St Andrew Undershaft 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 * Chris ...

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 historic nucleus and modern financial centre of London. It is located on

St Mary Axe St Mary Axe was a medieval parish in the City of London whose name survives as that of the street which formerly occupied it. The Church of St Mary Axe was demolished in 1561 and its parish united with that of St Andrew Undershaft, which is ...

, within the

Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. It gives its name to Aldgate High Street, the first stretch of the A11 road, which included the site of the former gate. The area of Aldgate, the most common use of ...

ward, and is a rare example of a City church that survived both 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

the 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 ...

. The present building was constructed in 1532 but a church has existed on the site since the 12th century. Today, St Andrew Undershaft is administered from the nearby

St Helen's Bishopsgate St Helen's Bishopsgate is an Anglican church in London. It is located in Great St Helen's, off Bishopsgate. It is the largest surviving parish church in the City of London. Several notable figures are buried there, and it contains more monumen ...

church.

History

The first church on the site, which today is bordered by

and

Leadenhall Street __NOTOC__ Leadenhall Street () is a street in the City of London. It is about and links Cornhill, London, Cornhill in the west to Aldgate in the east. It was formerly the start of the A11 road (England), A11 road from London to Norwich, but th ...

, was built in

medieval times In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, being recorded in 1147. It was rebuilt in the 14th century and again in 1532; this third incarnation of the building survives today. It is in the

Perpendicular style Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-c ...

with its entrance located at the base of its off-centre tower. The interior is divided into six bays, with many of the original fittings that survived the Victorian renovation. Formerly, St Andrew Undershaft had one of London's few surviving large stained-glass windows, installed in the 17th century, but this was destroyed in the

Baltic Exchange bombing The Baltic Exchange bombing was an attack by the Provisional IRA on the City of London, Britain's financial centre, on 10 April 1992, the day after the General Election which re-elected John Major from the Conservative Party as Prime Minister. ...

in 1992.

The church's curious name derives from the shaft of the

maypole A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, around which a maypole dance often takes place. The festivals may occur on 1 May or Pentecost (Whitsun), although in some countries it is instead erected at ...

that was traditionally set up each year opposite the church. The custom continued each spring until 1517, when student riots put an end to it, but the maypole itself survived until 1547 when it was seized by a mob and destroyed as a "pagan idol". 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 ...

, the chronicler who is buried here, they had it "raised from the hooks whereon it had rested for two-and-thirty years, sawn in pieces and burnt." St Andrew Undershaft is now administered from the nearby church of

. St Andrew Undershaft 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. The tower holds a peal of six bells in the key of G, with the tenor being cast in 1597 by Robert Mot. These are now hung dead (they can only be rung stationary) inside the tower.

Organ

The

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

was installed in 1696 by

Renatus Harris Renatus Harris (c. 1652 - 1724) was an English master organ maker in England in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. During the period of the Commonwealth, in the mid-seventeenth century, Puritans controlled the country and o ...

. A swell was added in 1750 by John Byfield. There have been other restorations and enhancements by

George Pike England George Pike England (ca.1765 – February 1815) was an English organ builder who was among the most prominent in England during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Life He was the son of organ builder George England and Mary Blasdale. He ...

in 1810–11 and 1826. Further work was carried out by William Hill, Speechly and J. W. Walker & Sons, and

Rushworth and Dreaper Rushworth and Dreaper was a firm of organ builders, and later general instrument suppliers associated with Paul McCartney based in Liverpool. The manufacturer was founded in 1828 by William Rushworth, operating until 2002. Upon its liquidation, ...

. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register The organ is of such historic significance that it has been awarded a Grade I historic organ certificate by the

British Institute of Organ Studies The British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS) is a British organisation and registered charity which aims to promote study and appreciation of all aspects of the pipe organ. Further, it acts as a lobbying body to raise awareness of organ issue ...

