St Laurence Pountney was a

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

in the Candlewick ward of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. It was destroyed in the

Great Fire of 1666 The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the ...

, and not rebuilt.

History

The church stood on the west side of what is now Laurence Pountney Lane, between Cannon Street and Upper Thames Street in the Candlewick ward of the city. The earliest known mention of the church comes in a charter, ostensibly written in the reign of

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 108 ...

, but in fact a mid-12th century forgery. It records the king's confirmation of a previous grant of St Laurence's to

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. During the late 13th and early 14th centuries the church was recorded under various names including "St Laurence next the Thames" , "St Laurence in Candlewigstrate" and "Sancti Laurenc’ de Lundenestane". The later name "Pountney" comes from the mayor Sir John de Pultneye, who founded and endowed the Chapel of Corpus Christi and St John the Baptist adjoining the north side of the church as a college for a master and seven chaplains. The college is known to have been in existence by 1332. Part of its endowment consisted of the patronage of the church itself, which Pultneye had obtained from Westminster Abbey. It was suppressed during the reign of

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour ...

. The church had a tower with a tall wooden spire, covered in lead. A programme of improvements was undertaken at the cost of the parish in 1631–2, in the course of which the spire was releaded, a set of five new bells was hung in a new frame, and the floors were raised and levelled. There was a churchyard to the south, with a substantial retaining wall.

Destruction

St Laurence's was destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666. An eye-witness told the Government inquiry into the fire that he "saw the Fire break out from the inside of Lawrence Pountney Steeple, when there was no fire near it", implying the possibility of

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

. The church was not rebuilt. Instead the parish was united to that of

St Mary Abchurch St Mary Abchurch is a Church of England church off Cannon Street in the City of London. Dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, it is first mentioned in 1198–1199. The medieval church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and repla ...

. The old churchyard, which lay to the south side of the church continued to be used for burials; in the 1850s it was converted into the garden of a neighbouring house, then occupied by the architect Edward I'Anson. This 17th century building, which still exists, is now numbered as 7a Laurence Pountney Hill. The site of the church itself, which became known as the "Church Ground", was used as an additional burial ground following the Great Fire, and is now also a privately owned garden.

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History

Destruction

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