List of Christopher Wren churches in London

Churches built in the City of London

88 parish churches were burned during the Great Fire of London in 1666. The office of Christopher Wren rebuilt 51 parish churches and St Paul's Cathedral. Many of these churches were demolished as the population of the City of London declined in the 19th century and more were damaged during the Blitz.

Survived largely as built

• St Benet Paul's Wharf
• St Clement Eastcheap
• St James Garlickhythe
• St Margaret Lothbury
• St Margaret Pattens
• St Martin, Ludgate
• St Mary Abchurch
• St Mary Aldermary
• St Michael, Cornhill
• St Paul's Cathedral
• St Peter upon Cornhill
• St Stephen Walbrook

Survived but substantially altered before the Blitz

• St Magnus-the-Martyr; altered after London Bridge was widened in 1762.

Substantially rebuilt after the Blitz to match original

The Blitz in 1940-1941 damaged nearly all the City of London Wren churches and many were nearly destroyed leaving just the outer walls and tower. However most of them were rebuilt to Wren's original design.

• St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe; rebuilt and rededicated in 1961
• St Andrew, Holborn; re-opened in 1961
• St Anne and St Agnes; rededicated in 1966
• St Bride's Church; rededicated in 1957
• St Lawrence Jewry; restored in 1957
• St Mary-le-Bow; reconsecrated in 1964
• St Michael Paternoster Royal; restored in 1966–8
• St Nicholas Cole Abbey; reconsecrated in 1962
• St Vedast Foster Lane; restored by 1962

Damaged after World War II and rebuilt

• St Mary-at-Hill; badly damaged by a fire in 1988 and rebuilt

Re-ordered for new use

• St Edmund, King and Martyr; from 2001 the London Centre for Spirituality

Tower remaining

These churches have only the tower remaining with perhaps a little outer wall. They are no longer churches.

• Christ Church Greyfriars; destroyed in the Blitz. Ruins are a public garden, tower a multi-storey private house
• St Alban, Wood Street; destroyed in the Blitz. Tower is private dwelling
• St Augustine Watling Street; destroyed in the Blitz. Tower part of St Paul's Cathedral Choir School
• St Dunstan-in-the-East; destroyed in the Blitz. Ruins are a public garden
• St Mary Somerset; body of the church demolished in 1871. Tower surrounded by small garden
• St Olave Old Jewry; body of the church was demolished in 1887. Remains including tower now an office building

Moved

• All Hallows Lombard Street; found to be unsafe and demolished in 1937, with the tower and interior fittings moved to All Hallows Twickenham.
• St Mary Aldermanbury; the stones were transported to Fulton, Missouri and rebuilt in the grounds of Westminster College, Missouri as a memorial to Sir Winston Churchill.

Demolished due to the Union of Benefices Act (chronological order)

The population of the City of London declined in the 19th century, and the Union of Benefices Act 1860 reduced the number of parish churches. The surplus churches were demolished.

• St Benet Gracechurch; demolished in 1868
• St Mildred, Poultry; demolished in 1872
• St Antholin, Budge Row; demolished in 1874
• St Michael Queenhithe; demolished in 1876
• All Hallows Bread Street; demolished in 1878
• St Dionis Backchurch; demolished in 1878
• St Matthew Friday Street; demolished in 1885
• St Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street; roof damaged by a fire in 1886 and demolished in 1893
• All-Hallows-the-Great; demolished in 1894
• St Michael Wood Street; demolished in 1897

Demolished for other reasons (chronological order)

• St Christopher le Stocks; demolished in 1781 to provide space for the extension of the Bank of England
• St Michael, Crooked Lane; demolished in 1831 because wider approaches were needed for the rebuilt London Bridge
• St Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange; demolished in 1840 so that Threadneedle Street could be widened
• St Benet Fink; demolished between 1841 and 1846 to improve the site of the Royal Exchange
• St Michael Bassishaw; judged unsafe in 1892 and demolished in 1900
• St George Botolph Lane; demolished in 1904 as the building had been condemned as structurally unsafe
• St Mildred, Bread Street; destroyed in the Blitz and not rebuilt
• St Stephen Coleman Street; destroyed in the Blitz and not rebuilt
• St Swithin, London Stone; destroyed in the Blitz and not rebuilt

Interior refurbished by Christopher Wren

• Temple Church; interior destroyed in The Blitz. During restoration, it was discovered that renovations made by Wren in the 17th century were in storage and they were replaced in their original position.

Churches built in Greater London, but outside the City of London

These churches were outside the area of the Great Fire of London. The first three were badly damaged in the Blitz and rebuilt after.

• St Anne's Church, Soho; built by Wren (or more likely William Talman) as a new church. Partly restored in 1979; the tower was fully restored by 1991 after the Blitz, and a new church centre designed by Westwood Piet Poole & Smart Architects.
• St Clement Danes; derelict in Wren's time, so he rebuilt it. Reconsecrated in 1958 after the Blitz.
• St James's Church, Piccadilly in Westminster; built by Wren as a new church. Rededicated in 1954 after the Blitz.
• Chapel of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, completed in 1687 (Wren designed the rest of the Hospital, as well).

See also

• Christopher Wren
• List of churches rebuilt after the Great Fire but since demolished
• Great Fire of London
• Union of Benefices Act 1860
• The Blitz

Bibliography

• Betjeman, John (1967 (reprint 1992)), Sovereign City of London Churches, Andover: Pitkin, ISBN 0853725659 
• Huelin, G (1996), Vanished Churches of the City of London, London: Guildhall Library Publications, ISBN 0900422424 
• Reynolds, H (1922), The Churches of the City of London, London: The Bodley Head Limited 

External links

• Friends of the City Churches
• Church Bells of the City of London
• City of London Churches by Mark McManus
• Churches in the City from the Diocese of London
• Where the existing Wren churches are in London from Google maps