St. Dunstan's-in-the-West
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The Guild Church of St Dunstan-in-the-West is in
Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...
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 ...
. It is dedicated to
Dunstan Dunstan ( – 19 May 988), was an English bishop and Benedictine monk. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised. His work restored monastic life in En ...
, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is of medieval origin, although the present building, with an octagonal nave, was constructed in the 1830s to the designs of John Shaw.


History


Medieval church

It is first mentioned in written records in 1185., but there is no evidence of the date of its original foundation. There is speculation that it might have been erected by
Dunstan Dunstan ( – 19 May 988), was an English bishop and Benedictine monk. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised. His work restored monastic life in En ...
himself, or by priests who knew him well. Others suggest a foundation date of between AD 988 (death of St Dunstan) and 1070. Another speculation is that a church on this site was one of the ''
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'' ...
'' strand settlement churches, like
St Martin in the Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, there has been a church on the site since at least the medieval pe ...
, the first
St Mary le Strand St Mary le Strand is a Church of England church at the eastern end of the Strand, London, Strand in the City of Westminster, London. It lies within the Deanery of Westminster (St Margaret) within the Diocese of London. The church stands on what ...
,
St Clement Danes St Clement Danes is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London. It is now situated near the 19th-century Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand in Aldwych. Although the first church on the site was reputedly founded in the 9th cent ...
and St Bride's, which may pre-date any within the walls of 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 ...
. King Henry III gained possession of it and its endowments from
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
by 1237, and then granted these and the
advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...
to the
Domus Conversorum The ''Domus Conversorum'' ('House of the Converts'), later Chapel of the Master of the Rolls, was a building and institution in London for Jews who had converted to Christianity. It provided a communal home and low wages. It was needed because, ...
('House of the Converts,' i.e., of converted Jews), which led to neglect of its parochial responsibilities.
William Tyndale William Tyndale (; sometimes spelled ''Tynsdale'', ''Tindall'', ''Tindill'', ''Tyndall''; – October 1536) was an English Biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the Protestantism, Protestant Reformation in the year ...
, the celebrated translator of the Bible, was a lecturer at the church; the poet
John Donne John Donne ( ; 1571 or 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under Royal Patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's, D ...
was at one time vicar, and delivered sermons.
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 ...
mentions the church in his diary. The church narrowly escaped 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. The
Dean of Westminster The Dean of Westminster is the head of the chapter at Westminster Abbey. Due to the abbey's status as a royal peculiar, the dean answers directly to the British monarch (not to the Bishop of London as ordinary, nor to the Archbishop of Canterb ...
roused 40 scholars from
Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...
in the middle of the night, who formed a fire brigade that extinguished the flames with buckets of water; the flames reached a point three doors away. The medieval church underwent many alterations before its demolition in the early 19th century. Small shops were built against its walls, St Dunstan's Churchyard becoming a centre for bookselling and publishing. Later repairs were carried out in an Italianate style: rusticated stonework was used, and some of the Gothic windows were replaced with round-headed ones, resulting in what
George Godwin George Godwin (28 January 1813 – 27 January 1888) was an influential British architect, journalist, and editor of ''Building (magazine), The Builder'' magazine. Life He was one of nine children of the architect George Godwin senior (1780†...
called "a most heterogeneous appearance". The church's old vaulted roof was replaced in 1701 with a flat ceiling, ornamented with recessed panels. The
Worshipful Company of Cordwainers The Worshipful Company of Cordwainers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Cordwainers were workers in fine leather; the Company gets its name from "cordwain" ( cordovan), the white leather produced from goatskin in Cordova, ...
has been associated with the church since the 15th century. The company holds an annual service of commemoration to honour two of its benefactors, John Fisher and Richard Minge; by tradition, following the service, children were given a penny for each time they ran around the church.


