Category: London

In London for a family wedding. By myself as the church and crypt are inaccessible to Julie (a wheelchair user). I know it is an ancient building, and I know money is always tight, but nothing has been done. Their website – stetheldreda.com – makes no mention of access (and the news page has not been updated for the last decade). Surely there must be rich parishioners who get too old to attend, and yet no one seems to care. Welcome to church! The church is dedicated to Sy Etheldreda and stands on Ely Place, a private road, just...

St Peter’s Vauxhall on 27 April for a conference, Historic Religious Buildings Alliance (which was excellent and remarkably positive) – one delegate there said “you’re Northern Vicar”! Lots of train rides too, but you can find them elsewhere. Vauxhall Manor originated as part of the Manor of South Lambet and gets its name from Faulkes de Breaute who married Margaret de Redbers in 1216. In 1326 Edward the Black Prince granted it to the Prior and Covent of Christ Church, Canterbury. Industry developed in the C17 with the Duke of Buckingham’s plate glasshouse, potteries, vinegar, glue and starch works,...

The final church I managed was St Magnus the Martyr on Lower Thames Street, EC3R 6DN,  down by the top of the old London Bridge. They have a superb website – https://www.stmagnusmartyr.org.uk/ – with lots about the history and life of the parish. I would love the music, but it’s a bit too “high” even for me – rather too male! The noticeboard made me smile – I want to be a “Cardinal Rector”, although I want to a proper University! You would probably be wise to stop reading this and look at the virtual tour at https://www.stmagnusmartyr.org.uk/virtual-tour/ A...

St Mary-at-Hill church, just round the corner from the Monument, was open and well worth a visit. They have just finished a new exhibition and there are some fascinating display boards. Their website is supposed to be www.stmary-at-hill.org, but it wasn’t working for me. I suspect it will have lots of lovely photos. Mine are lousy, so go and find some better ones – you won’t be disappointed. I recommend the blog and photos at http://www.alison-allmand-smith.co.uk/harvest-of-the-sea/ – this is the fisherman’s church, and there are some gorgeous displays. It dates to 1336, the north aisle was rebuilt at the...

I walked from the Barbican, past the Museum of London and the memorials to the Wesley brothers’ conversion, then crossed the road to St Botolph’s-without-Aldersgate EC1A 4EU. They have a website at https://www.stbotolphsaldersgate.org.uk/about-us/about-us/, and you can download a history sheet (memo to self, download the sheet before you visit). It is “without Aldersgate” as it stands just to the north of the old City gate. The first building on this site dates to about 1050, the second was built in the mid C14, survived the Great Fire, but fell into disrepair in the mid C18. It was completely rebuilt...

Wednesday 15 September 2021 and my first trip to London for far too long. I took the train to St Pancras and then went a couple of stops along the Circle to Barbican. I had an explore, and found that St Giles was open. It is on the south side of the Barbican and I last visited when Hannah had a RSCM course. It was lovely to find the church open, and empty. Their website is https://www.stgilesnewsite.co.uk/. A.N. Wilson commented “The Barbican is now an immense plate-glass fantasy, enormous gleaming towers soaring upward to the sky. But, doggedly, in...