HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

St Bride's Church is a
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
church 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 ...
. Likely dedicated to Saint Bridget perhaps as early as the 6th century, the building's most recent incarnation was designed by
Sir 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 acc ...
in 1672, though Wren's original building was largely gutted by fire during 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 ...
in 1940 and then was faithfully reconstructed in the 1950s. Due to its location in Fleet Street, it has a long association with
journalists A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
and newspapers. The church is a distinctive sight on London's skyline and is clearly visible from a number of locations. Since 2012, St Bride's celebrates usually on the first or second Thursday of November, the "Journalists' Commemorative Service". With its steeple standing 226 feet (69m) tall, it is the second highest of all Wren's church spires, with only St Paul's itself having a higher pinnacle.


Background


Origins

St Bride's may be one of the most ancient churches in London, with worship perhaps dating back to the conversion of the
Middle Saxons The Middle Saxons or Middel Seaxe were a people whose territory later became, with somewhat contracted boundaries, the county of Middlesex, England. The first known mention of Middlesex stems from a royal charter of 704 between king Swæfred of ...
in the 7th century. It is believed that its name is derived from Bridget of Ireland, the patron saint of Ireland. It may have been founded by Irish monks, missionaries proselytising the English. It is believed that the original church, founded around the 6th century by Irish missionaries, is the only such Celtic Irish founded church in the east of Britain. The present St Bride's is at least the seventh church to have stood on the site. Traditionally, it was founded by St Bridget in the sixth century. Whether or not she founded it personally, the remnants of the first church appear to have significant similarities to a church of the same date in
Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 10,302, making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. It is home to Kildare Cathedral, historically the site of an important abbey said to have been founded by Saint ...
, Ireland. The Norman church, built in the 11th century, was of both religious and secular significance; in 1210, King
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
held a parliament there. It was replaced by a larger church in the 15th century, St Bride's association with the newspaper business began in 1500, when
Wynkyn de Worde Wynkyn de Worde (; died , London) was a printer and publisher in London known for his work with William Caxton, and is recognised as the first to popularise the products of the printing press in England. Name Wynkyn de Worde was a German immi ...
set up a printing press next door. Until 1695, London was the only city in England where printing was permitted by law.


Roanoke colony

In the late 1580s, Eleanor White, daughter to artist and explorer John White, was married in St Bride's to the tiler and bricklayer Ananias Dare. Their daughter,
Virginia Dare Virginia Dare (born August 18, 1587; date of death unknown) was the first English people, English child born in an Americas, American English overseas possessions, English colony. What became of Virginia and the other colonists remains a mystery ...
, was to be the first English child born in North America. She was born on
Roanoke Island Roanoke Island () is an island in Dare County, bordered by the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was named after the historical Roanoke, a Carolina Algonquian people who inhabited the area in the 16th century at the time of English colonizat ...
on 18 August 1587: "Elenora, daughter to the governour and wife to Ananias Dare, one of the assistants, was delivered of a daughter in Roanoke".Milton, p.239 The child was healthy and "was christened there the Sunday following, and because this childe was the first Christian borne in Virginia, she was named Virginia". A modern bust of Virginia Dare stands near the font (one of the few survivals from the original church), replacing an earlier monument which was stolen and has not been recovered.


Great Fire of London

In the mid-17th century disaster struck. In 1665, the
Great Plague of London The Great Plague of London, lasting from 1665 to 1666, was the most recent major epidemic of the bubonic plague to occur in England. It happened within the centuries-long Second plague pandemic, Second Pandemic, a period of intermittent buboni ...
killed 238 parishioners in a single week, and in 1666, the following year, the church was completely destroyed during 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 ...
, which burned much of the city. After the fire, the old church was replaced by an entirely new building designed by
Sir 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 acc ...
, one of his largest and most expensive works, taking seven years to build. St Bride's was reopened on 19 December 1675. The famous spire was added later, in 1701–1703. It originally measured 234 ft, but lost its upper eight feet to a lightning strike in 1764; this was then bought by the then owner of Park Place, Berkshire, where it still resides. The design utilises four octagonal stages of diminishing height, capped with an obelisk which terminates in a ball and vane. Buried at St Bride's is Robert Levet (
Levett Levett is a surname of Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from eLivet, which is held particularly by families and individuals resident in England and British Commonwealth territories. Origins This surname comes from the village of ...
), a Yorkshireman who became a Parisian waiter, then a "practicer of physick" who ministered to the denizens of London's seedier neighbourhoods. Having been duped into a bad marriage, the hapless Levet was taken in by the author
Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
who wrote his poem "On the Death of Mr. Robert Levet", eulogising his good friend and tenant of many years. Also buried at St Bride's are the composer Sir William Leighton (d. 1622), organist and composer
Thomas Weelkes Thomas Weelkes (1576 (?) – 1623) was an English composer and organ (music), organist. He became organist of Winchester College in 1598, moving to Chichester Cathedral. His works are chiefly vocal, and include madrigal (music), madrigals, a ...
(d. 1623) and the poet Richard Lovelace (d. 1658), as well as author
Samuel Richardson Samuel Richardson (baptised 19 August 1689 – 4 July 1761) was an English writer and printer known for three epistolary novels: '' Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' (1740), '' Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady'' (1748) and '' The Histo ...
(d. 1761) The
wedding cake A wedding cake is the traditional cake served at wedding receptions following dinner. In some parts of England, the wedding cake is served at a wedding breakfast; the 'wedding breakfast' does not mean the meal will be held in the morning, but at ...
is said to date back to 1703 when Thomas Rich, a baker's apprentice from
Ludgate Hill Ludgate Hill is a street and surrounding area, on a small hill in the City of London, England. The street passes through the former site of Ludgate, a city gate that was demolished – along with a gaol attached to it – in 1760. Th ...
, fell in love with the daughter of his employer and asked her to marry him. He wanted to make an extravagant cake, and drew on the design of St Bride's Church for inspiration.


