St Swithin, London Stone
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St Swithin, London Stone, was 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 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 ...
. It stood on the north side of
Cannon Street Cannon Street is a road in the City of London, the historic nucleus of London and its modern financial centre. It runs roughly parallel with the River Thames, about north of it, in the south of the City. It is the site of the ancient London S ...
, between Salters' Hall Court and St Swithin's Lane, which runs north from Cannon Street to King William Street and takes its name from the church. Of medieval origin, it was destroyed by 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 rebuilt 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 ...
. It was badly damaged by
bombing A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...
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 ...
, and the remains were demolished in 1962.


Medieval church

St Swithin's Church was first recorded in the 13th century, and was dedicated to Saint Swithin, a 9th-century
bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...
. At first known as "St Swithin in Candlewick Street" (the medieval name of Cannon Street), in 1597 it was referred to as "St Swithin at London Stone", and this became the normal designation.
London Stone London Stone is a historic landmark housed at 111 Cannon Street in the City of London. It is an irregular block of oolitic limestone measuring 53 × 43 × 30 cm (21 × 17 × 12"), the remnant of a once much larger object that had stood ...
itself stood on the south side of Candlewick Street, opposite the church. One of the earliest references to the church is as the final resting place of Catrin Glyndŵr, wife of rebel Edmund Mortimer and daughter of
Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (, anglicised as Owen Glendower), was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander who led a 15 year long Welsh War of Independence with the aim of ending English rule in Wa ...
, the legendary
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
leader. She was taken hostage when the English recaptured
Harlech Castle Harlech Castle ( cy, Castell Harlech; ) in Harlech, Gwynedd, Wales, is a Grade I listed medieval fortification built onto a rocky knoll close to the Irish Sea. It was built by Edward I during his invasion of Wales between 1282 and 1289 at ...
in 1409, and incarcerated in the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
. Catrin Glyndŵr died in mysterious circumstances four years later. The only record of her death is in the Exchequer documents of 1413: "for expenses and other charges incurred for the burial of the wife of Edmund Mortimer and her daughters, buried within St Swithin's Church London ... £1". The church was rebuilt at the expense of Sir John Hind in 1420, renovated in 1607–1608, and again, shortly before the Great Fire, at a cost of £1,000. 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 church belonged to the priory of
Tortington Tortington is a small village in the Arun District, Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies between the Arundel to Ford, West Sussex, Ford and the Arundel to Chichester roads, southwest of Arundel (where the population taken at the 2011 Ce ...
in Sussex until the Dissolution of the Monasteries, following which
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 disa ...
granted it, along with the prior of Tortington's nearby London house, to John, Earl of Oxford. After passing through the hands of several owners both mansion and the patronage of the church were bought by the Salters Company.


Rebuilding after the Great Fire

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 ...
in 1666, the church was rebuilt to a design by Sir Christopher Wren in 1678 at a cost of £4,687 4s 6d. The parish was united with that of St Mary Bothaw, also destroyed in the fire, but not rebuilt. The new church was 61 feet long and 42 feet wide. It had a tower and spire rising from the north-west corner of the building, with a total height of about 150 feet. The south, east and west fronts each had three windows, with an elliptical pediment over the central one; the pediment on the south front, towards Cannon Street, was decorated with a carved wreath, flanked by
festoon A festoon (from French ''feston'', Italian ''festone'', from a Late Latin ''festo'', originally a festal garland, Latin ''festum'', feast) is a wreath or garland hanging from two points, and in architecture typically a carved ornament depicti ...
s in high relief, while the heads of the flanking windows were decorated with festoons of drapery. This decoration was omitted on the other sides. Most of the length of the north side had other buildings against it. The church was rectangular in plan. The northwest corner was occupied by the tower, and the rest of the north side was taken by an aisle, containing a gallery. Most of the church, however, was covered by an octagonal dome, springing from seven half-columns against the walls, and from one complete column in front of the north gallery. Robert Seymour described the building in 1733:
This church and tower are well built with Stone, the Roof covered with lead, supported with Demy-Columns of the ''Composite'' Order; the floor is paved with stone, and pewed, with three Isles...and the whole is commodious and pleasant, tho' small.
An organ was installed in 1805.


