All Hallows-by-the-Tower, at one time dedicated jointly to All Hallows (All Saints) and

the Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loret ...

and sometimes known as All Hallows Barking, is an Early Medieval

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church on

Byward Street Byward Street is a road in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London. It forms part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3211 route and, if travelling eastward, is a short continuation of Thames ...

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 ...

, England, overlooking the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

. According to the church website and other sources it is "the oldest church in the City of London" and was founded in AD 675, although recent research has questioned these claims. The church survived 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, but was badly damaged during

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 ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Following extensive reconstruction, it was rededicated in 1957. From 1922 until 1962 the

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

was

Tubby Clayton Philip Thomas Byard Clayton (12 December 1885 – 16 December 1972), known as "Tubby" Clayton, was an Anglican clergyman and the founder of Toc H. Life and career Philip Clayton was born in Maryborough, Queensland, Australia, to English pa ...

, and the church is still the guild church of

Toc H Toc H (also TH) is a registered charity and an international Christian movement. The name is an abbreviation for Talbot House, "Toc" signifying the letter T in the Royal Corps of Signals#History, signals spelling alphabet#History, spelling alpha ...

, the international Christian organisation that he founded.

History

London Great Tower Street geograph-3066471-by-Ben-Brooksbank

The origin and early history of All Hallows-by-the-Tower church are obscure. At the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 the church belonged to

Barking Abbey The Abbey of St Mary and St Ethelburga, founded in the 7th-century and commonly known as Barking Abbey, is a former Roman Catholic, royal monastery located in Barking, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It has been described as havi ...

, a Roman Catholic

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

nunnery in

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking, 1965–1980 ** Municipal Borough of Barking, 1931–1965 ** Barking (UK Parliament constituency) ** Barking (electoral division), Greater ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, originally established in the 7th century. The association with Barking was a long one, and All Hallows church was already known as "Berkyncherche" in the 12th century. According to

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

in 1086, Barking Abbey possessed "28 houses and half a church" in London: although the church is not named, it is usually identified with All Hallows. Chertsey Breviary - St

The original

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

abbey of Barking was founded by

Earconwald Saint Earconwald or Erkenwald (died 693) was a Saxon prince and Bishop of London between 675 and 693. He is the eponymous subject of one of the most St. Erkenwald (poem), important poems in the foundations of English literature (thought to be by th ...

or Erkenwald, along with Chertsey Abbey, before he became

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

in 675, and it has been claimed that the land on which All Hallows stands was granted to the abbey, under Abbess Æthelburh (Ethelburga), Erkenwald's sister, at that time. A charter dated to 687, listing properties belonging to Barking Abbey, includes two pieces of land in or near London. One of these was simply described as "''iuxta Lundoniam''", near/next to London, the other as "''supra vicum Lundoniae''", that is, in "

Lundenwic The Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon period of the history of London dates from the end of the Londinium, Roman period in the 5th century to the beginning of the Norman and medieval London, Norman period in 1066. Romano-British ''Londinium'' ...

", the Anglo-Saxon town that had grown up in the area of the

Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...

, a mile to the west of the old Roman city of

Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. Most twenty-first century historians think that it was originally a settlement established shortly after the Roman conquest of Brit ...

; neither of these, though, accurately describes the location of All Hallows church, inside the wall of the Roman city on the eastern side. In 1940, during

, the clearance after destruction caused by bombing revealed an archway built of reused Roman tiles and stonework, set in a surviving wall of the medieval church. The reuse of Roman building materials, and comparison with arches in the early

church at

Brixworth Brixworth is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a parish population of 5,162, increasing to 5,228 at the 2011 census. The village's All Saints' Church is of Anglo-Saxon origin. Location T ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, suggested that the All Hallows arch was very early in date, and that an original church could have been built as early as the 7th century. This seemed to confirm the belief that the church had been founded as a daughter church of Barking Abbey at about the same time as the abbey itself was established, although it is doubtful that the first construction on the site would have been in stone. It is more likely that the stone church, of which the arch is a remnant, superseded an earlier wooden building. Recent research, and archaeological evidence that Roman tiles and stone were being used in the construction of other London churches as late as the 11th century, suggest that the arch could have been constructed at any time between the 7th century and the arrival of the Normans. Fragments of three 11th-century stone crosses also found during archeological work in the 1930s and clearance works after the bombing, now displayed in the crypt, also date from this first church. The church was expanded and rebuilt several times between the 11th and 15th centuries, with various elements of the Norman, 13th-century and 15th-century constructions still visible today. Its proximity to the

meant that it acquired royal connections, with

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

making one of its chapels a royal

chantry A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a set of Christian liturgical celebrations for the dead (made up of the Requiem Mass and the Office of the Dead), or # a chantry chapel, a b ...