Rebuilding

In the early 19th century the medieval church of St Dunstan was removed to allow the widening of
Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...
, and a new church was built on its burial ground. An Act of Parliament was obtained in July 1829 which authorised the demolition of the church, and trustees were appointed to carry it into effect. Auctions of some of the materials of the old church took place in December 1829 and September 1830. The first stone of the new building, to the design of
John Shaw Sr. John Shaw Sr. (1776–1832) was an English architect. He was architect to Christ's Hospital in London, and to the Port of Ramsgate. Many of his works, including the church of St Dunstan-in-the-West in Fleet Street, London, were in a Gothic Re ...
(1776–1832), was laid in July 1831 and construction proceeded rapidly. In August 1832 the last part of the old church, which had been left as a screen between Fleet Street and the new work, was removed. Shaw dealt with the restricted site by designing a church with an octagonal central space. Seven of the eight sides open into arched recesses, the northern one containing the altar. The eighth side opens into a short corridor, leading beneath the organ to the lowest stage of the tower, which serves as an entrance porch. Above the recesses Shaw designed a
clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...
, and above that a groined ceiling. The tower is square in plan, with an octagonal lantern, resembling those of
St Botolph's Church, Boston St Botolph's Church is the Anglican parish church of Boston, Lincolnshire, England. It has been referred to as "Boston Stump" since it was constructed in the 16th century. Its tower is tall, and was long used as a landmark for the Boston fish ...
, and St Helen's, York. George Godwin suggested that the form of the lantern might have been immediately inspired by that of St George's church in
Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...
(where Shaw was architect to the docks), built in 1825 to the designs of H. E. Kendall. John Shaw Sr. died in 1833, before the church was completed, leaving it in the hands of his son John Shaw Jr. (1803–1870). The
communion rail The altar rail (also known as a communion rail or chancel rail) is a low barrier, sometimes ornate and usually made of stone, wood or metal in some combination, delimiting the chancel or the sanctuary and altar in a church, from the nave and ot ...
is a survivor of the old church, having been carved 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 ...
during the period when John Donne served as vicar (1624–1631). Some of the monuments from the medieval building were reinstituted in the new church, and a fragment of the old churchyard remains between
Clifford's Inn Clifford's Inn is the name of both a former Inn of Chancery in London and a present mansion block on the same site. It is located between Fetter Lane and Clifford's Inn Passage (which runs between Fleet Street and Chancery Lane) in the City of ...
and Bream's Buildings.


Twentieth century

Apart from losing its stained glass, the church survived the
London Blitz London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...
largely intact, though bombs did damage the open-work lantern tower. The church was damaged again on 24/25 March 1944, during
Operation Steinbock Operation Steinbock or Operation Capricorn (), sometimes called the Baby Blitz or Little Blitz, was a strategic bombing campaign by the German Air Force (the Luftwaffe) during the Second World War. It targeted southern England and lasted from Ja ...
, a lower-intensity attack on London late in the war. The building was largely restored in 1950. An appeal to raise money to install a new ring of bells in the tower, replacing those removed in 1969, was successfully completed in 2012 with the dedication and hanging of 10 new bells. 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.


