St Thomas the Apostle was a parish church in St Thomas Apostle Street 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 ...

. In existence by the late twelfth century, it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt.

History

The patronage of the church belonged to the canons of St Paul's and it is mentioned in the register of the Dean and Chapter as early as 1181. John Stow implies that was rebuilt some time in the late fourteenth century, describing John Barnes, Lord Mayor in 1371 as "a great builder of S. Thomas Apostles parish church as appeareth by his armes there both in stone and glasse". The parish was staunchly

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

in the years leading up to the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

In 1642, the rector, named Cooper, was sequestered and imprisoned in

Leeds Castle Leeds Castle is a castle in Kent, England, southeast of Maidstone. It is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds. A castle has existed on the site since 857. In the 13th century, it came into th ...

owing to his loyalty to the king. St Thomas' was destroyed by the Great fire in 1666. Following the fire, a Rebuilding Act was passed and a committee set up under

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 ...

to decide which buildings would be rebuilt. Fifty-one were chosen, but St Thomas the Apostle was not among those chosen."The City of London Churches" Betjeman, J. Andover, Pitkin, 1967 (rpnt 1992) Instead, the parish was united with that of

St Mary Aldermary The Guild Church of St Mary Aldermary a contraction of St Mary Aldermanbury (or St Mary Elder Mary) is an Anglican church located in Watling Street at the junction with Bow Lane, in the City of London. Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt from 15 ...

. Part of the site was used for the creation of Queen Street, though a small portion of the churchyard survived. The site of the church is marked by a plaque in Great St Thomas Apostle Street near Mansion House tube station. Edmund Allen, Bishop of Rochester, is said to have been buried in the church.

References

External links

12th-century church buildings in England 1666 disestablishments in England Churches destroyed in the Great Fire of London and not rebuilt Churches in the City of London Former buildings and structures in the City of London {{London-church-stub