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St Mary Aldermanbury

Coordinates: 51°30′59.34″N 0°5′35.06″W / 51.5164833°N 0.0930722°W / 51.5164833; -0.0930722
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51°30′59.34″N 0°5′35.06″W / 51.5164833°N 0.0930722°W / 51.5164833; -0.0930722

St Mary Aldermanbury
St Mary Aldermanbury in 1904
Map
LocationLove Lane and Aldermanbury, City of London
CountryEngland
DenominationAnglican
History
Founded12th century
Architecture
Functional statusRemoved and reconstructed at National Churchill Museum, Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri, USA
Heritage designationGrade II listed building (site)
Designated5 June 1972
Architect(s)Christopher Wren
Closed29 December 1940
Demolished1966
Specifications
MaterialsPortland stone
Administration
DioceseDiocese of London
The blitzed church in situ in London, 1964
The rebuilt church and Breakthrough sculpture at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, 2006

St Mary Aldermanbury is a former parish church in the City of London first mentioned in the 12th century and destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. Rebuilt like many other City of London churches by Christopher Wren, it was again gutted by the Blitz in 1940, leaving only the walls standing. These stones were transported in 1966 to Fulton, Missouri, where they were rebuilt in the grounds of Westminster College and form part of the National Churchill Museum.[1] The site in London is marked by a garden.

Inside the rebuilt church
Park on the former site of the church in London

History

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St Mary Aldermanbury was established in the early 12th century[2] and first mentioned in 1181.[3] The church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666[4] and was rebuilt in Portland stone by Christopher Wren.[2][5]

In the 1830s, the notable missionary William Jowett was a lecturer at the church.[6]

On 29 December 1940, during the Blitz, the church was again destroyed by fire, together with seven other City of London churches. The gutted walls were left in place for lack of restoration funds after the war.[2]

On 5 March 1946, Winston Churchill made his "Sinews of Peace" speech in the gymnasium at Westminster College in Missouri, coining the term "Iron Curtain". In spring 1961, discussions about how to commemorate the event led to a proposal to rebuild St Mary Aldermanbury on the college campus. Approval was granted by the City of London and the Diocese of London, and the necessary $1.5 million was raised with first President Kennedy and then President Johnson serving as honorary project chairman, and former presidents Eisenhower and Truman lending support. In 1965, the remains of the church were dismantled and approximately 7,000 stones numbered and transported by ship and rail to Fulton, where the building was reconstructed under the direction of architect Patrick Horsebrugh. The chief mason, Eris Lytle, said he needed to learn Renaissance craft techniques for the project.[2]

The church was rededicated on 7 May 1969 and was restored in the 2020s. It is now part of the National Churchill Museum at Westminster College and serves as a wedding venue. Edwina Sandys' sculpture Breakthrough is next to the church.[2]

The footprint of the church, with some stones, remains at the junction of Aldermanbury and Love Lane in the City of London, adjacent to the Guildhall. It is planted as a park, with a large stone marking the former site of the altar, and was refurbished in 2024 with assistance from Westminster College.[2] There is a memorial plaque placed by the college, and also a monument topped by a bust of Shakespeare to Henry Condell and John Heminges, key figures in the production of the First Folio of his plays and partners with him in the Globe Theatre; both lived in the parish and were buried in its churchyard. The site was designated a Grade II listed building on 5 June 1972;[7] the monuments are separately listed.[8]

Burials

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Notable burials in the church included the notorious "hanging judge" Judge Jeffreys.[9][10] Of the interment of Judge Jeffreys, Leigh Hunt wrote:

Jeffreys was taken on the twelfth of September, 1688. He was first interred privately in the Tower; but three years afterwards, when his memory was something blown over, his friends obtained permission, by a warrant of the queen's[11] dated September 1692, to take his remains under their own care, and he was accordingly reinterred in a vault under the communion table of St. Mary, Aldermanbury, 2nd Nov. 1694. In 1810, during certain repairs, the coffin was uncovered for a time, and the public had a sight of the box containing the mortal remains of the feared and hated magistrate.[12]

Also buried in the church were:

Marriage

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  • In 1656 the poet John Milton married his second wife, Elizabeth Woodcock, at St Mary's.[13]

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ The London Encyclopaedia Hibbert, C; Weinreb, D; Keay, J: London, Pan Macmillan, 1983 (rev 1993, 2008) ISBN 978-1405049245
  2. ^ a b c d e f "The bombed London church that was reborn in the USA" Stokes, Tim: BBC News, 3 May 2025.
  3. ^ The Churches of the City of London Reynolds, H: London, Bodley Head, 1922
  4. ^ Cripplegate, one of the 26 Wards of the City of London Baddesley, J.J p. 32: London; Blades, East & Blades; 1921
  5. ^ The City of London Churches Betjeman, J: Andover, Pikin, 1967 ISBN 0853721122
  6. ^ 'Jowett, William (1787–1855), missionary' Goodwin, G., revised by H. C. G. Matthew: in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Oxford University Press; 2004
  7. ^ Historic England, "Footings to former Church of St Mary the Virgin (1359121)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 16 May 2015
  8. ^ Historic England, "Monument to John Heminge and Henry Condell in former churchyard of Church of St Mary Aldermanbury (1064772)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 16 May 2015
  9. ^ Dictionary of National Biography
  10. ^ I Never Knew That About London Winn, Christopher, p. 44; London: Ebury Press, 2007 ISBN 978-0091943196.
  11. ^ Mary II, who ruled jointly with her husband William III.
  12. ^ Leigh Hunt, "Memoirs of Judge Jeffries", London Journal, 9 April 1834. Vol I, p. 14.
  13. ^ The City Churches, Tabor, M., p. 87: London, The Swarthmore Press Ltd, 1917
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