Clock

On the façade is a chiming clock, with figures of giants, perhaps representing
Gog and Magog Gog and Magog (; ) or Ya'juj and Ma'juj () are a pair of names that appear in the Bible and the Quran, Qur'an, variously ascribed to individuals, tribes, or lands. In Ezekiel 38, Gog is an individual and Magog is his land. By the time of the New ...
, who strike the bells with their clubs. It was installed on the previous church in 1671, perhaps commissioned to celebrate its escape from destruction by the
Great Fire of 1666 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 ...
. It was the first public clock in London to have a minute hand. The figures of the two giants strike the hours and quarters, and turn their heads. There are numerous literary references to the clock, including in
Thomas Hughes Thomas Hughes (20 October 1822 – 22 March 1896) was an English lawyer, judge, politician and author. He is most famous for his novel ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857), a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had atte ...
' ''
Tom Brown's Schooldays ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is a novel by Thomas Hughes, published in 18 ...
'',
Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish poet, novelist, playwright, and hack writer. A prolific author of various literature, he is regarded among the most versatile writers of the Georgian e ...
's ''
The Vicar of Wakefield ''The Vicar of Wakefield: A Tale, Supposed to Be Written by Himself'' is a 1766 novel by Anglo-Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774). It was written from 1761 to 1762 and published in 1766. It was one of the most popular and widely read 18 ...
''; ''
Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'', or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'', is the third novel by English author Charles Dickens, originally published as a serial from 1838 to 1839. The character of Nickleby is a young man who must support his ...
,
Master Humphrey's Clock ''Master Humphrey's Clock'' was a weekly periodical edited and written entirely by Charles Dickens and published from 4 April 1840 to 4 December 1841. It began with a frame story in which Master Humphrey tells about himself and his small circle o ...
and
Barnaby Rudge ''Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty'' (commonly known as ''Barnaby Rudge'') is a historical novel by English novelist Charles Dickens. ''Barnaby Rudge'' was one of two novels (the other was ''The Old Curiosity Shop'') that Dickens pub ...
'' by
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
, ''
The Warden ''The Warden'' is a novel by English author Anthony Trollope published by Longman in 1855. It is the first book in the ''Chronicles of Barsetshire'' series, followed by '' Barchester Towers''. Synopsis Mr Septimus Harding is the meek, widowed ...
'' by
Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope ( ; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among the best-known of his 47 novels are two series of six novels each collectively known as the ''Chronicles of Barsetshire ...
, the
penny dreadful Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular Serial (literature), serial literature produced during the 19th century in the United Kingdom. The pejorative term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typical ...
serial ''
The String of Pearls ''The String of Pearls: A Domestic Romance'' (alternatively titled ''The Sailor's Gift'') is a story first published as a penny dreadful serial from 1846 to 47. The main character of the story is Sweeney Todd, "the Demon Barber of Fleet Street" ...
'' (in which the character
Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–1847). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet St ...
first appears), David Lyddal's "The Prompter" (1810), and a poem by
William Cowper William Cowper ( ;  â€“ 25 April 1800) was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the Engli ...
. In 1828, when the medieval church was demolished, the clock was removed by art collector
Francis Seymour-Conway, 3rd Marquess of Hertford Francis Charles Seymour-Conway, 3rd Marquess of Hertford (11 March 1777 – 1 March 1842), styled Viscount Beauchamp between 1793 and 1794 and Earl of Yarmouth between 1794 and 1822, of Ragley Hall in Warwickshire and of Sudbourne Hall in Suff ...
, to
Winfield House Winfield House is an English townhouse in Regent's Park, central London and the official residence of the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (formally, ambassador to the Court of St. James's). The grounds are , the second largest ...
, his mansion in
Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...
, which became known as St Dunstan's. During the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Winfield House was lent as a hostel for blinded soldiers, and the new charity took the name St Dunstan's (now
Blind Veterans UK Blind Veterans UK, formerly St Dunstan's, is a large British charity, providing free support and services to vision-impaired ex-servicemen and women and Conscription in the United Kingdom, National Service personnel. Blind Veterans UK is a Charit ...
). The clock was returned by
Harold Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere (26 April 1868 – 26 November 1940), was a leading British newspaper proprietor who owned Associated Newspapers Ltd. He is best known, like his brother Alfred Harmsworth, later Viscount Northcl ...
(the brother of
Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate. As owner of the ''Daily Mail'' and the ''Daily Mirror'', he was an early developer of popular journal ...
) in 1935 to mark the
Silver Jubilee Silver Jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark. Royal Silver Jubilees since 1750 Note: This ...
of
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...
.