and the beheaded victims of Tower executions being sent for temporary burial at All Hallows,

Sir Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry V ...

being one of the most eminent of these. The church was badly damaged by an explosion in 1650 caused when some barrels of gunpowder being stored in a warehouse adjacent to the church exploded; its west tower and some 50 nearby houses were destroyed, and there were many fatalities. The tower was rebuilt in 1658. It only narrowly survived the

in 1666 and owes its survival to Admiral William Penn, father of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

fame, who had his men from a nearby naval yard blow up the surrounding buildings to create firebreaks. During the Great Fire,

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

climbed the church's tower to watch the progress of the blaze and what he described as "the saddest sight of desolation".

Restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004, by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard Aus ...

once more in the late 19th century, All Hallows was gutted by German bombers during

and required extensive reconstruction, and was rededicated in 1957. The church now included carving by the Tasmanian born wood carver Ellen Nora Payne. Many portions of the old church survived the War and have been sympathetically restored. Its outer walls are 15th-century, with the Anglo-Saxon arch doorway surviving from the original church. Many brasses remain in the interior. (The

brass rubbing Brass rubbing was originally a largely British enthusiasm for reproducing onto paper monumental brasses – commemorative brass plaques found in churches, usually originally on the floor, from between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. It ...

centre which used to be located at All Hallows is now closed). Three outstanding wooden statues of saints dating from the 15th and 16th centuries can also be found in the church, as too an exquisite

Baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

cover which was carved in 1682 by

Grinling Gibbons Grinling Gibbons (4 April 1648 – 3 August 1721) was an Anglo-Dutch sculptor and wood carver known for his work in England, including Windsor Castle, the Royal Hospital Chelsea and Hampton Court Palace, St Paul's Cathedral and other London church ...

for £12, and which is regarded as one of the finest pieces of carving in London. The main-altar's reredos mural is a post-war work by Brian Thomas. In 1999 the AOC Archaeology Group excavated the cemetery and made many significant discoveries. The church has a museum in its crypt, containing portions of a Roman pavement which together with many artefacts was discovered many feet below the church in 1926/27. The exhibits focus on the history of the church and the City of London, and include Anglo-Saxon and religious artefacts as well as the 17th-century church plate. Also on display are the church's registers dating back to the 16th century, and notable entries include the baptism of

, the marriage of

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...

, and the burial of Archbishop

William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I of England, Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Caroline era#Religion, Charles I's religious re ...

. Laud remained buried in a vault in the chapel for over 20 years; his body was moved during the Restoration to

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

. The crypt also houses the church's chapels dedicated to St Francis (14th century) and St Clare (early 17th century) as well as the

columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria), also called a cinerarium, is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns holding cremated remains of the dead. The term comes from the Latin ''columba'' (dove) and originally solel ...

, created in 1933. The

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

in the crypt is of plain stone from the castle of Richard I at Athlit in

The Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionally ...

. All Hallows-by-the-Tower has been the guild church of

since 1922. The church was designated a Grade I

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 4 January 1950. The church also has a chime which was brought back to working order in the 1970s by Philip Blewett, then a priest at the church, and Desmond Buckley over many weekends. The

Knollys Rose Ceremony The Knollys Rose Ceremony is an annual event led by the Company of Watermen and Lightermen. The ceremony dates to 1381 and is held each year in June. A single red rose is snipped from the garden in Seething Lane, placed on an altar cushion from ...

, held annually in June, starts at the church and processes to the Mansion House, where a single rose is presented to the Lord Mayor as a 'quit rent'. The parish's annual

beating the bounds Beating the bounds or perambulating the bounds is an ancient custom still observed in parts of England, Wales, and the New England region of the United States, which involves swatting local landmarks with branches to maintain a shared mental map o ...

ceremony also includes a boat trip to the middle of the Thames to 'beat' the water that forms the southern boundary.

