Sometime in the 12th Century the church of All Hallows was built on a bastion of the old Roman wall that enclosed the City. It became known as All Hallows on the Wall or alternatively All Hallows London Wall. It was famous for the hermits that lived enclosed cells in the church. The church as it looked then is illustrated in the Copperplate map of 1555.
St Augustine Papey
In 1430, the tiny nearby parish of St Augustine Papey was combined with All Hallows. That’s why the parish is in two parts on the parish map below. The green shaded area near Beavis Marks is the old parish of St Augustine Papey. You can still see the site of the lost church of St Augustine – a small green area cut into the towering office buildings (see photo below). It’s amazing to think that a building that was demolished 580 years ago still leaves its imprint on the City – but it’s a common story all over London.
The church of All Hallows London Wall was lucky enough to escape the Great Fire of London in 1666 because the old wall offered some protection. Sadly, it became gradually dilapidated after that. In 1767,George Dance the Younger rebuilt the church. He was inspired by the classical buildings that he had seen on his recent trip to Rome.
The church was damaged in the Blitz and restored in the early 1960s. It is now the headquarters of the urban youth charity XLP.
If you go a short way west from the church of All Hallows along the road called London Wall you will find an old parish boundary market as shown in the photo below.
