By the 1850s London was expanding rapidly. It was a global capital controlling and Empire on which famously the Sun never said. As a result last numbers of Victorian terraced houses in the suburbs were being built. You can still see them today as they form a ring of brick buildings 10 miles wide that […]
Lost London Churches Blog
A People’s Church
I have just finished reading “A People’s Church” – an excellent history of the Church of England by Jeremy Morris published by Profile Books. It’s a fascinating account of an institution that you may think you know, because it has always just been “there”. But you will soon discover it is an organisation far more […]
Martin Benet and the Black Friar
The title “Martin Benet and the Black Friar” might sound like an Agatha Christie novel from the 30’s, but it is actually a walk of 5.4 km around the lost churches of St Benet and St Martin in the City of London. It starts and ends at a gorgeous pub called the Black Friar. So […]
City of London Cemetery Reburials
By the 1850s London was expanding rapidly. It was a global capital controlling and Empire on which famously the Sun never said. As a result last numbers of Victorian terraced houses in the suburbs were being built. You can still see them today as they form a ring of brick buildings 10 miles wide that […]
St Botolph Billingsgate
The lost church of St Botolph Billingsgate is one of four that were dedicated to that Saint; the other three still remain. The churches to St Botolph at Aldersgate , Bishopsgate and Aldgate all stood just outside gates in the old Roman walls of the city. These gates were only demolished in the 1760s. However […]
Taking The Michael
The Archangel Michael, in the Catholic Church, is the leader of the Army of God in their triumph over the forces of Evil. He is also an important figure for Jews and Muslims. But in cockney rhyming slang – the native patois of the City – Michael has other associations. I apologise in advance if […]
All Hallows Honey Lane
The medieval church of All Hallows Honey Lane was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was not rebuilt unlike many others. However Honey Lane is still there. Its entrance is marked by a carving of a honey bee as you can see in the photo below. You can see from the […]
All the Marys
In 1500 there were 15 churches in the City of London dedicated to a St Mary. St Mary was by far the most popular dedication with the next most poplar being All Hallows (8 churches) and St Michael (7 churches). This, of course, was helped by the fact that there are two St Marys – […]
Cheapside Treasures
One of the best places to explore old parish boundary markers in the City is Cheapside. In medieval times, Cheapside was a bustling marketplace; it’s wide street filled with hawkers, pedlars and shops of all kinds. It is still one of the main shopping centres of the City with the huge New Change mall at […]
Guy de la Bédoyère’s watercolours
As the well known phrase has it, “It is an ill wind that blows nobody good”. It is assumed that this saying originates from Shakespeare’s Henry VI who put it like this “Ill blows the wind that profits nobody”. But wherever it stems from, it certainly applies to Guy de la Bédoyère’s watercolours of some of […]