LONDON CHURCHES, LITTLE GEMS AMONG OUR LONDON TOURIST ATTRACTIONSThe London Churches, are historically a very important part of our London Tourist Attractions. Most of them but not all, were designed by Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London in 1666. They have played a major role in London's development through the centuries and are of course in the forefront of some of the most impressive collection of churches to be found anywhere in the world. Before the Great Fire of London in 1666, there were ninety seven parish churches within the ancient walls of the City of London. Eighty seven of these, together with thirteen thousand two hundred houses, St. Paul's Cathedral and most of the City Authorities buildings were lost in the great firestorm which in four days consumed four fifths of the entire city. Fifty one were rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren and his two assistants, fellow scientist, the brilliant Robert Hooke, and Nicholas Hawkesmoor, neither of whom received the recognition that they were fully entitled to for the part they played in the execution of this massive undertaking. There are signs however, that this great injustice is in the process of being rectified. It is generally accepted that although pre - Roman settlements have been discovered in the area, London was in actual fact founded by the Romans. Even though the Roman Empire converted to Christianity during the reign of the Emperor Constantine the Great, there have been no discoveries made in London, to suggest there were any places of Christian worship in Roman London during that latter period of Roman rule in Britain. There has only been one place of Roman worship discovered so far in London and that is a third century temple dedicated to the pagan sun God Mithras, occupying a site on the banks of the Wallbrook stream. It was after the Roman legions left Britain however, never to return, that we find our first Christian ecclesiastical foundations in London. It was a German firebomb, dropped in that terrible raid on the night of 29th December 1940, which in destroying the Church of St. Brides revealed the true antiquity of the site. For, during the subsequent rebuilding, excavations were carried out to expose and evaluate the strength of the foundations. The result of these investigations added another eight hundred years to what had previously been thought was a one thousand year old Church. Several layers of Norman, Saxon and Roman origin were discovered. The first Christian Church on this site and indeed in London, is now believed to have been founded by St. Bridget of Kildare (from where we get the name, St. Bride) in the seventh century. There were many fires in ecclesiastical establishments in London over the centuries, causing fairly large scale damage. But these fires were insignificant compared to two major incidents which were to befall these places of worship in a little under the space of one hundred and fifty years. The first was the totally wanton destruction which took place in the ransacking of medieval churches during the Reformation, leaving most of them in ruins and later citizens not only of London but throughout the Kingdom without a heritage which was rightfully theirs. Let us never forget, that as well as the ninety seven parishes which made up the number of the medieval London Churches, London was also home to thirteen monastaries or convents which were mainly of stone construction and not of the flammable materials which accounted for most of the other buildings. The second major incident was of course the Great Fire of London. However, despite these disasters some London Churches, did survive. Among these London Churches, are St.Bartholomew the Great at Smithfield, St. Ethelburga in Bishopsgate, St. Ethelreda, Ely Place and All Hallows by the Tower (saved by the Garrison in the Tower of London) which is in competition with St. Bride's as to which one can boast to being the oldest Christian Church in London. As you enter All Hallows and cross towards the baptismal font, you are confronted by a Saxon arch from the original building,dating back to the seventh century, beneath which is a Roman pavement. Both are in an excellent state of preservation. After the Great Fire of London, fifty one London Churches were rebuilt, some were demolished in the nineteenth century to make way for the new London Underground railway. Most of the remaining churches were badly damaged or destroyed by enemy action during the Second World War. Many were rebuilt but some were not. A-London-Tourist-Guide will take you through each of these beautiful London Churches and visit the sites of the ones no longer with us.However, this site cannot take the place of a personal visit to these buildings and we would sincerely recommend you to put them on your list of London Tourist Attractions that you must see if you are visiting the city. Return from London Churches To A-London-Tourist-Guide Home Page.
|
