The church of Saint Andrew Hubbard is of late Anglo-Saxon origin but the first written mention of “St. Andrew by Estchepe” was in 1169. It is possible that the church was built on the site of a Roman temple because when the site was excavated, the walls seemed to be of Roman workmanship and fragments of Samian pottery were found around these foundations. We know what this church looked like from the Copperplate map of 1555 (see below) and from the Visscher Panorama of 1616 where it is labeled
The name comes from a medieval benefactor in the 13th Century called Hubert. In 1369 the advowson was seized by the crown. We know what the church looked like from the Copperplate Map of 1553 and the Visscher Panorama of 1616 – both shown below. The church was repaired and beautified in 1630. Sadly, only some 30 years later, it was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and not rebuilt. Instead, the parish (only two acres in size) was absorbed by its neighbour to the south – St Mary at Hill.
Though the church has disappeared, there is still a historical echo. The remaining parish records are unusually detailed. The churchwardens’ accounts stretch in an almost unbroken series from 1454 to 1620 and have been much studied by historians providing a fascinating insight into life in the mediaeval city. There are also two parish boundary markers that you can discover. One is in Philpot Lane (opposite the Walkie-Talkie building) showing the boundary between St Andrew Hubbard and St Dionis Backchurch. The other is high up on the wall near the Ship Pub in Talbot Court marking the boundary with St Benet Gracechurch. Both are pictured below
..and the other one
