City of London Churches

The loss of the City of London Churches happened in three main waves. The first was the Great Fire of 1666 In total, 87 churches in the centre and west of the city were damaged or destroyed. After the fire, Parliament created a new coal tax to pay for the rebuilding of the City churches and Sir Christopher Wren was appointed as the King’s Surveyor of Works to oversee the reconstruction. It was decided that 34 churches should not be rebuilt but the others are known as ‘Wren’ churches since he oversaw their rebuilding even if other architects who assisted Wren, such as Robert Hooke or Nicholas Hawksmoor, did the designs. On the cards, I give the date that the “rebuilding by Wren” was completed. 

The second wave of demolition was triggered by the Union of Benefices Act of 1860 which sought to combine parishes and free up commercial space for the swelling capital of the British Empire. The result was the 19th Century proved to be almost as damaging to the city churches as the Great Fire. Lastly, London suffered badly in the Blitz in Word War 2, which took its toll on these ancient buildings though most were painstakingly restored. Even though the church buildings were lost, their parishes remained and can still be explored today through their wall plaques and parish boundary markers mounted high on the office buildings around the City.

Wikipedia has some very good pages on these City of London Churches. Here is a list of the churches that were rebuilt after the Great Fire, and here is a list of the Wren Churches

 

Cards exist for 110 of the City of London Churches on this list (including 2 for St Pauls). If you are ordering specific cards then please give the name and number . The Lost churches come in two series. Series 2 cards are mostly those churches lost in the Great Fire and not rebuilt. Series 1 Lost churches were (generally) rebuilt after the Great Fire but have been lost since. Extant churches are series “E”

 

NO. Church Name Lost Date Series
1 All Hallows by the Tower Extant E
2 All Hallows Bread Street 1878 1
3 All Hallows Honey Lane 1666 2
4 All Hallows Lombard Street 1939 1
5 All Hallows London Wall Extant E
6 All Hallows Staining 1870 1
7 All Hallows the Great 1894 1
8 All Hallows the Less 1666 1
9 Christchurch, Newgate Street 1940 1
10 Holy Trinity Minories 1899 2
11 Holy Trinity the Less 1666 2
12 St Alban Wood Street 1940 1
13 St Alphage London Wall 1923 1
14 St Andrew Hubbard 1666 2
15 St Andrew Undershaft Extant E
16 St Andrew by the Wardrobe Extant E
17 St Ann Blackfriars 1666 1
18 St Anne and St Agnes Extant E
19 St Antholin, Budge Row 1875 1
20 St Augustine Watling Street 1941 1
21 St Bartholomew the Great Extant E
22 St Bartholomew the Less Extant E
23 St Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange 1840 1
24 St Benet Fink 1846 1
25 St Benet Gracechurch 1868 1
26 St Benet Paul’s Wharf  Extant E
27 St Benet Sherehog 1666 2
28 St Botolph Aldersgate Extant E
29 St Botolph Aldgate Extant E
30 St Botolph Billingsgate 1666 2
31 St Botolph Bishopsgate Extant E
32 St Bride’s Church Extant E
33 St Christopher le Stocks 1782 1
34 St Clement Eastcheap Extant E
35 St Dionis Backchurch 1878 1
36 St Dunstan in the East 1941 1
37 St Dunstan in the West Extant E
38 St Edmund the King and Martyr Extant E
39 St Ethelburga Extant E
40 St Faith under St Paul’s 1666 2
41 St Gabriel Fenchurch 1666 2
42 St George Botolph Lane 1904 1
43 St Giles Cripplegate Extant E
44 St Gregory by St Paul’s 1666 2
45 St Helen’s Bishopsgate Extant E
46 St James Duke’s Place 1874 1
47 St James Garlickhythe Extant E
48 St John the Baptist  1666 2
49 St John the Evangelist 1666 2
50 St John Zachary 1666 2
51 St Katharine Cree Extant E
52 St Katherine Coleman 1926 1
53 St Laurence Pountney 1666 2
54 St Lawrence Jewry Extant E
55 St Leonard, Eastcheap 1666 2
56 St Leonard, Foster Lane 1666 2
57 St Magnus the Martyr Extant E
58 St Margaret Lothbury Extant E
59 St Margaret Moses 1666 2
60 St Margaret Pattens Extant E
61 St Margaret, New Fish Street 1666 2
62 St Martin Orgar 1820 2
63 St Martin Outwich 1874 1
64 St Martin Pomaroy 1666 2
65 St Martin Vintry 1666 2
66 St Martin, Ludgate Extant E
67 St Mary Abchurch Extant E
68 St Mary Aldermanbury 1940 1
69 St Mary Aldermary Extant E
70 St Mary Bothaw 1666 2
71 St Mary Colechurch 1666 2
72 St Mary Magdalen Milk Street 1666 2
73 St Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street 1893 1
74 St Mary Mounthaw 1666 2
75 St Mary Somerset 1871 1
76 St Mary Staining 1666 2
77 St Mary Woolchurch Haw 1666 2
78 St Mary Woolnoth Extant E
79 St Mary at Hill Extant E
80

 

St Mary le Bow

 Extant E
81 St Matthew Friday Street 1885 1
82 St Michael Bassishaw 1900 1
83 St Michael Paternoster Royal Extant E
84 St Michael Queenhithe 1876 1
85 St Michael Wood Street 1897 1
86 St Michael, Cornhill Extant E
87 St Michael, Crooked Lane 1831 1
88 St Michael le Querne 1666 1
89 St Mildred, Bread Street 1941 1
90 St Mildred, Poultry 1872 1
91 St Nicholas Acons 1666 2
92 St Nicholas Cole Abbey Extant E
93 St Nicholas Olave 1666 2
94 St Olave Hart Street Extant E
95 St Olave Old Jewry 1888 1
96 St Olave’s, Silver Street 1666 2
97 St Pancras, Soper Lane 1666 2
98 St Peter Cornhill Extant E
99 St Peter le Poer 1907 1
100 St Peter, Paul’s Wharf 1666 2
101 St Peter, Westcheap 1666 2
102 St Sepulchre Extant E
103 St Stephen Coleman Street 1940 1
104 St Stephen Walbrook Extant E
105 St Swithin, London Stone 1940 1
106 St Thomas the Apostle 1666 2
107 St Vedast Foster Lane Extant E
108 St Andrew Holborn Extant E
109 St Pauls Cathedral (2 cards) Extant E
110 St Nicholas Shambles 1547 No Card
111 St Audoen (Ewen) Newgate 1583 No Card
112 St Mary Axe 1561 No Card
113 St Augustine Papey 1541 No Card