St Edmund, King and Martyr, is an
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
church in
Lombard Street, in the
City of London, dedicated to
St Edmund the Martyr.
Since 2001 it houses the London Centre for Spirituality, now (2017) renamed the London Centre for Spiritual Direction, but is still a
consecrated
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
church.
In 2015, the church became an office of
Ric Thorpe,
Bishop of Islington
The Bishop of Islington is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of London, in the Province of Canterbury, England.
The title takes its name after Islington, an inner-city district of London, and the fir ...
and organisation he leads,
Centre for Church Multiplication
Since 2019, Imprint Church organises regular worship inside of the building.
The church lies in the
ward of
Langbourn
Langbourn is one of the 25 ancient wards of the City of London. It reputedly is named after a buried stream in the vicinity.
It is a small ward; a long thin area, running in a west–east direction. Historically, Lombard Street and Fenchurch ...
, and has a ward noticeboard outside.
History
In 1292, the church is first recorded as 'Saint Edmund towards Garcherche', and it reappears in 1348 as 'Saint Edmund in Lombardestrete'. John Stow, in his Survey of London 1598, revised during 1603, refers to it also as St Edmund Grass Church.
The medieval church was destroyed in the
Great Fire of 1666. After the fire the parish was united with that of
St Nicholas Acons, which was also destroyed and not rebuilt.
[ The present church was constructed to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren in 1670–1679, with a tower ornamented at the angles by flaming urns in allusion to the Great Fire. George Godwin described the tower as "more Chinese than Italian",][ The orientation of the church is unusual, with the altar towards the north, instead of east.]["The Churches of the City of London" Herbert Reynolds 2008 ]
The essayist Joseph Addison was married here in 1716.
In September 1868 a riot occurred outside the church, as a consequence of one of a series of Friday morning sermons given by the Rev. J. L. Lyne – known as "Father Ignatius" – in which he had spoken disparagingly of the traders of Lombard Street.
The church was restored in 1864 and 1880.["A biographical dictionary of British architects, 1600–1840" Yale 2008 ] On 7 July 1917, during the second daylight air raid
Air raid may refer to:
Attacks
* Airstrike
* Strategic bombing
Other uses
* ''Air Raid'' (album), by the improvisational collective Air
* Air Raid ''(Transformers)'', the name of three characters in the Transformers universes
* ''Air Raid'' ...
by Gotha bomber
''Gothaer Waggonfabrik'' (''Gotha'', GWF) was a German manufacturer of rolling stock established in the late nineteenth century at Gotha. During the two world wars, the company expanded into aircraft building.
World War I
In World War I, Got ...
s of the England Squadron
The England Squadron (German language: ''Englandgeschwader''), officially ''Kagohl 3'' or later ''Bogohl 3'', was a squadron of the Imperial German Army Air Service, formed in late 1916 during the First World War for the purpose of the strategi ...
, a high explosive bomb landed on St Edmund's, destroying the main beam of the roof; extensive repair and restoration was required and it did not reopen until 1 October 1919. Some fragments of the German bomb are preserved in the church. Further damage was caused by incendiary bombs during the 1941 London Blitz.
The church was designated a Grade I listed building on 4 January 1950.
Previous rectors
Rectors of the church have included Thomas Lyndford, chaplain in ordinary to George I, and Jeremiah Milles
Rev. Jeremiah Milles (1714–1784)
Bodleian Library, Oxford. Accessed 26 November 2016. , president of the Society of Antiquaries.
Present day
The church and parish now forms part of the combined parish of ''St Edmund the King and Martyr, and St Mary Woolnoth Lombard Street with St Nicholas Acons, All Hallows Lombard Street
All Hallows Lombard Street, also seen with descriptor Gracechurch Street, was a parish church in the City of London. It stood behind thin buildings fronting both streets, in Langbourn Ward, The west and south sides faced into Ball Alley. Of ...
, St Benet Gracechurch, St Leonard Eastcheap, St Dionis Backchurch
St Dionis Backchurch was a parish church in the Langbourn ward of the City of London. Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London to the designs of Christopher Wren and demolished in 1878.
Early history
The church of St D ...
and St Mary Woolchurch Haw'' – usually shortened to "St Edmund & St Mary Woolnoth" (the only two aforementioned churches to have survived). It is part of the Church of England's 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. For centuries the diocese covered a vast tract and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the north ...
. and accommodates the office of the Bishop of Islington.
Gallery
Image:Edmund lombard02.jpg, Historic engraving
File:St Edmund King and Martyr.JPG, Now a Centre for Spirituality
Image:P1184LCfSp.JPG, Interior
See also
* List of Christopher Wren churches in London
References
External links
The London Centre for Spiritual Direction
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Edmund the King and Martyr
Churches in the City of London
Christopher Wren church buildings in London
English Baroque church buildings
17th-century Church of England church buildings
Grade I listed churches in the City of London
Rebuilt churches in the United Kingdom
Diocese of London
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