St Benet Gracechurch
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (September 2012) |
St Benet Gracechurch | |
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Anglican | |
Architecture | |
Demolished | 1868 |
St Benet Gracechurch (or Grass Church), so called because a haymarket existed nearby (Cobb), was a parish church in the
Location
The church was in Bridge ward, on the corner of Fenchurch Street and Gracechurch Street.
History
Dedication
'St Benet' is short for 'St Benedict' and St Benet Gracechurch was one of four churches in pre-Fire London dedicated to
Middle ages
The earliest surviving reference to the church is in the 1053 Charter of Brihtmaer conveying a church in Gracechurch Street to Christ Church, Canterbury. The dedication to St Benedict is first recorded during the reign of Henry III.
Post-Reformation
In 1553, at the beginning of the reign of
According to
The parish registers record a child named Grace Church, a foundling left to be cared for by the parish.
Rebuilding after the Great Fire
The church was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. The tower remained standing for a while, but this too was demolished to make way for the new church.[4] The parish was combined with that of St Leonard Eastcheap in 1670 and rebuilding began in 1681. The 1686 accounts include an entry of £1 14s 0d "to wine and sweetmeats for treating the Lord Mayor at the opening of the Church", although work on the spire continued into the following year. The total cost of the church was £4,583.
The rebuilt church was rectangular in plan, with a tower, topped by a spire, rising from the north-west corner. There were five round headed-windows on the main, north front, with a circular window above each one. The walls were topped by balustrades. The tower was square in plan. Above the belfry window was a broken pediment, containing a small window. The tower was surmounted by a lead covered dome, decorated with cartouches. On top of the dome was a square entablature, comprising four arches with pediments, from which rose a tall spire, with a flag finial at the top, the whole structure being in total 149 feet (45 m) high.
The interior was 60 feet (18 m) long and 30 feet (9.1 m) wide: “much smaller than would be expected from the external appearance”, according to George Godwin. It was a single space, undivided by columns, with a vaulted ceiling. There was a small gallery at the west end.[4] The east wall above the reredos was painted in imitation of a crimson and gold curtain. St Benet Gracechurch was one of only two Wren churches never to have an organ.
In 1791, Dr. George Gaskin, the secretary of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, became rector at St Benet's. His society work entailed co-ordinating the distribution of bibles and other religious works throughout the British Isles. In 1797, he took up the position of rector of the church of Stoke Newington, while maintaining the benefice of St Benet.
Demolition
The 19th century saw a movement of population from the City of London to surrounding suburbs. This left many of the city churches with tiny congregations, while many of the newly built suburbs had no churches. The
The site, at the intersection of Gracechurch and Fenchurch Streets, is now occupied by a seven-story office block, built in 1997.
Present day
The parish now forms part of the combined
References
- ^ Malcolm 1803, p. 314
- ^ a b Malcolm 1803, p. 317
- ^ John Strype, A Survey of London and Westminster, Book 2, Chap. 11, pp. 177-78, see Strype online.
- ^ a b Godwin, George; John Britton (1839). "St Bene't's, Gracechurch Street". The Churches of London: A History and Description of the Ecclesiastical Edifices of the Metropolis. London: C. Tilt. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
- ^ Diocese of London St Edmund & St Mary Woolnoth
Sources
- Cobb, Gerald (1977) London City Churches, B T Batsford Ltd..
- Ellen, R.G. (1972) A London Steeplechase, City Press.
- Hibbert, C./Keay, J./Weinreb, D. (2008) The London Encyclopaedia Pan Macmillan.
- Jeffery, Paul (1996) The City Churches of Sir Christopher Wren, Hambledon Press.
- Malcolm, James Peller (1803). Londinium Redivivium, or, an Ancient History and Modern Description of London. Vol. 1. London.
- Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice The church in which Lydia Bennet married Mr Wickham
See also
- List of Christopher Wren churches in London
- List of churches rebuilt after the Great Fire but since demolished