St Botolph's, Aldersgate
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St Botolph without Aldersgate (also known as St Botolph's, Aldersgate) is a
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...
in London dedicated to St Botolph. It was built just outside
Aldersgate Aldersgate is a Ward of the City of London, named after one of the northern gates in the London Wall which once enclosed the City. The Ward of Aldersgate is traditionally divided into Aldersgate Within and Aldersgate Without, the suffix denot ...
; one of the gates on London's wall in 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 ...
. The church, located on
Aldersgate Street Aldersgate is a Ward of the City of London, named after one of the northern gates in the London Wall which once enclosed the City. The Ward of Aldersgate is traditionally divided into Aldersgate Within and Aldersgate Without, the suffix denot ...
, is of medieval origin. The church survived 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 ...
with only minor damage but subsequently fell into disrepair and was rebuilt in 1788–91. The church is renowned for its beautiful interior and historic organ. It is currently used by the London City Presbyterian Church, a congregation of the Free Church of Scotland.


Dedication

The church was dedicated to Saint Botolph or Botwulf, a 7th-century
East Anglian East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
abbot and saint. By the end of the 11th century Botolph was regarded as the
patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of boundaries, and by extension of trade and travel. The veneration of Botolph was most pronounced before the legend of St Christopher became popular amongst travellers. There were four churches in London dedicated to Botolph, three outside the city gates at Aldersgate,
St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate is a Church of England church in the Bishopsgate Without area of the City of London, and also, by virtue of lying outside the city's (now demolished) eastern walls, part of London's East End. Adjoining the buildi ...
and St Botolph's, Aldgate. A fourth,
St Botolph Billingsgate St Botolph's, Billingsgate was a Church of England parish church in London. Of medieval origin, it was located in the Billingsgate ward of the City of London and destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. History The church, which dated back ...
was near the waterfront wharves and London Bridge. St Botolph Billingsgate was destroyed by fire in 1666 and not rebuilt. The location of these churches at the edge of London reflects all three aspects of Botolph's patronage.


History


Medieval church

The church was founded before 1291. The earliest recorded rector is John de Steventon in 1333. The living was originally in the possession of St Martin's-le-Grand, but on the
dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...
of the priory
King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...
granted it to the bishop of the newly founded
Diocese of Westminster Diocese of Westminster may refer to: * Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster, since 1850, with seat at Westminster Cathedral * Diocese of Westminster (Church of England) The Diocese of Westminster was a short-lived diocese of the Church of Engl ...
. The
patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
eventually passed to the dean and chapter of
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
. During the Middle Ages there was a hospital for the poor outside Aldersgate. A Cluniac foundation, it was suppressed by
King Henry V Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the ...
as an alien house, and its lands and goods were granted to the parish of St Botolph.British History Online
'Religious Houses: Hospitals', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 1: Physique, Archaeology, Domesday, Ecclesiastical Organization, The Jews, Religious Houses, Education of Working Classes to 1870, Private Education from Sixteenth Century (1969), pp. 204-212. Date accessed: 3 January 2008.
The medieval church was a Gothic building, divided by arcades into nave and aisles. There were three gables at the east end. In 1627, the steeple was rebuilt in
Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...
, with battlements and a turret, and the rest of the church repaired. Many of the pews were replaced, and a new clock and dial were installed. The improvements cost, in total, £415. The medieval church was long and wide. The 17th-century steeple was about high, and contained six bells. In an account published in 1773 the church is described as having galleries on the north and west sides, oak pews, and a carved oak pulpit.


Eighteenth-century rebuilding

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 ...
with only minor damage, but, having become unsafe, was demolished and rebuilt in its present form in 1788–1791 under the supervision of Nathaniel Wright, surveyor to the north district of the City of London. The new church was built of brick, with a low square bell tower at the west end constructed on the remains of its stone predecessor. The plain exterior is in contrast to what
John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...
called an "exalting" succession of features inside. The interior has wooden galleries supported on square panelled columns, a semi-circular
apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...
with a half dome, a highly decorated plasterwork ceiling, and, at the east end the only 18th century stained glass window in the City of London, a depiction of ''The Agony in the Garden'' painted by James Pearson. The stained glass in the aisles is partly Victorian, and partly from the 1940s. Some monuments were preserved from the old church, including the tomb of Anne Packington, who died in 1563. The organ, in a gallery at the west end, is by Samuel Green and dates from 1788. The east façade, towards Aldersgate Street, is a screen wall, erected in 1831 and executed in
Roman cement Roman cement is a substance developed by James Parker in the 1780s, being patented in 1796. The name is misleading, as it is nothing like any material used by the Romans, but was a "natural cement" made by burning septaria – nodules that are ...
, with a pediment and four attached Ionic columns standing on a high plinth, with a
Venetian window A Venetian window (also known as a Serlian window) is a large tripartite window which is a key element in Palladian architecture. Although Sebastiano Serlio (1475–1554) did not invent it, the window features largely in the work of the Italian a ...
between them. The church underwent several restorations during the 19th and 20th centuries, and many of the furnishings are from the late 19th century. From the mid-1980s the church was restored by Caroe & Partners. Work on the east front was completed in 2008.


Churchyard

St Botolph's
churchyard In Christian countries a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster-Scots, this can also ...
was combined with those of
St Leonard, Foster Lane St Leonard, Foster Lane, was a Church of England church dedicated to Leonard of Noblac on the west side of Foster Lane in the Aldersgate ward of the City of London. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and not rebuilt. History This chu ...
, and Christchurch, Newgate Street, into
Postman's Park Postman's Park is a public garden in central London, a short distance north of St Paul's Cathedral. Bordered by Little Britain, Aldersgate Street, St. Martin's Le Grand, King Edward Street, and the site of the former headquarters of the General ...
in 1880, and this now contains the Watts Memorial to Historic Self-Sacrifice, commemorating civilian Londoners who died heroic deaths. The church was designated a Grade I
listed building 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 ...
on 4 January 1950.


Current use

Currently, St Botolph's, Aldersgate is used by th
London City Presbyterian Church
which meets there every Sunday
During the week, the building is used for lunchtime services
It is also the rehearsal venue of several orchestras.


References


External links


Church Website

London City Presbyterian Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Botolph Aldersgate Church of England church buildings in the City of London Diocese of London Presbyterian churches in England Rebuilt churches in the United Kingdom 18th-century Church of England church buildings Grade I listed churches in the City of London