Statues and monuments

Above the entrance to the old
parochial school A parochial school is a private school, private Primary school, primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathem ...
is a statue of Queen Elizabeth I, taken from the old
Ludgate Ludgate was the westernmost gate in London Wall. Of Roman origin, it was rebuilt several times and finally demolished on 30th July 1760. The name survives in Ludgate Hill, an eastward continuation of Fleet Street, Ludgate Circus and Ludgate S ...
, which was demolished in 1760. This statue, by William Kerwin and dating from 1586, is contemporaneous with its subject and thought to be the oldest outdoor statue in London. The playwright
Gwen John Gwendolen ''Gwen'' Mary John (22 June 1876 – 18 September 1939) was a Welsh people, Welsh artist who worked in France for most of her career. Her paintings, mainly portraits of anonymous female sitters, are rendered in a range of closely relat ...
and her sister Winifred Jones worked alongside the suffragettes Millicent and Agnes Fawcett to pay for it to be repaired. In the porch below are three statues of
ancient Britons The Britons (Linguistic reconstruction, *''Pritanī'', , ), also known as Celtic Britons or Ancient Britons, were the Celts, Celtic people who inhabited Great Britain from at least the British Iron Age until the High Middle Ages, at which point ...
also from the gate, probably meant to represent
King Lud Lud (), according to Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudohistorical ''History of the Kings of Britain'' and related medieval texts, was a king of Britain in pre-Roman times who founded London and was buried at Ludgate. He was the eldest son of Geoffrey ...
and his two sons. Adjacent to Queen Elizabeth is a memorial to
Lord Northcliffe Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate. As owner of the ''Daily Mail'' and the ''Daily Mirror'', he was an early developer of popular journal ...
, the newspaper proprietor, co-founder of the ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
'' and the ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
''. (Fleet Street was known as the street of newspapers.) Unveiled in 1930, the obelisk was designed by
Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...
and the bronze bust is by
Kathleen Scott Edith Agnes Kathleen Young, Baroness Kennet, FRBS (née Bruce; formerly Scott; 27 March 1878 â€“ 25 July 1947) was a British sculptor. Trained in London and Paris, Scott was a prolific sculptor, notably of portrait heads and busts and also ...
. Next to Lord Northcliffe is a memorial tablet to
James Louis Garvin James Louis Garvin (12 April 1868 – 23 January 1947) was a British journalist, editor, and author. In 1908, Garvin agreed to take over the editorship of the Sunday newspaper ''The Observer'', revolutionising Sunday journalism and restoring ...
, another pioneering British journalist. Close to the font, there is a bronze memorial plaque for Thomas Mudge (1715/16–1794), inventor of the
lever escapement The lever escapement, invented by the English clockmaker Thomas Mudge in 1754 (albeit first used in 1769), is a type of escapement that is used in almost all mechanical watches, as well as small mechanical non-pendulum clocks, alarm clocks, a ...
and watchmaker to
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
. The tablet was made and engraved by noted sundial maker, hand-engraver and sculptor Joanna Midgal. It was commissioned by the
Worshipful Company of Clockmakers The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers was established under a Royal Charter granted by King Charles I in 1631. It ranks sixty-first among the livery companies of the City of London, and comes under the jurisdiction of the Privy Council. The ...
, and installed in March 2019. Behind the
iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere withi ...
(wall of icons) to the left side of the church, high on a wall, there is a marble memorial tablet to the highly regarded seventeenth-century clockmaker Henry Jones (1634–1695), who worked in the
Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...
, and his wife Hannah, who continued their business after his death. Jones was an apprentice of Edward East.


Romanian Orthodox chapel

St Dunstan-in-the-West is one of the churches in England to share its building with the
Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the Eastern Orthodox Church. S ...
community (St. George church). The chapel to the left of the main altar is closed off by an
iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere withi ...
, formerly from
Antim Monastery The Antim Monastery () is a Romanian Orthodox church located in Bucharest, Romania on Mitropolit Antim Ivireanu Street, no. 29. It was built between 1713 and 1715 by Saint Antim Ivireanu, at that time a Metropolitan Bishop of Wallachia. The buil ...
in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
, dedicated in 1966.


