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Built between 1756-1766 for John, first Earl Spencer, an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales, Spencer House is one of the most elegant and sumptuous private residences ever built in London and one of its finest surviving eighteenth-century town houses. Originally designed by John Vardy and James ‘Athenian’ Stuart, Spencer House is still owned (as of 2020) by the Spencer family, but currently leased to a company chaired by Lord Rothschild and has undergone a massive restoration. These days, it is let out for corporate and private functions, including weddings, but also has limited opening to the public.
Image credit - Historic Houses.
St. James's
The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great claims to be the oldest surviving church building in London. It was established as an Augustinian priory and hospital in 1123 by Rahere, a courtier of Henry I's, who saw the light. Hence the foundation of St Bart's Hospital - which adjoins the church. The Priory was dissolved in 1539 and the nave demolished - but the magnificent remains still serve as a parish church. Somehow, Rahere's tomb survived. Part of the cloisters also survive - now used as a cafe. This is a working parish church. It has nevertheless featured in numerous TV and film productions.
Known as the journalists' church, St Brides, just off Fleet Street, is dedicated to a 5th century Irish saint, St Bridget - or St Bride - of Kildare. The fascinating crypt reveals layers of construction, from Roman times onward, and includes a fascinating museum as well as a 14th century chapel, refurbished in modern style. The crypt was not discovered until 1953. The parents of the first white child born in colonial America in 1585 were married in this church. The church was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and was rebuilt by Wren; the spire is the tallest he built - 234 feet - and was the inspiration for the tiered wedding cake. The interior was rebuilt in the 1950s after destruction in World War Two. The Journalists' Altar commemorates journalists from all over the world who have died or been injured during the course of their work.
Atmospheric garden inside the ruins of a medieval-Baroque church destroyed during the Blitz. The church of St Dunstan's in the East dates from 1100. It was severely damaged in the Great Fire of 1666 and repaired, with a new tower and steeple, designed by Wren, being added. It was then gutted by bombs in 1941 and, after the war, it was decided not to rebuild it. In 1967, the City of London undertook to open it as a garden, which it did in 1970. It is beautiful - and used for events so check before making a special trip.
The church of St Magnus the Martyr (a Viking Jarl born c1075), is a bit of a surprise. It is located on a part of the Thames foreshore reclaimed by the Romans and for 700 years stood at the northern end of London Bridge - so everyone arriving or leaving that way would have passed by its door. It was one of the first casualties of the Great Fire of 1666, was rebuilt by Christopher Wren and suffered again during the Blitz of 1940. The interior is quite high church, almost Roman Catholic, and includes a life-size model of a Viking (intended to represent St Magnus). Among its fascinating treasures is its great clock, dating from 1700, a fascinating model of Old London Bridge and a section of Roman timber.
There has been a church here since Saxon times, though the current one is about the 4th version, rebuilt having been bombed during WW2, modelled on Wren's design. It has a rich history. One part of the crypt is medieval. It is very grand inside, but most famous for its Bow bells - anyone born within earshot of them being deemed a cockney.
On the corner of Hart Street and Seething Lane, this is one of the smallest churches in the City of London and one of a handful to survive the Great Fire of 1666 - thanks in this case to the efforts of Sir William Penn (father of the founder of Pennsylvania). It was Samuel Pepys' favourite church - he lived and worked on Seething Lane and is buried, with his wife, under the nave. Some say St Olave's is built on or near the site of the legendary Battle of London Bridge in 1014, in which Olaf II of Norway fought alongside Ethelred the Unready against the Danes. Anyway, the church is dedicated to St Olaf, the patron saint of Norway. It was gutted by bombing during WW2 and restored in 1954. It has some lovely memorials and a fascinating medieval crypt chapel, with a well.
St Paul's, Deptford, has been described as one of the finest Baroque churches in the country. It was designed by the architect Thomas Archer, a pupil of Sir Christopher Wren, and built between 1712 and 1730. It's an imposing wedding cake of a place, but impressive, mounted on a stone plinth and a little incongruous in its sadly run-down urban surroundings.
The man with the funny hat who seemed to be in charge was uninterested in the fact that my grandparents had been married there.
Deptford
St Paul's church Knightsbridge is an elaborate Victorian church, the first in London to champion the ideals of the ‘Oxford Movement’ – the so-called ‘Tractarians’ who sought to restore a sense of Catholicism to the established Church of England. The building was consecrated in 1843, and its features include iron columns and balcony supports, a striking rood screen and reredos and an unusual series of tiled panels around the walls of the nave.
During WW2, the church was used by the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY). A memorial on the outside of the north wall commemorates 52 FANYs who died on active service in World War II, carrying out secret intelligence work for the Special Operations Executive in occupied countries as well as providing transport drivers for the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS).
St Paul's is the seat of the Bishop of London and one of London's iconic landmarks. It stands at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, where it is believed the first church, dedicated to St Paul the Apostle, was built on the same spot in 604AD. The present Baroque cathedral was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and replaced 'Old St Paul's', which was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was built between 1675 and 1708. It famously survived the Blitz of 1940/41 and is the burial place of two of Britain's greatest heroes, Horatio Nelson and the Duke of Wellington (and Christopher Wren). The funeral services of Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher were held at St Paul's. It is on most visitors' 'must see' list, but the Cathedral, like Westminster Abbey, charges a hefty entrance fee.
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