Lost London Churches Blog

The church of All Hallows stood on the corner of Lombard Street and Gracechurch street as you can see on the parish map below. It was most commonly known as All Hallows Lombard Street but sometimes All Hallows Gracechurch because of its position. It was a simple church of Saxon origin but the first written […]

The church of All Hallows the Great was demolished in 1894 under the Union of Benefices  Act. It was known as “the Great” to distinguish it from All Hallows the Less which stood next door in Upper Thames Street as shown in the picture below. Demolishing the church allowed Upper Thames street to be widened. […]

The church of St Martin Outwich stood at the corner of Threadneedle Street and Bishopsgate. It was built in the 14th Century and paid for by the Oteswich family which was corrupted to “Outwich” as the name of the church. It was lucky enough to escape the Great Fire of 1666 but was badly damaged […]

The lost church of St Benet Gracechurch was first recorded in the 11th century. “Benet” is a shortened form of Benedict. The church was dedicated to St Benedict of Nursia – the patron saint of Europe and the founder of Western Monasticism. A hay market nearby was the origin of the second part of the […]

All that is left of the church of All Hallows Staining is the tower at the corner of Dunster Court and Mark Lane. The tower was built in 1320AD and was part of the second church on this site. It was originally founded by the Saxons before the Norman conquest. The diagram to the right […]

St Benet Sherehog was one of. the City churches that was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and never rebuilt. It was originally dedicated to St Osyth. A corrupted form of this name can still be seen in “Size Lane” – a very short alley behind No1 Poultry. Here you will find a blue […]

At the corner of Queen Street and Upper Thames Street stood the church of St Martin Vintry. It was one of the many churches destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and never rebuilt. The parish was combined with that of St Michael Paternoster Royal next door. The first mention of the church […]

St Martin Orgar in Martin Lane off Canon Street is famous from the children’s nursery rhyme “Oranges & Lemons” in the couplet “You owe me five farthings Say the bells of St Martin” Although, to be truthful, it could in fact refer to any one of the five churches dedicated to St Martins (of which […]

The church of St Martin Pomeroy, sometimes known as St Martin Ironmonger Lane, is of medieval origin although the date of its founding is uncertain. The name “Pomeroy” could be a reference to the apple trees (French: Pomme) that grew nearby or a link to the Pomarys family. It was sited halfway down Ironmonger Lane, […]

On the corner of Walbrook, opposite the Bank of England, you will find a blue plaque commemorating the church of St Mary Woolchurch Haw. This church is first mentioned in 1260 as “St Mary of Woollechurche-hawe”. The names comes from a beam in the churchyard that was used for weighting wool according the historian John […]