St Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street
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St. Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street was a church in Castle Baynard ward of 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 ...
, England, located on the corner of Old Fish Street and Old Change, on land now covered by post-War development. Recorded since the 12th century, the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666, then 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 rebuilt church suffered damage to its roof from a fire in an adjacent warehouse in 1886. It was not repaired, and was finally demolished in 1893.


History

St. Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street was the only one of the eight churches in the post-
Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames a ...
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 ...
named "St. Mary" to be dedicated to the penitent Mary Magdalene rather than 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 of ...
. Old Fish Street formerly ran from the Thames towards St. Paul's Cathedral and was the location of a fish market since medieval times. The street was incorporated into
Knightrider Street Knightrider Street is a street in the City of London, located a short distance to the south of St Paul's Cathedral. It was originally the site of the German Church built in 1666–5 and demolished in 1867 to make way for Queen Victoria Stree ...
in 1872. The earliest surviving reference to the church is in a document of 1181, as "St Mary Magdalen". Other medieval records refer to the church as "''St. Marie Magdal in Piscaria apud sanctum Paulum''", "St. Marie Magdal parish at the Fishmarket", "St. Marie Magdalen Eldefisshestrete" and "St. Mary Magdalen at Lamberdyshel". Among the memorials in the pre-Fire church was a brass plaque of 1586, commemorating the merchant and benefactor, Thomas Berrie. The plaque survived the Great Fire and may now be seen in
St Martin, Ludgate St Martin, Ludgate, also known as St Martin within Ludgate, is an Anglican church on Ludgate Hill in the ward of Farringdon, in the City of London. The church is of medieval origin, but the present building dates from 1677 to 1684 and was design ...
. In part it reads: :''How smale soever the gift shall be/Thanke God for him who gave it thee/xii penie loves to xii poore foulkes/'' :''Geve everie saboth day for aye'' St Martin, Ludgate, also has the bread shelves from St. Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street. On Easter Day 1653,
John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's diary, or ...
recorded in his ''
Diary A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...
'' that he and his family received Holy Communion at St. Mary Magdalen's. This was during the Protectorate when Anglican services were banned. The church was destroyed in the Great Fire in 1666 and the parish combined with that of St Gregory by St Paul's, which was not rebuilt. Building of the new church began in 1683, with new foundations for the north wall and tower, but incorporating some of the old walls elsewhere. The work was completed in 1687 at a total cost of £4315. The construction was by
Edward Strong the Elder Edward Strong the Elder (1652–1724) and Edward Strong the Younger (1676–1741) were a father and son pair of British sculptors mainly working in London in the 17th and 18th centuries. They led a team of 65 masons and were responsible f ...
. Between 1824 and 1842, the rector of St. Mary Magdalen's was the Reverend
Richard Harris Barham Richard Harris Barham (6 December 1788 – 17 June 1845) was an English cleric of the Church of England, a novelist and a humorous poet. He was known generally by his pseudonym Thomas Ingoldsby and as the author of ''The Ingoldsby Legends''. ...
, author of ''
The Ingoldsby Legends ''The Ingoldsby Legends'' (full title: ''The Ingoldsby Legends, or Mirth and Marvels'') is a collection of myths, legends, ghost stories and poetry written supposedly by Thomas Ingoldsby of Tappington Manor, actually a pen-name of an English cl ...
''. He was buried in the church in 1845. On the morning of Thursday, 2 December 1886, a fire broke out in a warehouse in what by this time was called Knightrider Street and spread to the church's roof, causing substantial damage.Huelin, Gordon. ''Vanished churches of the City of London'', Guildhall Library Publications, 1996 Although the church was insured and repairable, the event took place during a period in which several undamaged churches in the City of London were being demolished under the Union of Benefices Act 1860. The opportunity was taken to pull down St. Mary Magdalen's and combine the parish with that of
St Martin, Ludgate St Martin, Ludgate, also known as St Martin within Ludgate, is an Anglican church on Ludgate Hill in the ward of Farringdon, in the City of London. The church is of medieval origin, but the present building dates from 1677 to 1684 and was design ...
, which received some of the furnishings from the demolished church. The site previously occupied by St. Mary Magdalen's was built over after 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 opposi ...
, and is now covered by Old Change Square. The parish still retains a clerkship, which is now in the gift of St. Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe. The church is the subject of a poem by John Betjeman, where the narrator is the Rector's warden. He refers to Wren's design as "a box with a fanciful plaster ceiling".


Architecture

The plan for St. Mary Magdalen's was roughly rectangular, with the north wall tapering slightly towards the east. The two street frontages – to the east on Old Fish Street and to the south on Old Change – were faced with Portland stone. Underneath, the material was stone rubble. There were four large round-headed windows on the south, and three similar windows on the east, each window flanked by
pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...
s capped by
volute A volute is a spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals. Four are normally to be found on an Ion ...
s. Entry to the church was through a door under the western window on the south front. The roof was balustraded. The tower was erected next to the north-western wall of the church and stood 86 ft. high. This had a stone spire, consisting of an octagonal pyramid of five steps, on which sat an open octagonal lantern from which emerged a concave steeple. The finial was in the form of an urn, in allusion to St Mary Magdalen's pot of balm. The inspiration for the spire's design was the
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus ( grc, Μαυσωλεῖον τῆς Ἁλικαρνασσοῦ; tr, Halikarnas Mozolesi) was a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC in Halicarnassus (present Bodrum, Turkey) for Mausolus, an ...
, in modern-day Turkey.


Organ

The organ by Samuel Green was installed in 1786. It was rebuilt in 1857 by
Gray and Davison Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...
.


Organists

* Mary Hudson 1785–1801 *successor unknown. *William Adams (between 1801 and 1815) – June 1834 *Frederick Michelmore (temporary) June – September 1834 *Carolina Townsend September 1834–1855 *J. S. Carter 1865 *E. Smyth 1881 *Douglas Stewart


See also

* St Gregory by St Paul's was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt; the parish was instead united with that of St Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street. *
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 to ...
*
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 Gou ...


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street 12th-century establishments in England 1893 disestablishments in England Buildings and structures demolished in 1893 Christopher Wren church buildings in London Churches rebuilt after the Great Fire of London but since demolished