Organists

*William Goodgroome, 1696 *

Philip Hart Philip Aloysius Hart (December 10, 1912December 26, 1976) was an American lawyer and politician. A Democrat, he served as a United States Senator from Michigan from 1959 until his death from cancer in Washington, D.C. in 1976. He was known as t ...

, 1697–1749 *

John Worgan John Worgan (1724–1790) was an organist and composer of Welsh descent. He is best known for playing the organ at Vauxhall Gardens, the London public pleasure garden in the mid 18th century. Life Worgan was born in London in 1724. He was one of ...

, 1749–1790 *Mary Allen, 1790–1836 *

Richard Limpus Richard Davidge Limpus (10 September 1824 – 15 March 1875) was a British organist and composer, who is best known for being the founder of the Royal College of Organists. Background Richard Limpus was the son of Richard Limpus, organist of ...

, 1847 *William Rea, 1847–1858 *

Elizabeth Stirling Elizabeth Stirling a.k.a. Elizabeth Bridge (26 February 1819 – 25 March 1895) was an English organist and composer. Biography Elizabeth Stirling was born in Greenwich, London, and studied piano and organ at the Royal Academy of Music with Ed ...

, 1858–1880 *C. F. Frye, 1880–1886 *W. M. Wait, 1887–1891 *Herbert George Preston, 1891–1912 *William A. S. Ballard, 1913–1921

Notable people associated with the church

* Sir Thomas Offley, Lord Mayor of London 1563–64, was buried in 1582. The monument to Sir Thomas and his wife Joan (died 1578) survives in St Andrew Undershaft. Joan was a granddaughter of Sir Stephen Jennings, Lord Mayor, who funded the rebuilding of the church.W. J. Thoms, ''A Survey of London written in the year 1598, by John Stow'' (Chatto & Windus, London 1876)
p. 194.
/ref> *

, author of the ''Survey of London'': buried in 1605. The quill pen held in the hand of his alabaster monument is renewed periodically by, alternately, the Lord Mayor of London and the Master of the

Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors ] The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 110 Livery company, livery companies of the City of London. The Company, originally known as the ''Guild and Fraternity of St John the Baptist in the City of London'', was founded prio ...

, at a memorial service organised by the

London and Middlesex Archaeological Society The London and Middlesex Archaeological Society (LAMAS) is a society founded in 1855 for the study of the archaeology and local history of the City of London and the historic county of Middlesex. It also takes an interest in districts that were h ...

. *

Hugh Hamersley Sir Hugh Hamersley (6 July 1565 – 19 October 1636) was a 17th-century merchant who was Lord Mayor of London in 1627. Business interests Hamersley's family estate was at Pyrton Manor near Watlington, Oxfordshire, but he rose to prominence ...

, Lord Mayor of London in 1627, whose memorial is in St Andrew Undershaft. *

Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; german: Hans Holbein der Jüngere; – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered o ...

, a former parishioner of St Andrew Undershaft was possibly buried in the church. * Frederick George Blomfield, rector of St Andrew Undershaft (1853–1879), son of

Charles James Blomfield Charles James Blomfield (29 May 1786 – 5 August 1857) was a British divine and classicist, and a Church of England bishop for 32 years. Early life and education Charles James Blomfield was born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, the eldest son (and ...

(Bishop of London) and father of Dorothy Gurney (poet and hymn writer). *

John Lawrence Toole John Lawrence (J. L.) Toole (12 March 1830 – 30 July 1906) was an English comic actor, actor-manager and theatrical producer. He was famous for his roles in farce and in serio-comic melodramas, in a career that spanned more than four decades, ...

, a comedian who was born and christened in St Andrew Undershaft. *

Fabian Stedman Fabian Stedman (1640–1713) was an English author and a leading figure in the early history of campanology, particularly in the field of method ringing. He had a key role in publishing two books ''Tintinnalogia'' (1668 with Richard Duckworth) and ...

the father of church bellringing was buried in St Andrew Undershaft.

Notes

External links