St Mildred, Poultry, was a parish church in the

Cheap Cheap may refer to: *Cheapness * ''Cheap'' (album), debut album from Seasick Steve *Cheap (ward), London, UK *Flatwoods, Kentucky, previously known as Cheap See also *Cheapskate A miser is a person who is reluctant to spend, sometimes to th ...

ward 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 ...

dedicated to Anglo-Saxon

Saint Mildred Saint Mildrith, also Mildthryth, Mildryth and Mildred, ( ang, Mildþrȳð) (born c. 660, died after 732), was a 7th and 8th-century Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon abbess of the Abbey at Minster-in-Thanet, Kent. She was declared a saint after her death ...

. 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 Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the ...

, 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 English history, published from 1565 onwards under such titles as ''The Summarie of Englyshe Chronicles'', ''The 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 their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, a ...

at its junction with Mansion House Street. The first church can be traced back to 1175, in the reign of Henry II; 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 PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...

, after which the parish was united with that of

St Mary Colechurch St Mary Colechurch was a parish church in the City of London destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt. History The church was situated at the junction of Poultry and the south end of Old Jewry. Named after its first benefact ...

, which was not rebuilt.

George Godwin George Godwin FRS (28 January 1813 – 27 January 1888) was an influential British architect, journalist, and editor of ''The Builder'' magazine. Life He was one of nine children of the architect George Godwin senior (1780–1863) and trained a ...

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 classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

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 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 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 municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...

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 t ...

, 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 Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

*1618–1638 Nathaniel Shute *1638, ejected Richard Maden *1645–1646

Henry Scudder Henry Scudder may refer to: * Henry Austin Scudder (1819-1892), Massachusetts state legislator * Henry Joel Scudder (1825–1886), U.S. Representative from New York * Henry Scudder (priest) (died 1659), English Presbyterian * Henry Martyn Scudder ...

as minister *1661–1673

Richard Perrinchief Richard Perrinchief or Perrincheif (c. 16201673) was an English royalist churchman, a biographer of Charles I, writer against religious tolerance, and archdeacon of Huntingdon. Life The son of a carpenter of Aldersgate, London, he was educated a ...

Archdeacon of Huntingdon The Archdeacon of Huntingdon and Wisbech is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Diocese of Ely. The archdeacon is responsible for some clergy discipline and pastoral care in the Archdeaconry of Huntingdon and Wisbech. History The Archdeaconry ...

*1673–1696

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

*1726–1748 William Wallis *1748–1775 Benjamin (John) Newcombe,

Dean of Rochester The Dean of Rochester is the head of the chapter of canons at Rochester Cathedral, the mother church of the Church of England Diocese of Rochester. The current dean is Philip Hesketh, who has served in that role since June 2016. List of deans ...

*1775–1806 Robert Bromley

References

External links

Explanation of dedication
http://www.londonancestor.com/views/vc-mildp.htm Victorian Etching of church] {{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