City of London Churches (4) - Ruins and Towers

This tower is all that is left of St. Alban Wood Street. Dedicated to the third century English martyr St. Alban. There has been a church on this site since around the eighth century and is reputed to have been the chapel of King Offa, but there is no solid evidence of this.
The church was rebuilt by Wren after the Great Fire of 1666. Prior to this, in 1633-4 Inigo Jones is said to have carried out major work on it.
The main part of the church was severely damaged by WW II bombs in December 1940. In 1954 the remaining walls were demolished and the tower left standing alone. It is now a private dwelling on a traffic island in the middle of Wood Street. It’s closest neighbour is the City Police House.

Named after the King of Norway, Olaf or Olave, who was killled in battle and made a martyr. The name Jewry comes from the nearby street of Old Jewry where the Great London Synagogue stood until 1290 when the Jews were expelled by Edward I.
The church was first mentioned in a manuscript from 1130.
Yet another church to be destroyed in the fire of 1666 and rebuilt by Wren’s office, in 1675. The church was in the shape of a coffin.
The Victorians demolished the church in 1887 but left the tower standing. It now serves as offices
Set back in Ironmonger Lane in a small garden it is difficult to see in summer because of the foliage on the trees.
The sailing ship on the weather vane is thought to be from St. Mildred Poultry.

St. Mary Somerset stands in Upper Thames Street and the name Somerset is thought to be a derivation of “Summer’s Hythe” a small dock.
This was one of the last churches rebuilt by Wren, finished in 1694.
The Portland stone tower now stands alone after the demolition of the rest of the church in 1871 and is yet another tower converted into a  private dwelling.
It has a well laid out garden that is for public use.

All Hallows Staining is first mentioned in the 1100’s and the name is thought to come from the fact that it was built of stone, some of which can still be seen at the base of the tower.
Queen Elizabeth I is said to have visited the church and gave it new bell ropes in 1554 after the bells had been “music to her ears” while imprisoned in the Tower of London.
The church was demolished in 1870 but the tower was restored by the clothworkers. In 1872 a 12th. century crypt was transported here stone by stone from the church of St. James in the Wall near Cripplegate (Monkwell Street).

The church was once a Friary built by Franciscans (Greyfriars) in 1306-25
It was the largest church in the City apart from St. Paul’s. When Henry VIII called for the dissolution of the monasteries it was turned into a warehouse and it wasn’t until the last year of Henry’s reign that he returned it to the City as a parish church.
When Wren rebuilt it after the fire he made it much smaller, but still large compared to others. This was because it had incorporated the parishes of other churches and their congregations.
It was badly damaged by bombs on 29th. December 1940 and not restored. In 1962 more of the church was lost to a road widening scheme.
The tower is now privately owned and the remainder has been turned into a pleasant garden.

This church was more than likely on the site in Saxon times but is first recorded in 1181. Stow tells us that the church was rebuilt in 1437. It was repaired in 1633 and then burnt down, like so many other churches, in the 1666 fire.
World War Two bombs left it an empty shell in December 1940 and because of an association (although a very small one) the remaining walls and tower were dismantled and shipped over to America. This was in 1965. It was reconstructed at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri to serve as a memorial to Sir Winston Churchill.
All that remains in the City siteat Aldermanbury is a pleasant garden with a few stones on the lawn marking out where the columns would have been, and a plaque giving an explanation of the move.