List of churches in London
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
London has many famous churches, chapels and cathedrals, in a density unmatched anywhere else in England. Before the Great Fire of London in 1666, the City of London alone had over 107 churches in an area of only one square mile (2.6 km²). Of the 86 destroyed by the Fire, 51 were rebuilt along with St Paul's Cathedral. The majority have traditionally been regarded as the work of Sir Christopher Wren, but although their rebuilding was entrusted primarily to him, the role of his various associates, including Robert Hooke and Nicholas Hawksmoor especially, is currently being reassessed and given greater emphasis. The designs of the Wren office have provided a benchmark for church architecture ever since. Their character of pragmatism and fitness for purpose combined with a joyous inventiveness do seem to reflect Wren's personality in particular.
Wren also designed a number of churches outside the City, including St. James's Piccadilly and St. Clement Danes. After Wren, Hawksmoor was by common consent London's most significant church architect, being responsible in his own right for six great churches of which most still stand in the East End of London.
London's churches are extraordinarily numerous and diverse. Most lie within the Anglican dioceses of London to the north and the Southwark to the south. There are still some two thousand churches across the capital, of every age and style, to the design and evolution of which at least six hundred different architects have made contributions.
As London expanded during the early 19th century, many new churches were built to cater for the growing urban population; the "Waterloo churches" programme, for example, saw numerous churches constructed across south London in the first half of the century.
Although many churches were lost entirely or in part to 19th century demolitions and to bombing in the Second World War, London's churches are still renowned worldwide for their historical and architectural value.
Today, London's greatest concentrations of historic churches and cathedrals are in the City of London and the neighbouring City of Westminster.
A number of the churches are mentioned in the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons.
Unless noted otherwise, this list of churches belong to the Anglican church.
Contents |
[edit] Camden
- All Saints, Camden Town (originally St Stephen's, and now All Saints Greek Orthodox Cathedral)
- Regent Square United Reformed Church
- St. George's, Bloomsbury
- St Giles in the Fields
- St John's Chapel, Bedford Row
- St Pancras New Church
- St Pancras Old Church
- Whitefield's Tabernacle, Tottenham Court Road
- St Michael's Church, Camden Town
[edit] City of London
- All Hallows-by-the-Tower
- All Hallows-on-the-Wall (1767)
- All Hallows, Staining (partly destroyed)
- Church of Scientology of London [1]
- Christ Church, Greyfriars (also known as Christ Church Newgate - partly destroyed)
- City Temple (United Reformed)
- St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe (1695)
- St Andrew, Holborn (1690)
- St Andrew Undershaft (1532)
- St Anne and St Agnes (1680)
- St Augustine, Watling Street (partly destroyed)
- St Bartholomew-the-Great (12th century)
- St Bartholomew-the-Less
- St Benet, Paul's Wharf (also known as St Benet Welsh Church) (1683)
- St Botolph's Aldgate (1791)
- St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate (1729)
- St Bride's, Fleet Street (1698)
- St Clement, Eastcheap (1687)
- St Dunstan-in-the-East (partly destroyed)
- St Dunstan-in-the-West (1833)
- St Edmund, King & Martyr (1679)
- St Ethelburga, Bishopsgate (1411?)
- St Etheldreda's Church (1251)
- St Giles' Cripplegate (c.1550)
- St Helen's, Bishopsgate (13th century)
- St James, Garlickhythe (1683)
- St Katherine Cree (1631)
- St Lawrence Jewry (1687)
- St Leonard, Foster Lane (? [2]}
- St Magnus the Martyr (1676)
- St Margaret Lothbury (1690)
- St Margaret Pattens (1687)
- St Martin, Ludgate (1684)
- St Mary Abchurch (1686)
- St Mary Aldermary (1682)
- St Mary-at-Hill (1676)
- St Mary-le-Bow (1683)
- St Mary Moorfields (1686/1903)
- St Mary Woolnoth (1727)
- St Michael, Cornhill (1672)
- St Michael, Paternoster Royal (1694)
- St Nicholas, Cole Abbey (1677)
- St Olave, Hart Street (c.1450)
- St Paul's Cathedral
- St Peter upon Cornhill (1682)
- St Sepulchre-without-Newgate (also known as Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Holborn))
- St Stephen Walbrook (1677)
- St Vedast alias Foster (1673)
- Temple Church (12th century)
[edit] Deptford
[edit] Fulham
[edit] Greenwich
[edit] Hackney
[edit] Islington
[edit] Kensington & Chelsea
- Brompton Oratory
- Chelsea Old Church (All Saints)
- St Luke, Chelsea, Sydney Street
- Holy Redeemer and St Thomas Moore, Cheyne Row
- Holy Trinity Brompton
- Holy Trinity, Sloane Street
- St Barnabas, Kensington
- St Columba's, Pont Street - Church of Scotland
- St Mary Abbots, Kensington
- Westbourne Grove Church (1823) (formerly Westbourne Grove Baptist Church - now part of Salt and Light Ministries)
[edit] Lambeth
- Church.co.uk, Waterloo
[edit] Rotherhithe
- All Saints', Rotherhithe
- St Mary, Rotherhithe (1714)
- Finnish Church and Seamen's Mission (1958)
- Norwegian Church (1927)
[edit] Southwark
- All Saints Church, Peckham - Church of England
- St George's Cathedral - Roman Catholic
- St George the Martyr (1122}
- Southwark Cathedral (St Saviour & St Mary Overie) (1220) - Church of England
- Metropolitan Tabernacle
[edit] Tower Hamlets
- Christ Church, Spitalfields
- St Anne's, Limehouse
- St Dunstan's, Stepney
- St Mary’s, Bow (1311, rebuilt 15th century, 19th century)
- St Paul's Church, Shadwell
- St George in the East
- Trinity Independent Chapel
[edit] Westminster
- All Saints, Margaret Street (1859)
- All Souls, Langham Place (1824)
- Crown Court Church (1711, rebuilt 1909) - Church of Scotland
- St Anne's Church, Soho
- St Clement Danes (1682)
- St George's, Hanover Square (1724)
- St James's, Piccadilly (1684)
- St. John's, Smith Square
- St Margaret's, Westminster (1523; orig. 12th century)
- St Martin-in-the-Fields (1726)
- St Mary-le-Strand (1717)
- St Patrick's Church, Soho Square, Roman Catholic, c. 1854
- St Paul's, Covent Garden (1638)
- Swedish Church (1911) = Church of Sweden Abroad
- Westminster Abbey (parts 1065; orig. 616)
- Westminster Cathedral (1903) - Roman Catholic
- Westminster Chapel (1840) - Independent Church
[edit] Churches which do not meet in traditional Church buildings
Growing numbers of London churches do not own their own buildings. Many meet in schools or community halls. Some of the more unusual venues include:-
- Christ Church London meets at the Piccadilly Theatre
- Hillsong meets at the Dominion Theatre
- One charismatic / pentecostal church meets in London's largest multiplex cinema.
- Another example is a charismatic church in the London Borough of Barnet who meet in a school.
[edit] External links
- Church directory Find a Church - London
- Diocese of London and Diocesan Advisory Committee (Church of England)
- Friends of the City Churches (City of London churches)
- Love's Guide to the Church Bells of the City of London
- Charles Spurgeon's Church - Metropolitan Tabernacle
