St Dionis Backchurch
St Dionis Backchurch | ||
---|---|---|
Style Baroque | | |
Demolished | 1878 |
St Dionis Backchurch was a parish church in the Langbourn ward of the City of London. Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London to the designs of Christopher Wren and demolished in 1878.
Early history
The church of St Dionis was dedicated to
The patronage of the church once belonged to the prior and canons of Christchurch, Canterbury and later passed to the dean and chapter of Canterbury Cathedral.[1]
Rebuilding after the Great Fire
The church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and rebuilt to the designs of Christopher Wren in 1674 at a cost of £5,737.[2] A tower, also to Wren's design, was added ten years later.[1]
Wren's church was 66 feet long and 59 feet wide. It was divided into
The bell tower was divided into three storeys by
A row of shops, built against the south wall, stood between the church and Fenchurch street.[1] A City of London commemorative plaque noting the year of demolition is attached to the wall of the buildings that now occupy the former site of St Dionis Backchurch, opposite number 24 Lime Street EC3.
Demolition
In 1858, the vestry asked the architect George Edmund Street to examine the fabric of the church. He found that the church was in need of substantial repairs and recommended that the most economical course of action would be to demolish the whole church except for the tower, and rebuild it to a Gothic design of his own. Before any such plans could be carried out, however, the vestry decided that the church was no longer needed. In 1878 the parish was merged with that of All Hallows Lombard Street under the Union of Benefices Act 1860 and the church demolished.[5]
While surveying the church, Street discovered that a fifteenth-century crypt had survived under the chancel of Wren's church.[5]
The church had a peal of ten bells, cast between 1726 and 1750. They were transferred to All Hallows Lombard Street when St Dionis was demolished.
A parish mark can be seen in Philpot Lane. The church of
According to the account in William Leslie Sumner's The Organ, the organ at St Dionis – a fine instrument by all accounts and the last to be built by the famous organ builder Renatus Harris in 1724 – was removed first to St Mark's, East Walworth where the case was left after the organ itself was again removed to Darenth Training Colony, Dartford, Kent. The pipework was later incorporated into the Mander organ at St Vedast alias Foster, Foster Lane, in the City of London.[8]
Present day
The parish now forms part of the combined
See also
- List of Christopher Wren churches in London
- List of churches rebuilt after the Great Fire but since demolished
References
- ^ a b c d e Godwin, George; John Britton (1839). The Churches of London: A History and Description of the Ecclesiastical Edifices of the Metropolis. London: C. Tilt. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
- ^ Jeffrey, W (1824). London Parishes.
- ^ Allen, Thomas; Wright, Thomas (1839). The History and Antiquities of London, Westminster, Southwark and Parts Adjacent. Vol. 3. London: George Virtue. pp. 99–100.
- ^ Elmes, James. Topographical Dictionary of London, p.164
- ^ a b "St. Dionis Backchurch". The Civil Engineer and Architect's Journal. 21: 383. 1858. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
- ^ Christopher Howse (13 August 2010). "Wren's tall tower in Twickenham". London: The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ Modern church web site
- ^ William Leslie Sumner, The Organ, (London 1952, 4th edition, 1973), pp. 155–156
- ^ Diocese of London St Edmund & St Mary Woolnoth
External links
Media related to St Dionis Backchurch at Wikimedia Commons
- www.oldlondonmaps.com – engraving of the 1674 church
- St Dionis Parsons Green – Website of the current church at Parsons Green