For the past three years, the Friends have added donations to their annual subscriptions towards a "Project of the Year". The aim was two-fold: firstly to identify more closely with a particular City church, and secondly to pump-prime a project that the church hoped to undertake but had been put on one side as no spare funds were available. The Friends have never undertaken to raise all the money necessary, always expecting some contribution from the church itself, and has chosen projects that are relatively small in terms of the building conservation works so often needed in City churches. We would certainly not consider re-roofing!

Our first project was to help refurbish the central chandelier of St Bartholomew the Less, the parish church of St Bartholomew’s Hospital. The chandelier was of 24 lights and Flemish in origin, given by Sir Alec Martin, a Governor of the Hospital, presumably to replace the Victorian Gothic chandelier that was shown on photographs taken before the Second World War. It had been rather inexpertly wired for electricity and had become dirty and dull. With contributions from the Friends of the City Churches, and the City of London Guide Lecturers’ Association, a sum was raised that more than covered the cost of the central chandelier and allowed the Parish to undertake refurbishment of all seven of the chandeliers in the church. Admittedly all the others were much smaller but it was generally agreed that a bright large central light would put the others to shame. The opportunity was taken to re-wire the lights with much finer wire than used previously and they are now back in situ after work by The Chandelier Company. To celebrate this, the parish are holding a service of celebration on Monday 20th October at 6pm. All donors and well-wishers are warmly invited to attend.

This year, we have chosen St Mary Aldermary. We have a strong link with this church, as most years it has been a base for the City Churches Walks. Here the parish has undertaken work to improve the kitchen and toilet facilities, and has already undertaken work on the wall monuments of the South nave wall. We are contributing towards the cleaning of the monuments on the North wall. One of these monuments commemorates the first Chief Fire Officer of London, James Braidwood, whose name is commemorated in Braidwood Passage just off Aldersgate Street. This was the site of the London Salvage Corps Headquarters, a successor to the London Fire Engine Establishment in Watling Street (just round the corner from St Mary Aldermary) where Braidwood was based. He was killed in the Tooley Street fire in 1861.

We are proud to help individual City churches in this way, as well as providing Church Watchers for seven City churches to allow them to open for visitors and prayer, and also to support the City churches in other ways.

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