Coordinates In geometry, a coordinate system is a system that uses one or more numbers, or coordinates, to uniquely determine and standardize the Position (geometry), position of the Point (geometry), points or other geometric elements on a manifold such as ...

: St Nicholas Acons was a parish church in the City of London. In existence by the late 11th century, it was destroyed during the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

of 1666 and not rebuilt.

History

The church was situated on the west side of Nicholas Lane in

Langbourn Langbourn is one of the 25 ancient wards of the City of London. It reputedly is named after a buried stream in the vicinity. It is a small ward; a long thin area, running in a west–east direction. Historically, Lombard Street and Fenchurc ...

ward of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

.Newcourt 1708, p.504 The name 'Acons' was derived from that of a mediaeval benefactor. The church is recorded as early as 1084, when Godwinus and his wife Turund gave its

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

Malmesbury Abbey Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, is a former Benedictine abbey dedicated to Saint Peter and Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul. It was one of the few English religious houses with a continuous history from the 7th century throug ...

. It passed to the Crown on the dissolution of the monasteries. St Nicholas' was destroyed during the

of 1666 and not rebuilt. Instead the parish was united with that of

St Edmund the King and Martyr St Edmund, King and Martyr, is an Anglican church in Lombard Street, in the City of London, dedicated to St Edmund the Martyr. From 2001 it housed the London Centre for Spirituality, renamed the London Centre for Spiritual Direction, but is st ...

, Lombard Street in 1670. The name retained as the name of a

precinct Precinct may refer to: * An electoral precinct * A police precinct * A religious precinct * A shopping arcade or shopping mall ** A Pedestrian zone Places * A neighborhood, in Australia * A unit of public housing in Singapore * A former elector ...

in the south-western part of Langbourn Ward. In the 1860s a proposed unification of the benefice of St Edmunds with St Nicholas and that of

St Mary Woolnoth St Mary Woolnoth is an Anglican church in the City of London, located on the corner of Lombard Street, London, Lombard Street and King William Street, London, King William Street near Bank junction. The present building is one of the Commission f ...

with St Mary Woolchurch Haw was vigorously defended by St Nicholas Acons' discrete churchwardens. In 1964 the churchyard was excavated and important Saxon remains found, but in the last decade of the 20th century Gordon Huelin noted that only a City Corporation commemoration at the site of the old parsonage remained to indicate a church had ever been there.

Present day

The parish now forms part of the combined

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of "

, and St Mary Woolnoth Lombard Street with St Nicholas Acons,

All Hallows Lombard Street All Hallows Lombard Street, also seen with the descriptor Gracechurch Street, was a parish church in the City of London. It stood behind thin buildings fronting both streets in Langbourn Ward, The west and south sides faced into Ball Alley. ...

St Benet Gracechurch St Benet Gracechurch (or Grass Church) was a parish church in the City of London. First recorded in the 11th century, it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666 and rebuilt by the office of Sir Christopher Wren. The church was demolis ...

St Leonard Eastcheap St. Leonard, Eastcheap, sometimes referred to as ''St Leonard Milkchurch'', was a parish church in the City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of E ...

St Dionis Backchurch St Dionis Backchurch was a parish church in the Langbourn ward of the City of London. Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London to the designs of Christopher Wren and demolished in 1878. Early history The church of St D ...

and

St Mary Woolchurch Haw St Mary Woolchurch Haw was a parish church in the City of London, destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666 and not rebuilt. It came within the ward of Walbrook. History The church of St Mary Woolchurch Haw was an ancient foundation, datin ...

" – usually shortened to 'St Edmund and St Mary Woolnoth'. It is part of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames, covering and all or part of 17 London boroughs. This corresponds almost exactly to the historic county of ...

.Diocese of London
St Edmund & St Mary Woolnoth

Notes and references

Bibliography

*"The Register Book of the parish of St. Nicholas Acons, London, 1539–1812" Brigg, W(Transc) p 160: Leeds, Walker & Laycock, 1890. *''Church of England, Parish of St. Nicholas Acons. – PLAN OF THE PARISH OF SAINT NICHOLAS ACON'S LOMBARD STREET 1875'' / George Leg, 1875 ms. plan. – k1264830 cited in "City of London Parish Registers Guide 4" Hallows, A. (Ed): London, Guildhall Library Research, 1974 . *"Vanished churches of the City of London", Huelin, G p21 : London Guildhall Library Publishing, 1996 *''A Descriptive Account of the Guildhall of the City of London-Its History and Associations'' in "The English Historical Review" Price, J.E. pp. 154–158: Oxford, Oxford University Press Jan., 1888 (Vol. 3, No. 9) * *''The Proposed Union Of City Benefices'' in "The Times" p 10: London,

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

Newspaper, 1861 (Wednesday, 20 November; Issue 24095; col C) *''Local Administrative Units: Southern England'' Youngs, F. p. 302 :London, Royal Historical Society, 1979 *"The London Encyclopaedia" Hibbert, C; Weinreb, D; Keay, J: London, Pan Macmillan, 1983 (rev 1993,2008) *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Nicholas Acons 11th-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