St Dunstan's, Stepney, is an

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

which stands on a site that has been used for

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

worship for over a thousand years. It is located in Stepney High Street, in

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...

, London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

History

In about AD 952, Dunstan, the

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

— who was also

Lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as s ...

— replaced the existing wooden structure with a stone church dedicated to

All the Saints ''Head Carrier'' is the sixth studio album by the American alternative rock band the Pixies (band), Pixies, released on September 30, 2016 on Pixiesmusic and PIAS Recordings, PIAS. Produced by Tom Dalgety, and recorded at RAK Studios in London, t ...

. In 1029, when Dunstan was canonised, the church was rededicated to St Dunstan and All Saints, a dedication it has retained. Like many subsequent Bishops, Dunstan may have lived in the Manor of Stepney. The church is known as "The Mother Church of the

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

" as the parish covered most of what would become inner East London, before population growth led to the creation of a large number of daughter parishes. This fission started in the fourteenth century or before. Some of the earliest other churches built in the parish were

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed a c ...

and Bow; the former became an independent parish at an early date, while the latter was long a chapel of ease. The existing building is the third on the site and was built of Kentish ragstone mainly in the fifteenth century (although the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...

dates from 200 years earlier). A porch and octagonal parish room were added in 1872 by Arthur Shean Newman and

Arthur Billing Arthur Billing (1824–1896), was a British architect. Arthur Billing was born in Reading, Berkshire in 1824 and educated at Reading School. He was the son of Richard Billing (1784–1853) and the brother of Richard (1814–1884) and John Bil ...

. The church was restored extensively in 1899 by Cutts and Cutts, at a cost of £5,600. The vestries and some of the main building were destroyed by fire on 12 October 1901, including the organ which had carvings by Grinling Gibbons. The restoration (again by Cutts and Cutts) cost £7,084,The Morris Family of Philadelphia.'' Robert C. Moon. Vol. 4. pp. 17–23 and the church was re-opened in June 1902 by the Bishop of Stepney (at that time Cosmo Gordon Lang). There was war-time damage, which was restored by Cyril Wontner-Smith. The church is

Grade I listed 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 Ire ...

Bells

The ring of ten bells, the heaviest weighing 28¾ hundredweight, which hang in the belfry, were cast at the local

Whitechapel Bell Foundry The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bell ...

and are tuned to C#. The seven oldest bells were cast by Thomas Mears and Son, Whitechapel, in 1806. The bells were re-hung in 1899. Three were recast in 1952 when repairs were made to the tower. The bells are mentioned in the nursery rhyme '' Oranges and Lemons'': "When will that be, say the bells of Stepney."

Interior

A fine triple sedilia (priests' stone seating) is found in the

. The

rood A rood or rood cross, sometimes known as a triumphal cross, is a cross or crucifix, especially the large crucifix set above the entrance to the chancel of a medieval church. Alternatively, it is a large sculpture or painting of the crucifixio ...

is late Anglo Saxon. Of note amongst the plate is a cup and

paten A paten or diskos is a small plate, used during the Mass. It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium. Western usage In many Western liturgical denominations, the ...

dated 1559 and a

beadle A beadle, sometimes spelled bedel, is an official of a church or synagogue who may usher, keep order, make reports, and assist in religious functions; or a minor official who carries out various civil, educational, or ceremonial duties on the ...

's staff and verger's wand of 1752. The organ was installed in 1971 by Noel Mander of

Mander Organs Mander Organs Limited formerly N.P Mander Limited was an English pipe organ maker and refurbisher based in London. Although well known for many years in the organ building industry, they achieved wider notability in 2004 with the refurbishment ...

. It is an 1872 Father Willis instrument built for St Augustine's, Haggerston, and rebuilt by R. Spurden Rutt & Co in 1926. It replaced a 1903 Norman and Beard organ, which is now located at St Edmund the King, Northwood Hills. In turn, that organ replaced the one destroyed in the 1901 fire, which was from 1678 and built by Renatus Harris, and had been rebuilt by Lewis & Co in 1900.

Churchyard

The church is surrounded by a churchyard of nearly seven acres (28,000 m²). In 1658 William Greenhill was appointed vicar whilst retaining his position as a preacher at

Stepney Meeting House Stepney Meeting House was an independent church in Stepney, East London. It was founded in 1644 by Henry Barton and his wife, William Parker, John Odinsell, William Greenhill, and John Pococke, in the presence of Henry Burton (Puritan), Henry Burt ...

. He held this post for about seven years, till he was ejected immediately after the Restoration in 1660. Shortly after this, the churchyard was enlarged to cope with the massive number of deaths during the

Great Plague of London The Great Plague of London, lasting from 1665 to 1666, was the last major epidemic of the bubonic plague to occur in England. It happened within the centuries-long Second Pandemic, a period of intermittent bubonic plague epidemics that origi ...

. In one eighteen-month period 6,583 died, with 154 being buried in one day in September 1665. The church has a long, traditional link with the sea and many sailors were buried here. It was once known as the 'Church of the High Seas'. The graveyard is also where Roger Crab, the 17th-century hermit who lived on a diet solely of herbs, roots, leaves, grass and water, is buried. The churchyard closed to burials in 1854. Between 1885 and 1887 high ground around the church was dug away, and the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association converted it to a public garden, designed by the MPGA's landscape gardener Fanny Wilkinson. The MPGA bore the cost of conversion at £3,000. The garden was opened by the Duchess of Leeds in 1887. The railings, piers and gates to the churchyard are Grade II listed; the war memorial in the churchyard is also separately Grade II listed.

Current activities

The church continues to be open to visitors and worshippers from all over the world. There is an active congregation who help to continue the life of the church community. As well as the Arbour Centre (a St Dunstan's community project), there is a close connection with two schools: Stepney Greencoat Church of England Primary School and

Stepney All Saints School Stepney All Saints Church of England Secondary School (formerly known as Sir John Cass's Foundation and Redcoat School) is a Church of England voluntary aided school and sixth form located in Stepney, London, England. The last Ofsted report in ...

. St Dunstan's also employs
Children and Community Worker
funded by th
Bishop of London's Mission Fund.

References

External links

St Dunstan and All Saints', Stepney

The Arbour

Sir John Cass and Redcoat Church of England Secondary School

Stepney Greencoat Church of England Primary School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Dunstan's, Stepney

Diocese of London Grade I listed churches in London Grade I listed buildings in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Stepney