St Benet Gracechurch (or Grass Church), so called because a haymarket existed nearby (Cobb), was a parish church 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 ...

. First recorded in the 11th century, it was destroyed in 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 ...

of 1666 and rebuilt by the office 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 ...

. The church was demolished in 1868.

Location

The church was in Bridge Ward, on the corner of

Fenchurch Street Fenchurch Street is a street in London linking Aldgate at its eastern end with Lombard Street and Gracechurch Street in the west. It is a well-known thoroughfare in the City of London financial district and is the site of many corporate offic ...

and Gracechurch Street.

History

Dedication

'St Benet' is short for 'St Benedict' and St Benet Gracechurch was one of four churches in pre-Fire London dedicated to St Benedict of Nursia, the 6th century founder of Western

monasticism Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important rol ...

. Gracechurch meant “Grass Church”, referring to the site of a hay market nearby.

Middle ages

The earliest surviving reference to the church is in the 1053 Charter of Brihtmaer conveying a church in

Gracechurch Street Gracechurch Street is a main road in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London, which is designated the A1213. It is home to a number of shops, restaurants, and offices and has an entrance to Leadenhall Market, a covered ...

to Christ Church,

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of the ...

. The dedication to St Benedict is first recorded during the reign of Henry III.

Post-Reformation

In 1553, at the beginning of the reign of

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 ...

, the churchwardens paid 3s. 4d. to a plasterer to remove the Biblical texts painted on the interior walls during the time of her Protestant brother

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first En ...

. Shortly afterwards, church records recount that a

Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Chu ...

was sung "for the birth of our Prince (which was thought then to be)" – a reference to one of Mary's phantom pregnancies. The steeple was rebuilt in 1625.Malcolm 1803, p. 317 There were further alterations in 1642 when, for religious reasons, the "popish altar cloth" and "superstitious brasses" were sold. The cross was taken down from the steeple and a workman was paid "for defacing superstitious things in the church". According to

John Strype John Strype (1 November 1643 – 11 December 1737) was an English clergyman, historian and biographer from London. He became a merchant when settling in Petticoat Lane. In his twenties, he became perpetual curate of Theydon Bois, Essex and l ...

, the church was repaired and beautified in 1630 and 1633. Stow or Strype mention various tombs there, including that of the

Chamberlain of London The Chamberlain of the City of London is an ancient office of the City of London, dating back to at least 1237. The Chamberlain is the finance director of the City of London Corporation. They are the financial adviser, accountant, receiver and pa ...

John Sturgeon (d. 1571), and also a monument to

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

. The parish registers record a child named Grace Church, a

foundling Foundling may refer to: * An abandoned child, see child abandonment * Foundling hospital, an institution where abandoned children were cared for ** Foundling Hospital, Dublin, founded 1704 ** Foundling Hospital, Cork, founded 1737 ** Foundling H ...

left to be cared for by the parish.

Rebuilding after the Great Fire

The church was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. The tower remained standing for a while, but this too was demolished to make way for the new church. The parish was combined with that of St Leonard Eastcheap in 1670 and rebuilding began in 1681. The 1686 accounts include an entry of £1 14s 0d "to wine and sweetmeats for treating the Lord Mayor at the opening of the Church", although work on the spire continued into the following year. The total cost of the church was £4,583. The rebuilt church was rectangular in plan, with a tower, topped by a spire, rising from the north-west corner. There were five round headed-windows on the main, north front, with a circular window above each one. The walls were topped by balustrades. The tower was square in plan. Above the belfry window was a broken pediment, containing a small window. The tower was surmounted by a lead covered dome, decorated with

cartouche In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the fea ...

s. On top of the dome was a square

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, a ...

, comprising four arches with pediments, from which rose a tall spire, with a flag finial at the top, the whole structure being in total high. The interior was long and wide: “much smaller than would be expected from the external appearance”, according to

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 ...

. It was a single space, undivided by columns, with a vaulted ceiling. There was a small gallery at the west end. The east wall above the reredos was painted in imitation of a crimson and gold curtain. St Benet Gracechurch was one of only two Wren churches never to have an organ. In 1791, Dr. George Gaskin, the secretary of the

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) is a UK-based Christian charity. Founded in 1698 by Thomas Bray, it has worked for over 300 years to increase awareness of the Christian faith in the UK and across the world. The SPCK is th ...

, became rector at St Benet's. His society work entailed co-ordinating the distribution of bibles and other religious works throughout the British Isles. In 1797, he took up the position of rector of the church of

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...

, while maintaining the benefice of St Benet.

Demolition

The 19th century saw a movement of population from the City of London to surrounding suburbs. This left many of the city churches with tiny congregations, while many of the newly built suburbs had no churches. 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 ...

was passed by Parliament, permitting the demolition of City churches and the sale of land to raise money to build churches in the suburbs. St Benet Gracechurch was demolished in 1868 so that Gracechurch Street could be widened. The land was sold for £24,000 and the proceeds used to build St Benet Mile End Road. The parish was combined with that of nearby

All Hallows Lombard Street All Hallows Lombard Street, also seen with descriptor Gracechurch Street, was a parish church in the City of London. It stood behind thin buildings fronting both streets, in Langbourn Ward, The west and south sides faced into Ball Alley. Of ...

and the furnishings distributed among several churches. The pulpit is now in St Olave Hart Street. The interments were reburied in the City of London Cemetery, at Manor Park. The site, at the intersection of Gracechurch and Fenchurch Streets, is now occupied by a seven-story office block, built in 1997.

Present day

The parish now forms part of the combined

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 o ...

of '' St Edmund the King and Martyr, and St Mary Woolnoth Lombard Street with

St Nicholas Acons St Nicholas Acons was a parish church in the City of London. In existence by the late 11th century, it was destroyed during the Great Fire of London of 1666 and not rebuilt. History The church was situated on the west side of Nicholas Lane in ...

, St Benet Gracechurch,

St Leonard Eastcheap St. Leonard, Eastcheap, sometimes referred to as ''St Leonard Milkchurch'', was a parish church in the City of London. Of medieval origin, it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt. The site of the church was retained a ...

St Dionis Backchurch St Dionis Backchurch was a parish church in the Langbourn ward of the City of London. Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London to the designs of Christopher Wren and demolished in 1878. Early history The church of St Dio ...

and

St Mary Woolchurch Haw St Mary Woolchurch Haw was a parish church in the City of London, destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666 and not rebuilt. It came within the ward of Walbrook. History The church of St Mary Woolchurch Haw was an ancient foundation, datin ...

'' - usually shortened to "St Edmund & St Mary Woolnoth". It is part of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church record ...

Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames. For centuries the diocese covered a vast tract and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the nort ...

.Diocese of London
St Edmund & St Mary Woolnoth

References

Sources

*Cobb, Gerald (1977) ''London City Churches'', B T Batsford Ltd.. *Ellen, R.G. (1972) ''A London Steeplechase'', City Press. *Hibbert, C./Keay, J./Weinreb, D. (2008) ''The London Encyclopaedia'' Pan Macmillan. *Jeffery, Paul (1996) ''The City Churches of Sir Christopher Wren'', Hambledon Press. * *Austen, Jane. ''Pride and Prejudice'' The church in which Lydia Bennet married Mr Wickham