News from Friends of the City Churches

One of the ten churches in which we now church-watch is St Mary Aldermary at the corner of Bow Lane and Queen Victoria Street. First mentioned about 1080, it is probably much older. The suffix is thought to mean the elder Mary, ie the oldest City church dedicated to Mary. A bequest from Sir Henry Keeble allowed re-building to start in 1510, finishing about 1528, when the roof was completed with the aid of another bequest.

It was re-built by Wren, or at least under the aegis of Wren’s office (we actually know the names of the mason, carpenter, joiner, plasterer, carver and surveyor!) as a result of a generous benefaction from Henry Rogers, resulting in one of the finest examples of 17th Century Gothic Revival in the City. Wren’s wonderful plaster vaulting is somewhat bizarrely set against an East end that slants off to the North. What we see externally is mainly the result of re-facing in the 1870’s.

The enormous tower was not re-constructed until 1704 and was funded by Coal Tax money: it seems it had survived the Great Fire. There is still dispute about who designed it. The church has just emerged like a butterfly from its chrysalis, with major repairs to its fabric, redecoration and refurbishment. There are still things to be done, of course; the marble flooring in the sanctuary is breaking up for example, but old alterations have newly come to light. The altar had clearly been lengthened at some stage and then covered up with an enlarged frontal! The church now boasts a discrete kitchen area and modern "facilities", so necessary if City churches are to play a role in the modern City culture.

There is to be a grand re-opening on Thursday 21 April with the Bishop of London preaching.

Just as the earlier churches were funded by bequests, taxes and donations, so this refurbishment has needed generous grants from several sources. The Friends of the City Churches gave its largest donation so far for refurbishment of the memorials on the north internal wall along with new notice boards to advertise the activity in the church. We hope to make a formal presentation after the service. We are also sponsoring the production of new postcards of the interior for sale by the church in aid of further funds. And our Watchers regularly open the church on Thursdays 11am to 3pm for you to look at the newly spruced up interior; it will show what can be done by a small team of dedicated people, grant-makers who share their vision and craftsmen who practise traditional skills.

Friends of the City Churches, St Magnus the Martyr, Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6DN tel 020 7626 1555

e-mail      www.london-city-churches.org.uk