Notable people associated with the church

, sixth president of the United States: (married to

Louisa Catherine Johnson Louisa Catherine Adams (; February 12, 1775 – May 15, 1852) was the first lady of the United States from 1825 to 1829 during the presidency of John Quincy Adams. She was born in Kingdom of Great Britain, England and raised in early modern Fra ...

in 1797) *

Lancelot Andrewes Lancelot Andrewes (155525 September 1626) was an English bishop and scholar, who held high positions in the Church of England during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. During the latter's reign, Andrewes served successively as Bishop of Chi ...

, baptised 1555 * Philip Clayton, also known as 'Tubby', former vicar and founder of

Cecil Jackson-Cole Cecil Jackson-Cole (1901-1979) was an English entrepreneur and humanitarian. He was associated with a number of charities including Oxfam, Help the Aged and ActionAid. A devout Christian, Jackson-Cole set up charitable trusts including the Volu ...

, founder of

Help the Aged Help the Aged was a United Kingdom based international charity founded in 1961 by Cecil Jackson-Cole and Hugh Faulkner to help disadvantaged older people who were affected by poverty, isolation and neglect. It merged with Age Concern in 2009 to f ...

Action Aid ActionAid is an international non-governmental organization whose stated primary aim is to work against poverty and injustice worldwide. ActionAid is a federation of 45 country offices that works with communities, often via local partner organi ...

, co-founder of

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief ...

and supporter of Toc H *

John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Rochester from 1504 to 1535 and as chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He is honoured as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Chu ...

, Bishop of Rochester, beheaded at the Tower 22 June 1535: (buried) *

Judge Jeffreys George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys (15 May 1645 – 18 April 1689), also known as "the Hanging Judge", was a Welsh judge. He became notable during the reign of King James II, rising to the position of Lord Chancellor (and serving as L ...

, notorious "hanging judge": (married 1667) *

, Archbishop of Canterbury: beheaded at the Tower, (buried 1645) *

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...

, beheaded at the Tower for refusing to sign Henry VIII's

Act of Supremacy The Acts of Supremacy are two acts passed by the Parliament of England in the 16th century that established the English monarchs as the head of the Church of England; two similar laws were passed by the Parliament of Ireland establishing the E ...

(buried 1535) *

, founder of Pennsylvania: (baptised 1644) *

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a German and French polymath from Alsace. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. As a Lutheran minister, ...

, made organ recordings at All Hallows * Cecil Thomas, a sculptor who provided several funerary figures between the Wars

Vicars

* 1269 John de S Magnus * 1292 William de Gattewicke * 1312 Gilbert de Wygeton * 1317 Walter Grapynell * 1333 Maurice de Jenninge * 1351 John Foucher * 1352 Nicholas Janing * 1365 Thomas de Broke * 1376 Thomas de Dalby * 1379 Laurence de Kagrer * 1387 William Colles * 1387 Robert Caton * 1390 Nicholas Bremesgrove * 1419 John Harlyston * —— John Clerke * 1427 William Northwold * 1431 John Iford * 1434 Thomas Virley * 1454 John Machen * 1454 John Wyne * —— John Walker * 1468 Thomas Laas * 1475 Robert Segrym * 1478 Richard Baldry * 1483 William Talbot * 1492

Edmund Chaderton Edmund Chaderton was Archdeacon of Salisbury, Archdeacon of Totnes during 1491 and Archdeacon of Chester The Archdeacon of Chester is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the diocese of Chester. The area in which she, or he, has statutory duties i ...

* 1493 Rad Derlove * 1504 William Gedding * 1512 William Pattenson * 1525 Robert Carter * 1530 John Naylor * 1542 William Dawes * 1565 Richard Tyrwhit * 1585 Richard Wood * 1591

Thomas Ravis Thomas Ravis (c. 1560 – 14 December 1609) was a Church of England bishop and academic. He was among those engaged in translating the King James Bible. Early life Ravis was born at Old Malden in Surrey, probably in 1560, and educated at Westmi ...

