St Mary Aldermanbury is a former parish church in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

first mentioned in the 12th century and destroyed by the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

in 1666. Rebuilt like many other City of London churches by

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was ac ...

, it was again gutted by

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

in 1940, leaving only the walls standing. These stones were transported in 1966 to

Fulton, Missouri Fulton is the largest city in and the county seat of Callaway County, Missouri, Callaway County, Missouri, United States. Located about northeast of Jefferson City, Missouri, Jefferson City and the Missouri River and east of Columbia, Missouri, ...

, where they were rebuilt in the grounds of Westminster College and form part of the National Churchill Museum. The site in London is marked by a garden.

History

St Mary Aldermanbury was established in the early 12th century"The bombed London church that was reborn in the USA"
Stokes, Tim: BBC News, 3 May 2025. and first mentioned in 1181. The church was destroyed in the

in 1666 and was rebuilt in

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone geological formation (formally named the Portland Stone Formation) dating to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic that is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The quarries are cut in beds of whi ...

. In the 1830s, the notable

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

William Jowett was a lecturer at the church. On 29 December 1940, during

, the church was again destroyed by fire, together with seven other City of London churches. The gutted walls were left in place for lack of restoration funds after the war. On 5 March 1946,

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

made his "Sinews of Peace" speech in the gymnasium at Westminster College in Missouri, coining the term "

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

". In spring 1961, discussions about how to commemorate the event led to a proposal to rebuild St Mary Aldermanbury on the college campus. Approval was granted by the City of London and the

Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames, covering and all or part of 17 London boroughs. This corresponds almost exactly to the historic county of ...

, and the necessary $1.5 million was raised with first President Kennedy and then President Johnson serving as honorary project chairman, and former presidents

Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

and Truman lending support. In 1965, the remains of the church were dismantled and approximately 7,000 stones numbered and transported by ship and rail to Fulton, where the building was reconstructed under the direction of architect Patrick Horsebrugh. The chief mason, Eris Lytle, said he needed to learn Renaissance craft techniques for the project. The church was rededicated on 7 May 1969 and was restored in the 2020s. It is now part of the National Churchill Museum at Westminster College and serves as a wedding venue. Edwina Sandys' sculpture '' Breakthrough'' is next to the church. The footprint of the church, with some stones, remains at the junction of Aldermanbury and Love Lane in the City of London, adjacent to the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a guild hall or guild house, is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Europe, with many surviving today in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commo ...

. It is planted as a park, with a large stone marking the former site of the altar, and was refurbished in 2024 with assistance from Westminster College. There is a memorial plaque placed by the college, and also a monument topped by a bust of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

Henry Condell Henry Condell ( bapt. 5 September 1576 – December 1627) was a British actor in the King's Men, the playing company for which William Shakespeare wrote. With John Heminges, he was instrumental in preparing and editing the First Folio, the c ...

and

John Heminges John Heminges (bapt. 25 November 1566 – 10 October 1630) was an English actor in the King's Men, the playing company for which William Shakespeare wrote. Along with Henry Condell, he was an editor of the First Folio, the collected plays of Sha ...

, key figures in the production of the

First Folio ''Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies'' is a collection of plays by William Shakespeare, commonly referred to by modern scholars as the First Folio, published in 1623, about seven years after Shakespeare's death. It is cons ...

of his plays and partners with him in the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

; both lived in the parish and were buried in its churchyard. The site was designated a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

on 5 June 1972; the monuments are separately listed.

Burials

Notable burials in the church included the notorious "hanging judge" Judge Jeffreys. Of the interment of Judge Jeffreys,

Leigh Hunt James Henry Leigh Hunt (19 October 178428 August 1859), best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist and poet. Hunt co-founded '' The Examiner'', a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles. He was the centre ...

wrote: Also buried in the church were: * Edmund Calamy, Presbyterian minister, who was the perpetual curate of St Mary Aldermanbury 1639–1662. * Edmund Calamy the Younger, a preacher removed by the

Great Ejection The Great Ejection followed the Act of Uniformity 1662 in England. Several thousand Puritan ministers were forced out of their positions in the Church of England following the Restoration of Charles II. It was a consequence (not necessarily ...

* Edmund Calamy III, historian and Presbyterian minister * Edmund Calamy IV, his son, dissenting minister *

, actor, member of the King's Men * William Damsell, Receiver-General of the

Court of Wards and Liveries The Court of Wards and Liveries was a court established during the reign of Henry VIII in England. Its purpose was to administer a system of feudalism, feudal dues; but as well as the revenue collection, the court was also responsible for wa ...

and a Member of Parliament *

Thomas Digges Thomas Digges (; c. 1546 – 24 August 1595) was an English mathematician and astronomer. He was the first to expound the Copernican system in English but discarded the notion of a fixed shell of immoveable stars to postulate infinitely many s ...

, astronomer who is believed to have been the first person to postulate in print that the universe is infinite *

, actor, member of the King's Men *

James Janeway James Janeway (1636–1674) was a Puritan minister and author who, after John Bunyan, had the widest and longest popularity as the author of works read by English language, English-speaking children. Life Janeway was born at Lilley, Hertfords ...

, Puritan author and minister * William Painter, author

Marriage

* In 1656 the poet

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

married his second wife, Elizabeth Woodcock, at St Mary's.''The City Churches'', Tabor, M., p. 87: London, The Swarthmore Press Ltd, 1917

Footnotes

External links

*
Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury – Churchill Memorial – Fulton, Missouri
at Waymarking {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary Aldermanbury 12th-century establishments in England 1966 disestablishments in England English Baroque church buildings Churches rebuilt after the Great Fire of London but since demolished Aldermanbury Aldermanbury Parks and open spaces of the City of London Corporation Christopher Wren church buildings in London Relocated buildings and structures in the United States

History

Burials

Marriage

See also

Footnotes

External links