St Gabriel Fenchurch
| St Gabriel Fenchurch | |
|---|---|
 Plaque opposite Cullum Street | |
 | |
| 51°30′39″N0°4′54″W/ 51.51083°N 0.08167°W | |
| Location | Fenchurch Street,London |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Architecture | |
| Years built | 12th century |
| Demolished | 1666 |
St Gabriel Fenchurch(or Fen Church as recorded on the Ordnance Survey) was a parish church in theLangbourn Wardof theCity of London,[1]destroyed in theGreat Fire of Londonand not rebuilt.
History[edit]
The church stood betweenRood LaneandMincing Lane,with the churchyard extending north beyond present dayFenchurch StreettoFen Court.[2][3]
At the beginning of the 17th century,John Stowwrote in his description of Fenchurch Street: "In the midst of this street standeth a small parish church called St Gabriel Fen Church, corruptly Fan church".[4]The dedication to St Gabriel is first recorded in 1517. Before that it had been known as St Mary's.Richard Newcourtwrote:
...this Church hath all along in the London Registry been recorded by the Name of S. Mary Fencherch, till the Year 1517. for then is the first time I find it there call'd by the Name of S. Gabriel Fencherch; and the next Year after All Saints Fencherch; whence, I conjecture, it may, probably, be dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to the Holy Angel Gabriel, and to All Saints.[1]
The church was lengthened by nine feet in 1631. This and other improvements were done at a cost to the parish of £587 10s.[1]Thomas Clark, a glazier, gave the church an east window, with the Royal Arms and the motto "Touch Not Mine Anointed".[2]
Along with the majority of the parish churches in the City, St Gabriel's was destroyed by the Great Fire in 1666. A Rebuilding Act was passed in 1670 and a committee set up underSir Christopher Wren.[5]It decided to rebuild 51 of the churches, but St Gabriel's was not among them.[6]Instead the parish was united to that ofSt Margaret Pattens,[1]although its land holding was not finally resolved until 13 years later,[7]and charitable bequests continued to be made using the old name.[8]The land on which the church had stood was incorporated into the roadway, but part of the churchyard survived in Fen Court.[2][9]
Notable tombs in the church included that ofBenedict Spinola,the Genoese Elizabethan banker.[10]
References[edit]
- ^abcdNewcourt, Richard(1708).Repetorium Ecclesiasticum Parochiale Londinense.London. pp. 350–1.
- ^abc.White, James George (1901).The Churches and Chapels of Old London.London. pp.49–50.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^"Fen Court".City of London. 21 August 2018.Retrieved26 February2019.
- ^Stow, John (1956).The Survey of London(revised ed.). London: J.M. Dent & Sons. p. 180.
- ^Whinney, Margaret (1971).Wren.London: Thames & Hudson.ISBN0-500-20112-9.
- ^"The City of London Churches" Betjeman, J. Andover, Pitkin, 1967 (rpnt 1992)ISBN0-85372-565-9
- ^"Deeds and documents concerning nos. 143-149 Fenchurch Street (north side) 1679." - v185779x cited in City of London Parish Registers Guide 4 Hallows,A.(Ed): London, Guildhall Library Research, 1974ISBN0-900422-30-0
- ^The Endowed Charities of the City of London,1829
- ^"London Gardens Online".Archived fromthe originalon 23 May 2016.
- ^John Bennell,Spinola, Benedict (1519/20–1580)inOxford Dictionary of National Biography(2004), online ed., January 2008, accessed 21 December 2010 (subscription required)