a copper

weather vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

in the form of a ship. An organ was provided in the mid-eighteenth century by

George England George England ( 1811–1878) was an English businessman and engineer. He founded George England and Co., a steam locomotive manufacturing business based in Hatcham, New Cross. Early life England was born around 1811, in Newcastle upon Tyne. ...

Demolition

The building was sold for £50,200 in 1871 under the Union of Benefices Act 1860, and demolished the following year. A

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...

plaque now marks the site. The parish was united with that of

St Olave Old Jewry St Olave's Church, Old Jewry, sometimes known as ''Upwell Old Jewry'', was a church in the City of London located between the street called Old Jewry and Ironmonger Lane. Destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, the church was rebuilt by ...

, and the church's weather vane sent there. The proceeds of the sale were used to build and endow the new church of St Paul, Goswell Road, which also received the City church's pulpit and woodwork. When the parish of St Olave also ceased to be viable, the combined parishes were in turn united with

St Margaret Lothbury St Margaret Lothbury is a Church of England parish church on Lothbury in the City of London; it spans the boundary between Coleman Street Ward and Broad Street Ward. Recorded since the 12th century, the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of ...

Rectors (incomplete list)

* 1523–1527 John Smith * 1541 John Weale * 1590–1617 Thomas Sorocold * 1618–1638 Nathaniel Shute * 1638, ejected Richard Maden * 1645–1646 Henry Scudder as minister * 1661–1673 Richard Perrinchief, Archdeacon of Huntingdon * 1673–1696

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

* 1726–1748 William Wallis * 1748–1775 Benjamin (John) Newcombe, Dean of Rochester * 1775–1806 Robert Bromley

References

External links

Explanation of dedication
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mildred, Poultry 1872 disestablishments in England Buildings and structures demolished in 1872 Churches rebuilt after the Great Fire of London but since demolished Christopher Wren church buildings in London