St. Mary Somerset was a 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 twelfth century. Destroyed in the

Great Fire of 1666 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 ...

, it was one of the 51 churches 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 tower is located in

Upper Thames Street Thames Street, divided into Lower and Upper Thames Street, is a road in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London. It forms part of the busy A3211 route (prior to being rebuilt as a major thoroughfare in the late 1960s, it ...

, the body of the church being demolished in 1871.

History

Pre-Fire London had 14 churches named after the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

, six of which were rebuilt after the Fire. The derivation of “Somerset” is uncertain. It has been linked to Ralph de Somery, who is mentioned in records at the same time. It is also linked to Summer's Hithe, a small haven on the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, the banks of which would have been closer in medieval times. The church was first mentioned in a deed during the reign of

Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...

. According to

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 ...

, in 1370, the

Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Bra ...

weaver community was ordered by the Mayor to meet in the churchyard of St Mary Somerset for the purpose of hiring serving men, following disputes with the

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

weavers. The latter were ordered to meet a safe distance away in the churchyard of St Laurence Pountney. St Mary Somerset Wyngaerde panorama

After the Fire, the parish was combined with that of St Mary Mounthaw, which was not rebuilt. Building of the new church began in 1686 (one of the last 5 of the 51 to commence) and stopped in 1688 owing to the financial uncertainty associated with the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

. Rebuilding recommenced the next year and the church was finished in 1694, at a cost of £6579. The parish was very poor, and it was one of only two churches (the other being St. Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe) for which Wren provided funds for the furnishings from the Coal Tax. The rebuilt church was smaller than its predecessor, as a strip of land was taken by the city to widen what was then Thames Street. Bishop Gilbert Ironside, Chancellor of

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, who defied James II in upholding the rights of Fellows, was buried here in 1701. His remains, and black marble tombstone, were removed to

Hereford Cathedral Hereford Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Hereford in Hereford, England. A place of worship has existed on the site of the present building since the 8th century or earlier. The present building was begun in 1079. S ...

in 1867. Late in the eighteenth century, the church had a reputation as Low Church, as Malcolm in ''London Redivivum'' (1803) stated ‘When I mention that the late well-known Methodist Mr Gunn was a preacher in it on certain days, the trampled and dirty state of the church will not be wondered at.’ In 1805, the communion plate was stolen and never recovered. The

Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. The episcopal see is centred in the Hereford, City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in the Hereford Cathedr ...

was patron of the Rectory of St Mary Somerset until the mid-nineteenth century, when this was transferred to 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 ...

. The second half of the 19th century saw a movement of population from the City of London to suburbs in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

and

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. 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 build churches in the suburbs. The last service at St Mary Somerset was held on 1 February 1867, with about 70 people attending. The parish was then combined with that of

St Nicholas Cole Abbey St Nicholas Cole Abbey is a church in the City of London located on what is now Queen Victoria Street. Recorded from the twelfth century, the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and rebuilt by the office of Sir Christopher W ...

, and the church demolished in 1871. At the instigation of the architect,

Ewan Christian Ewan Christian (1814–1895) was a British architect. He is most frequently noted for the restorations of Southwell Minster and Carlisle Cathedral, and the design of the National Portrait Gallery. He was Architect to the Ecclesiastical Commiss ...

, the church tower was preserved. The proceeds of the sale were used to build St Mary Hoxton, which also received the church furnishings and the bell. Before 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 ...

, the church tower was used as a woman's rest room. The tower now stands on a traffic island surrounded by a small landscaped garden.

The building

The Wren church was an aisleless nave with a flat roof.

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 as "a mere room with low whitewashed walls". Two columns supported a gallery on the West, from which was suspended a Royal coat of arms The tower projected from the southwest. It is 120 feet high and faced with

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 ...

. Lines of windows, alternately circular and round headed, run up each side, with grotesque masks and

cherub A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the u ...

s serving as keystones. The unique feature of the tower are the eight

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

pinnacles. The four on each corner have panelled bases and scrolls, surmounted by vases. Between each of these are 20 foot obelisks, with ball finials. The style strongly suggests that they are the design of

Nicholas Hawksmoor Nicholas Hawksmoor (probably 1661 – 25 March 1736) was an English architect. He was a leading figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Hawksmoor worked alongside the principa ...

. They create the optical illusion of changing heights when viewed from different vantage points. The pinnacles were taken down after the Second World War, due to bomb damage 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 ...

, but restored by the City Corporation in 1956. The remains of the church were 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. The building is currently being refurbished and extended into a private family home by Pilbrow and Partners

References

*Jeffery, Paul. ''The city churches of Sir Christopher Wren'', Hambledon Press, 1996 *Cobb,Gerald. ''London city churches'', B T Batsford Ltd., 1977 *Heulin,Gordon. ''Vanished churches of the City of London'', Guildhall Library Publications, 1996 {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary Somerset 1694 establishments in England Religious buildings and structures completed in 1694 Christopher Wren church buildings in London English Baroque church buildings Churches rebuilt after the Great Fire of London but since demolished Churches in the City of London, of which only the tower remains Grade I listed churches in the City of London

History

The building

See also

References