* 1598 Robert Tyghe * 1616 Edward Abbott * 1635 Edward Layfield (deprived) * 1643 Thomas Clendon * 1662 Edward Layfield (restored) * 1680

George Hickes George Hickes may refer to: * George Hickes (divine) (1642–1715), English divine and scholar * George Hickes (Manitoba politician) (born 1946), Canadian politician * George Hickes (Nunavut politician) (born 1968/69), Canadian politician, son of t ...

* 1686 John Gascarth * 1733 William Geekie * 1767 George Stinton * 1783 Samuel Johnes Knight * 1852 John Thomas * 1884

Arthur James Mason Arthur James Mason (4 May 1851 – 24 April 1928) was an English clergyman, theologian and classical scholar. He was Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity, Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge, and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge ...

* 1895 Arthur W. Robinson * 1917 Charles Lambert * 1922 Philip (Tubby) Clayton * 1963 Colin Cuttell * 1977 Peter Delaney * 2005 Bertrand Olivier * 2018 Katherine Hedderly

Organ

The earliest records of an organ in All Hallows is one by Anthony Duddyngton dating from 1521. This was presumably lost during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

. An organ was installed in 1675 by Thomas and

Renatus Harris Renatus Harris ( – 1724) was an English master organ maker in England in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. During the period of the Commonwealth, in the mid-seventeenth century, Puritans controlled the country and organ m ...

. In 1720 a new case was built by Gerard Smith. The organ was restored and improved by

George Pike England George Pike England (ca.1765 – February 1815) was an English organ builder who was among the most prominent in England during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Life He was the son of organ builder George England and Mary Blasdale. He m ...

in 1813, Bunting in 1872 and 1878, and

Gray and Davison Gray & Davison was a large-scale manufacturer of church and cathedral pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboar ...

in 1902. There was further work by

Harrison and Harrison Harrison & Harrison Ltd is a British company based in Durham that makes and restores pipe organs. It was established in Rochdale in 1861. It is well known for its work on instruments such as King's College, Cambridge, Westminster Abbey, and th ...

in 1909 and 1928. After destruction in 1940, a new organ by Harrison and Harrison was installed in 1957.

Organists

* Albertus Bryne II (or Bryan) 1675–1713Dawe (1983) ''Organists of the City of London 1666–1850'' p.22 *

Charles Young Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

1713–1758 *

Charles John Frederick Lampe Charles John Frederick Lampe (173910 September 1767) was an English composer and organist, and the son of composer John Frederick Lampe and the singer Isabella Lampe (maiden name of Young). Biography Charles Lampe was born in London, one year in ...

1758–1767 * Samuel Bowyer 1767–1770 *

Charles Knyvett Charles Knyvett (11 February 1752 – 19 January 1822) was an English singer and organist. He established in 1791 in London the Vocal Concerts, a series of subscription concerts. Life He was born in Westminster, son of Charles Knyvett and his wi ...

and William Smethergell 1770–1783 *

William Smethergell William Smethergell (6 January 1751 - before March 1836) was an English composer and musician who lived and worked in London. Christened in the church of St Peter le Poer, after an apprenticeship of seven years (with the organist and composer Thom ...

1783–1823 * Mary Morrice 1823–1840 * Lisetta Rist 1840–1880 * Arthur Poyser * Gordon Phillips 1956–1991 * Jonathan Melling

Gallery

File:All Hallows-by-the-Tower Font Carving, London, UK - Diliff.jpg, The font, with carvings by

File:William Penn memorial.jpg,

memorial File:All Hallows by the Tower, Byward Street, London EC3 - Effigy - geograph.org.uk - 718024.jpg, Effigy of

File:Image taken from page 714 of 'Old and New London, etc' (11191354713).jpg, The church in 1750 File:Saxon arch All Hallows by the Tower.jpg, Anglo-Saxon arch

References

External links

*
Location map
(Multimap.com)

at the Ship of Fools website
London Landscape TV episode (6 mins) about All Hallows By The Tower church
{{authority control 11th-century church buildings in England Church of England church buildings in the City of London Churches bombed by the Luftwaffe in London Diocese of London Grade I listed churches in the City of London History museums in London Museums in the City of London Museums of ancient Rome in the United Kingdom Religious museums in England