Noted associations

The church has associations with many notable people: *
Richard Lyst Richard Lyst was a London grocer and apothecary who served Cardinal Wolsey and became a priest. Some letters that Lyst wrote to Thomas Cromwell survive. Lyst became a lay brother of the Observant Friars in Greenwich. He was a supporter of Anne Bo ...
, rector of the church and supporter of
Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...
* Dr Thomas Campion or Campian (1567-1620), physician, one of the most charming poets of the Elizabethan age and delicate writer of lute songs *
Philip Rosseter Philip Rosseter (1568 – 5 May 1623) was an English composer and musician, as well as a theatrical manager. His family seems to have been from Somerset or Lincolnshire, he may have been employed with the Countess of Sussex by 1596, and he was ...
(1568-1623), fellow composer and intimate friend of Campian, both buried here * Lord Baltimore, who founded
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
, was buried here in 1632, as was his son. *
Matthew Bryan Matthew Bryan otherwise Brian (died 10 March 1699) was an English clergyman, non-juror and Jacobite preacher. Life Bryan was the son of Robert Bryan of Limington, Somerset, sometime minister of St. Mary's, Newington, Surrey, and was born at Li ...
, Jacobite preacher, was buried here in 1699. *Celebrated London clockmaker and watchmaker
Charles Gretton Charles Gretton was an English clock and watchmaker during the golden age of English clockmaking. Early life Gretton was baptised in Claypole, Lincolnshire, on 24 January 1647/48. He was possibly the third youngest of nine or ten children. His ...
was a warden of the church and was buried there in 1731. * The diarist
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 ...
was a regular worshipper. * Edward Latymer was a worshipper, and upon his death, in 1627, was buried in the south aisle. * John Calvert, Master of the Worshipful Company of Turners, a prominent ivory carver of the early 19th century. * The poet
John Donne John Donne ( ; 1571 or 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under Royal Patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's, D ...
held the benefice here from 1624 to 1631 while he was Dean of St Paul's. *
William Tyndale William Tyndale (; sometimes spelled ''Tynsdale'', ''Tindall'', ''Tindill'', ''Tyndall''; – October 1536) was an English Biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the Protestantism, Protestant Reformation in the year ...
, who pioneered the translation of the
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
into
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
, was a lecturer. *
Izaak Walton Izaak Walton (baptised 21 September 1593 – 15 December 1683) was an English writer. Best known as the author of ''The Compleat Angler'' (1653), he also wrote a number of short biographies including one of his friend John Donne. They have been ...
was a
sidesman A sidesperson, also known as a sidesman, usher, or assistant churchwarden, in Anglican churches is responsible for greeting members of the congregation, overseeing seating arrangements in church, making the congregation queue for communion at ...
here. * Thomas Mudge, the eminent watchmaker, was buried here in 1794. The church has often been associated with the legend of
Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–1847). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet St ...
, the 'demon-barber' of Fleet Street. This is most likely due to it being mentioned in the original
penny dreadful Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular Serial (literature), serial literature produced during the 19th century in the United Kingdom. The pejorative term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typical ...
''
The String of Pearls ''The String of Pearls: A Domestic Romance'' (alternatively titled ''The Sailor's Gift'') is a story first published as a penny dreadful serial from 1846 to 47. The main character of the story is Sweeney Todd, "the Demon Barber of Fleet Street" ...
'' as the church bearing a crypt into which the remnants of Sweeney Todd's victims were unceremoniously dumped after they had been murdered and turned into meat pies.


In popular culture

St Dunstan-in-the-West appeared as the "journalists' church" in the 2018 TV series ''
Press Press may refer to: Media * Publisher * News media * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press TV, an Iranian television network Newspapers United States * ''The Press'', a former name of ''The Press-Enterprise'', Riverside, California ...
''. The real journalists' church is St Bride's.


See also

*
List of churches and cathedrals of London This is a list of cathedrals, Church (building), churches and chapels in Greater London, England, which is divided into 32 London boroughs and the City of London. The list focuses on the more permanent churches and buildings which identify the ...


References


External links


St Dunstan in the West website


{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Dunstan in the West Church of England church buildings in the City of London Grade I listed churches in the City of London Romanian Orthodox churches in the United Kingdom Churches completed in 1833 19th-century Church of England church buildings Diocese of London