St Nicholas Shambles was a medieval 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 ...

, which stood on the corner of Butcher Hall Lane (now King Edward Street) and Newgate Street. It took its name from the Shambles, the butchers area in the west of Newgate Street. The church is first mentioned as ''St. Nicholas de Westrnacekaria''. In 1253

Walter de Cantilupe Walter de Cantilupe (died 1266) was a medieval Bishop of Worcester. Early life and career Cantilupe came from a family that had risen by devoted service to the crown. His father, William I de Cantilupe,Bishop of Worcester 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 ...

granted

indulgences In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins". The '' Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission before God o ...

to its parishioners. In 1546,

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 ...

gave the church, along with that of St Ewin (also known as St Audoen) and the dissolved Christ Church priory to the City corporation. A new parish was created for Christ Church, out of those of St Nicholas and St Ewin, and part of that of St Sepulchre. St Nicholas' was demolished in 1547. The site was extensively excavated in 1975–79 in preparation for construction of the GPO headquarters, (now the

BT Centre The BT Centre was the global headquarters and registered office of BT Group, located in a 10-storey office building on Newgate Street in the City of London, London, England. It is opposite St Paul's tube station. It was completed in 1985. In 201 ...

). The excavations identified several phases of building. The original nave and chancel probably dated from the 11th century. They were extended in the late 12th century. Chapels were added to the east end in the 14th century, a north aisle was added to the nave in the first half of the 15th century, and, finally, the east end was rebuilt and a sacristy added on the north. The excavations included the grave yard. Among the finds was a woman who died in the later stages of childbirth. Surviving parish records, now held among the archives of

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

, include an exceptionally detailed inventory of church books, plate,

vestment Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Anglicans, and Lutherans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; this ...

s and other possessions of 1457, and a series of

churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' members of the parish b ...

s' accounts running from 1452 to 1526.

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12th-century church buildings in England 1547 disestablishments in England Churches in the City of London Former buildings and structures in the City of London {{London-church-stub