St Katherine Coleman 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 f ...

, situated in St Katherine's Row, on the south side of Fenchurch Street, in

Aldgate Ward 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 ...

. Of medieval origin, it narrowly escaped destruction 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 th ...

in 1666, but was rebuilt in the eighteenth century. The church closed in November 1926 and was demolished soon afterwards.

Dedication

The church was dedicated to

St Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria (also spelled Katherine); grc-gre, ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς ; ar, سانت كاترين; la, Catharina Alexandrina). is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, wh ...

. The additional name "Coleman" was taken from nearby garden called "Colemanhaw". St Katherine's was known earlier as "All Hallows Coleman-church."

History

Medieval church

The church was in existence by 1346, when the name of a rector is recorded. In about 1489, William White, then Lord Mayor, rebuilt or added the south aisle. There were repairs in 1620, and in 1624 a new gallery was constructed and a vestry added. There were further repairs in 1703. As described by Edward Hatton in 1708, the church was long, wide and ft high. There was a brick and stone tower about high, with three bells. Hatton describes the architecture of the church as being "of the Gothic and Tuscan orders".

Eighteenth-century rebuilding

St Katherine's was demolished in 1734, and rebuilt in 1741 at the expense of the parish, to a "vernacular palladian" design by James Horne. Never regarded as one of the more spectacular City churches, the new building was constructed of brick, with window and door surrounds of rusticated stonework. The interior was a plain room, with a flat ceiling, coved at the sides, ornamented with a single oval panel, with a flower at the centre. An arched recess at the east end accommodated the reredos. Beneath the church was a burial vault, entered through a door at the west end.

Demolition

The parish was designated for amalgamation under 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 ...

but the church remained in use until 1926. The final service was held on 20 November, a joyous occasion (as reported in the ''City Press'') after which it was quickly demolished. The gate piers and railings of the churchyard, which probably date from the 18th century survive, and the site of the churchyard itself is now a public garden, owned by Lloyd's Register of shipping. It was re-landscaped in 1996–2000. After the clearance of the graveyard, the burials were reinhumed at

City of London Cemetery The City of London Cemetery and Crematorium is a cemetery and crematorium in the east of London. It is owned and operated by the City of London Corporation. It is designated Grade I on the Historic England National Register of Historic Parks an ...

. Money raised by the sale of the site was used to erect a new church in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London ...

, initially called St Catherine Coleman, but now known as St Katherine Westway. The marble font from the City church is now at St Peter's, Grange Park, Enfield.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Katherine Coleman 14th-century establishments in England 1926 disestablishments in England Buildings and structures demolished in 1926 Churches rebuilt after the Great Fire of London but since demolished Demolished buildings and structures in London