St Mary Aldermary
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The Guild Church of St Mary Aldermary a contraction of St Mary Aldermanbury (or St Mary Elder Mary) is an
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
church located in Watling Street at the junction with Bow Lane, 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 ...
. Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt from 1510. Badly damaged in the Great Fire of London in 1666, it was rebuilt once more, this time by 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 ...
; unlike the vast majority of Wren's City churches, St Mary Aldermary is in the Gothic style.


History

There has been a church on the site for over 900 years. Its name is usually taken to mean that it is the oldest of the City churches dedicated to the Virgin Mary.Godwin 1839, p.3, referring to a suggestion made by John Stow in his ''Survey of London''. 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 ...
of the
rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...
of St Mary Aldermary belonged to the prior and chapter of Canterbury, but was transferred to the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1400.Daniel 1892, p.233 In 1510, Sir Henry Keeble financed the building of a new church. The tower was still unfinished when he died in 1518. In 1629, two legacies enabled it to be completed, and the work, begun 120 years before, was finished within three years. Keble was buried in a vault beneath the floor of church, but his grave was not allowed to remain for long. Richard Newcourt recorded that
Sir ''William Laxton'', who died in 1556, and Sir ''Tho. Lodge'', who died in 1583 (both which were ''Grocers'' and had been Mayors of this City), were buried in the Vault of this Sir ''Henry Keeble'', his bones unkindly cast out, and his Monument pull'd down, in place whereof, Monuments were set up of the others.
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 ...
mentions various dignitaries buried in the early church in his 1598 ''Survey of London''. They include Richard Chaucer, vintner, said by Stow to be the father of the poet
Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...
.
John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...
married his third wife, Elizabeth Minshull, in the church in 1663. The parish registers date from 1558, and are now deposited in the Guildhall Library. In 1599 a group of citizens from
St. Antholin's St Antholin, Budge Row, or St Antholin, Watling Street, was a church in the City of London. Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren, following its destruction in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The 17th-century ...
founded a lectureship. They gave property in London to pay for a daily lecture in the pulpit at St. Antholin’s and the church became famous as a lecture theatre. The Great Fire burned down the church but daily lectures carried on; it was rebuilt but was demolished in 1870 and the lecture was transferred to St. Mary Aldermary. The lectures are now organised by the Church Society.


Rebuilding after the Great Fire

St Mary Aldermary was badly damaged 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, although parts of its walls and tower survived. It was mostly rebuilt by 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 ...
in a Gothic style. A legacy of £5,000 had been left by one Henry Rogers for the rebuilding of a church, and his widow agreed to use it to fund the reconstruction of St Mary's. According to some sources, she stipulated that the new church should be an exact imitation of the one largely destroyed. The church as rebuilt has an aisled nave, six bays long, with a clerestory. There is a short chancel. The tower is attached to the south west corner of the building, and is entered through a western lobby. It is divided into storeys by
string course A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the ...
s; the corners have octagonal turrets, terminating in what
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 ...
called "carved finials of impure design". The nave and aisles are separated by arcades of clustered columns, supporting somewhat flattened Gothic arches. The ceilings are decorated with elaborate plaster fan vaulting. According to
Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...
, St Mary Aldemary is "the chief surviving monument of the 17th-century Gothic revival in the City and – with
Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
– the most important late 17th-century Gothic church in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
". The parish of the church of St Thomas the Apostle, destroyed in the Great Fire and not rebuilt, was united with that of St Mary's. In 1781 a new organ was installed, built 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. ...
.


Wartime damage

St Mary Aldermary was damaged by German bombs in the
London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...
during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.


Restorations

The church has been repaired and restored many times over the years. In 1876–7 there were major changes to the interior: a new oak screen was inserted dividing the church from the lobby; the pews and stalls were replaced, the organ was moved from the western gallery to the chancel; the floor was repaved, new stained glass put into the windows, and a new reredos installed. The latest interior restoration was finished in April 2005, with special attention paid to the plaster ceilings and the memorials on the north wall. A service was held, presided over by
Richard Chartres Richard John Carew Chartres, Baron Chartres , FBS (; born 11 July 1947) is a retired bishop of the Church of England. He was area Bishop of Stepney from 1992 to 1995 and Bishop of London from 1995 to 2017. He was sworn of the Privy Council in t ...
, 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 ...
, to celebrate the completion of the restoration, on 21 April 2005. 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.


Burials

*
Charles Blount, 5th Baron Mountjoy Charles Blount, 5th Baron Mountjoy (28 June 151610 October 1544) was an English courtier and patron of learning. Life Charles Blount was born on 28 June 1516 in Tournai, where his father, William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy, was governor. Charles ...


Current activities

In January 2010, the Bishop and Archdeacon of London invited the Moot Community to make their home in St Mary Aldermary. Moot is a Church of England community in the new monastic tradition. Members annually commit to live by a "rhythm of life", which encompasses spiritual practices such as prayer, meditation and presence, and values such as acceptance, balance, creativity and hospitality. Daily prayer, regular worship services, meditation and discussion groups go on in the church, and the community also hosts conferences and courses on subjects such as justice in economics, conflict resolution or mindfulness. The church hosts regular art exhibitions and installations, and retreat days. It is home to a café, Host, which sells
fair trade coffee Fair trade coffee is coffee that is certified as having been produced to fair trade standards by fair trade organizations, which create trading partnerships that are based on dialogue, transparency and respect, with the goal of achieving greate ...
and goods. Since 2007, the church has been the Regimental Church of the
Royal Tank Regiment The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the First World War. Today, it is the armoured regiment of the British Army's 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as th ...
.


See also

*
List of churches and cathedrals of London This is a list of cathedrals, churches and chapels in Greater London, which is divided into 32 London boroughs and the City of London. The list focuses on the more permanent churches and buildings which identify themselves as places of Chris ...
*
List of Christopher Wren churches in London Sir Christopher Wren was 33 years old and near the beginning of his career as an architect when the Great Fire of London in 1666 destroyed many of the city's public buildings, including 88 of its parish churches. Wren's office was commissioned t ...


Notes


Sources

* * Each chapter paginated separately. *


External links


Official website

Official website of Moot
a monastic community based at St Mary Aldermary
Host Cafe

Entry on the Anglican Diocese of London website

Church Near You Website

360° panorama inside St Mary Aldermary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary Aldermary Christopher Wren church buildings in London Churches in the City of London 17th-century Church of England church buildings Church of England church buildings in the City of London Aldermary Rebuilt churches in the United Kingdom Diocese of London Grade I listed churches in the City of London