Second World War

On the night of 29 December 1940, during the Blitz of central London in the
Second World War 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 ...
, the church was gutted by fire-bombs dropped by the ''
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
''. That night 1,500 fires were started, including three major conflagrations, leading to a fire storm, an event dubbed the '' Second Great Fire of London'', due to the enormous amount of damage caused.
St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...
itself was only saved by the dedication of the London firemen who kept the fire away from the cathedral, and by the volunteer firewatchers of the St Paul's Watch who fought to keep the flames from firebombs on the roof from spreading. After the war, St Bride's was rebuilt at the expense of newspaper proprietors and journalists. One fortunate and unintended consequence of the bombing was the excavation of the church's original 6th-century Saxon foundations. Today, the crypt known as the Museum of Fleet Street is open to the public and contains a number of ancient relics, including Roman coins and medieval stained glass. Post-war excavations also uncovered nearly 230 lead coffins with plaques dating from the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries, filled with the bones of parishioners; causes of death for most of them were found by the
Museum of London London Museum (known from 1976 to 2024 as the Museum of London) is a museum in London, covering the history of the city from prehistoric to modern times, with a particular focus on social history. The Museum of London was formed in 1976 by ama ...
.


Modern era

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. In September 2007 the former rector, Archdeacon the Venerable David Meara, announced a special appeal to raise £3.5 million to preserve the church's unique heritage and in November 2007
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
was guest of honour at a service to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the restoration work necessary after the Second World War. In March 2012, the ''Inspire!'' appeal was launched to raise the at least £2.5m needed to repair the crumbling stonework of the church's famous spire. In March 2016 the wedding of Jerry Hall and
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...
was celebrated at St Bride's.


Music


Choir

The choir in its present form (12 adult singers – 4 sopranos, 2 altos, 3 tenors and 3 basses) was established in time for the re-dedication service in 1957, and has remained more or less in this format ever since. The choir sings at two services each Sunday throughout the year (reducing to 8 singers during August) and also for numerous special services.


Organ

The
organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...
was built by the John Compton Organ Company, and is arguably their finest work. It was ready for the rededication of the church in November 1957. It has recently been completely overhauled and cleaned by Keith Bance, who has carried out some modest tonal updating. This included remodelling the positive division, adding new mixture stops to the great and pedal divisions and the provision of a new Vox Humana for the solo division. These changes have further increased the resources of an already versatile instrument. The organ has four manuals, 98 speaking stops, close to 4,000 pipes, a multi-level capture system and the wind is provided by four blowing installations.


Organists

* Henry Lightindollar 1696–1702 * John Weldon 1702–1736 * Samuel Howard 1736–1782 * Richard Huddleston Potter 1782–1821 * George Mather 1821–1854 * Mr. Reynolds, from 1854 * Ernest Kiver, from 1882 * John D. Codner, until 1888 (later organist of
St Davids Cathedral St Davids Cathedral () is a Church in Wales cathedral situated in St Davids, Britain's smallest city, in the county of Pembrokeshire, near the most westerly point of Wales. Early history Monastery of Saint David, Wales, A monastic community was ...
) * Edmund Hart Turpin 1888–1907 * Herbert Townsend 1909–ca. 1921 * Gordon Reynolds 1952–1965 * Robert Langston 1972–1988 * Robert Harre-Jones, from 1988


Bells

St Bride's Church is noted as the site of the first ever full peal on twelve bells (5060 Grandsire Cinques), and is considered to be one of the first towers which had a diatonic ring of twelve bells. Ten bells were cast for the church in 1710 by Abraham Rudhall of Gloucester, and were augmented to twelve in 1719 with the addition of two trebles. The 5th and 6th bells were recast by Samuel Knight of Holborn in 1736. All of the bells were destroyed on 29 December 1940 during the Blitz. After the war, a single bell cast by
John Taylor & Co John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell (instrument), bell foundry. It is locat ...
was placed in the tower, hung for full-circle ringing, but was never joined by any other bells. During the installation, the church and foundry made sure that it was sympathetic to a future 12-bell installation. It weighs 15 hundredweight in the key of F♯, and would be the 10th of a new ring of 12 in D.


