St Martin Outwich was a parish church in 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 ...

, on the corner of

Threadneedle Street Threadneedle Street is a street in the City of London, England, between Bishopsgate at its northeast end and Bank junction in the southwest. It is one of nine streets that converge at Bank. It lies in the ward of Cornhill. History The stre ...

and

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into ''Bishopsgate Within'', inside the line wall, and ''Bisho ...

. Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt at the end of the 18th century and demolished in 1874.

Early history

A church of St Martin was built in the 14th century at the expense of members of the Oteswich family, from whom the church derives its name. The church escaped the Great Fire of 1666, but fell into decay, and was badly damaged in a fire of 1765 which destroyed fifty houses. The medieval church had a nave and south aisle, with a western tower. The patronage was in the hands of the earls of Surrey and then of the Outeswich family, until it was transferred to the

Merchant Taylors' Company ] The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 110 Livery company, livery companies of the City of London. The Company, originally known as the ''Guild and Fraternity of St John the Baptist in the City of London'', was founded prio ...

Rebuilding

In 1796 an act of Parliament was obtained to allow the parish to raise money to rebuild the church. Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors, The Merchant Taylors gave £500, and the

Corporation of the City of London The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...

and the

South Sea Company The South Sea Company (officially The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America, and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in Ja ...

gave £200 each towards the total cost of £5, 256. The first stone was laid on 4 May of that year, and the new building, to the designs of

Samuel Pepys Cockerell Samuel Pepys Cockerell (1753–1827) was an English architect. He was a son of John Cockerell, of Bishop's Hull, Somerset, and the elder brother of Sir Charles Cockerell, 1st Baronet, for whom he designed the house he is best known for, Sezinc ...

, was consecrated in November 1798. A new organ was provided 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 1805. Cockerell's church was oval in plan, with a recess at the east end forming the chancel. The walls were decorated with pilasters, from the capitals of which rose a coved ceiling, pierced by four semi-circular windows. A fifth window, over the altar, contained stained glass coats-of-arms from the medieval church. Several monuments from the old church were also preserved, including one to John Outeswich and his wife. There was a fresco of the Ascension by

John Francis Rigaud John Francis Rigaud (18 May 1742 – 6 December 1810) was an eighteenth-century history, portrait, and decorative painter. Of French descent, he was born in Turin and spent most of his career in England. Early life Rigaud was born in Turin ...

over the altar, which had deteriorated badly within ten years of being painted. When the church was first built the pulpit was at the west end, with the pews facing away from the altar. The pulpit was moved to the west end as part of a programme of repairs and alterations by

Charles Barry Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was a British architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also responsi ...

in 1827. The heavily rusticated east front (illustrated above), facing into

, was described by

James Peller Malcolm James Peller Malcolm (1767–1815) was an American-English topographer and engraver. Life Son of a merchant in Philadelphia, he was born there in August 1767. He was admitted to the Quaker school; but his family left to avoid the fighting in Amer ...

as "a complete representation of a gaol, accompanied by marks of extreme strength, very ill suited to its diminutive outline." The north side, towards Threadneedle Street, was very plain. St MArtin Outwich marker

Demolition

Junction of Threadneedle St and Bishopsgate site of St Martin Outwich

The church was demolished in 1874 and its parish united with that of

St Helen's Bishopsgate St Helen's Bishopsgate is an Anglican church in London. It is located in Great St Helen's, off Bishopsgate. It is the largest surviving parish church in the City of London. Several notable figures are buried there, and it contains more monument ...

. Eighteen monuments were moved into St Helen's before St Martin's was destroyed. while the bell was given to St. Andrew's Church, Fulham. A churchyard in Camomile Street was given to the church in 1540. It survives as a garden in the courtyard of an office block."London:the City Churches” Pevsner, N; Bradley, S New Haven, Yale, 1998 Proceeds from the sale of the church were used to fund the construction of Holy Trinity Church, Dalston, designed by

Ewan Christian Ewan Christian (1814–1895) was a British architect. He is most frequently noted for the restorations of Southwell Minster and Carlisle Cathedral, and the design of the National Portrait Gallery. He was Architect to the Ecclesiastical Commis ...

and constructed in 1878–79.

References

External links

British history on-line

Vision of Britain

Harleian transcripts

Burials and monuments
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Martin Outwich Churches in the City of London 1798 establishments in England 1874 disestablishments in England Buildings and structures demolished in 1874 Demolished buildings and structures in London Demolished churches in London