Later history

In 1742
London Stone London Stone is a historic landmark housed at 111 Cannon Street in the City of London. It is an irregular block of oolitic limestone measuring 53 × 43 × 30 cm (21 × 17 × 12"), the remnant of a once much larger object that had stood ...
, from which the church took its name, was moved from the south side of the street to a location beside the church door. Eventually in the 1820s it was placed in an alcove within a stone casing set into the south wall of the church, where it remained until the demolition of the church in 1962. In around 1820 repairs were made under the supervision of Henry Elmes. Further repairs, and internal alterations, were made in 1869. The pews, which had formerly faced south, were cut down and turned towards the east, galleries were removed, the pulpit was lowered and its sounding board taken away, and a brass
chandelier A chandelier (; also known as girandole, candelabra lamp, or least commonly suspended lights) is a branched ornamental light fixture designed to be mounted on ceilings or walls. Chandeliers are often ornate, and normally use incandescent li ...
that had hung from the centre of the dome taken down. In 1879 the chancel was remodelled, and a vestry constructed beneath the north gallery. In 1940, 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 ...
, the church was badly damaged in an air raid. Only the pulpit was salvaged; it is now at
All Hallows by the Tower All Hallows-by-the-Tower, at one time dedicated jointly to All Hallows (All Saints) and the Virgin Mary and sometimes known as All Hallows Barking, is an ancient Anglican church on Byward Street in the City of London, overlooking the Tower of ...
. The church was not rebuilt; instead the parish was united with that of St Stephen Walbrook in 1954, and the site sold in 1960. The ruined church was finally demolished in 1961–1962. Excavations were carried out on the site by Professor W. F. Grimes on behalf of the Roman and Medieval London Excavation Council. The northern edge of a Roman street on the line of Cannon Street was discovered, with timber and stone buildings to the north of it. Foundations of the early 15th-century church were discovered below those of the Wren church. The medieval church, which was slightly smaller than the Wren church, consisted of three bays, with a nave and north and south aisles. This structure, presumably the rebuilding of 1420, replaced an earlier church of which few traces remained; these suggested it had been a simple building with a nave and a single aisle, dating to the 12th century. A medieval grave slab of
Purbeck marble Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone found in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England. It is a variety of Purbeck stone that has been quarried since at least Roman times as a decorative building stone. Geology Strat ...
was found reused in the foundations of the Wren church. The inscription revealed that it had covered the
heart-burial Heart-burial is a type of burial in which the heart is interred apart from the body. In medieval Europe heart-burial was fairly common among the higher echelons of society, as was the parallel practice of the separate burial of entrails or wider v ...
of Joanna, wife of Fulke de St Edmond who had been one of the
sheriffs of the City of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ju ...
in 1289–1290. The slab is now in the
Museum of London The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall, London, Gui ...
. London Stone was installed in the front of the new building, numbered 111 Cannon Street. The churchyard was retained as a public garden. It was re-landscaped in 2010, in conjunction with a new development just to the north. It contains a memorial to Catrin Glyndwr, additionally dedicated to the suffering of all women and children in war. There is a church mark in nearby Salters’ Hall Court.


Burials

*
Catrin ferch Owain Glyndŵr Catrin ferch Owain Glyndŵr (died 1413) was one of the daughters (probably the eldest) of Margaret Hanmer and Owain Glyndŵr, and her marriage to a claimant on the English throne was used by her father to gain support. Biography Catrin is one o ...
and three of her daughters * Ralph Josselyn, Lord Mayor of London in 1464 and 1476"The New England Historical and Genealogical Register"
pg. 239-240


See also

*
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 ...
*
List of churches rebuilt after the Great Fire but since demolished This is a list of churches in the City of London which were rebuilt after the Great Fire of London (or in a later date) but have been demolished since then. All were designed by Sir Christopher Wren except All Hallows Staining, Holy Trinity Gough ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Swithin, Cannon Street Churches completed in 1678 17th-century Church of England church buildings 1962 disestablishments in England
London Stone London Stone is a historic landmark housed at 111 Cannon Street in the City of London. It is an irregular block of oolitic limestone measuring 53 × 43 × 30 cm (21 × 17 × 12"), the remnant of a once much larger object that had stood ...
Buildings and structures in the United Kingdom destroyed during World War II Buildings and structures demolished in 1962 Christopher Wren church buildings in London Churches rebuilt after the Great Fire of London but since demolished Demolished churches in London Former Church of England church buildings Former churches in London