Notable parishioners

St Bride's has had a number of notable parishioners, including
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 ...
,
John Dryden John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...
, and 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 ...
, who was baptized in the church. Pepys buried his brother Tom in the church in 1664, but by this stage the vaults were so overcrowded that Pepys had to bribe the gravedigger to "justle together" the corpses in order to make room. In 2009, Sir
Clement Freud Sir Clement Raphael Freud (24 April 1924 – 15 April 2009) was a British media personality, broadcaster, writer, politician and chef. The son of Ernst L. Freud and grandson of Sigmund Freud, Clement moved to the United Kingdom from Nazi Germany ...
's funeral was held in the church.


Notable burials in the churchyard

* Roger Giffard, physician * Richard Lovelace, poet *
Denis Papin Denis Papin FRS (; 22 August 1647 – 26 August 1713) was a French physicist, mathematician and inventor, best known for his pioneering invention of the steam digester, the forerunner of the pressure cooker, the steam engine, the centrifug ...
, steam engine pioneer * Thomas Pellett, physician *
Samuel Richardson Samuel Richardson (baptised 19 August 1689 – 4 July 1761) was an English writer and printer known for three epistolary novels: '' Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' (1740), '' Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady'' (1748) and '' The Histo ...
, novelist *
Thomas Weelkes Thomas Weelkes (1576 (?) – 1623) was an English composer and organ (music), organist. He became organist of Winchester College in 1598, moving to Chichester Cathedral. His works are chiefly vocal, and include madrigal (music), madrigals, a ...
, composer * William Charles Wells, physician, formulated early ideas of natural selection


Gallery

File:ONL (1887) 1.060 - St Bride's Church, Fleet Street, after the Fire, 1824.jpg, St Bride's Church, 1824 File:St Brides2.JPG, St Bride's Spire in 2009 File:John-milton.jpg,
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 ...
, parishioner of St Bride's File:John Dryden portrait.jpg,
John Dryden John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...
, parishioner of St Bride's File:Virg Dare.jpg, Replacement memorial to
Virginia Dare Virginia Dare (born August 18, 1587; date of death unknown) was the first English people, English child born in an Americas, American English overseas possessions, English colony. What became of Virginia and the other colonists remains a mystery ...
, first child of English parents born in North America. File:Virginia Dare.jpg, Marble sculpture of
Virginia Dare Virginia Dare (born August 18, 1587; date of death unknown) was the first English people, English child born in an Americas, American English overseas possessions, English colony. What became of Virginia and the other colonists remains a mystery ...
formerly in St Bride's, which was stolen in 1999. File:Samuel_Richardson_by_Mason_Chamberlin.jpg,
Samuel Richardson Samuel Richardson (baptised 19 August 1689 – 4 July 1761) was an English writer and printer known for three epistolary novels: '' Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' (1740), '' Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady'' (1748) and '' The Histo ...
, buried in St Bride's File:St-brides-church-london.jpg, Exterior of St Bride's Church from Fleet Street, with spire File:St Bride's Avenue EC4 and St Bride's Church - geograph.org.uk - 1274106.jpg, St Bride's Church, St Bride's Avenue File:St Brides from Mayday Rooms-88 Fleet Street 1962.jpg, St Bride's Church, Mayday Rooms


See also

* Bridewell Theatre * List of Christopher Wren churches in London * St Bride Library *
Anna Popplewell Anna Popplewell (born 16 December 1988) is an English actress. She began acting with minor roles in television films and, notably, the drama films '' Mansfield Park'' (1999) and '' Girl with a Pearl Earring'' (2003). Her breakthrough role was ...
– British actress from ''
The Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven portal fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, the series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia (wor ...
'' who portrayed
Susan Pevensie Susan Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' series. Susan is the elder sister and the second eldest Pevensie child. She appears in three of the seven books—as a child in ''The Lion, the Witch and the ...
: also a member of the
congregation Congregation may refer to: Religion *Church (congregation), a religious organization that meets in a particular location *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administrative body of the Catholic Church *Religious congregation, a type of religious instit ...
as her mother Debra Lomas was a churchwarden.


References

* * * Milne, Gustav
''St. Bride's Church London: Archaeological research 1952-60 and 1992-5''
English Heritage, London (1997) * Milton, Giles, ''Big Chief Elizabeth – How England's Adventurers Gambled and Won the New World'', Hodder & Stoughton, London (2000) * Morgan, Dewi, ''Phoenix of Fleet St – 2,000 years of St Bride's'', Charles Knight & Co., London (1973), * *


Notes


Further reading

* * .


External links

*

at the Ship of Fools website
360° panorama inside St Bride's Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Bride's Church Christopher Wren church buildings in London Church of England church buildings in the City of London English Baroque church buildings 17th-century Church of England church buildings Bride's Buildings and structures in the United Kingdom destroyed during World War II Rebuilt churches in the United Kingdom Diocese of London Grade I listed churches in the City of London