St Mary Woolnoth: One Of The City’s Most Striking Churches

If you have ever walked around the financial district you would have almost certainly have seen St Mary Woolnoth church. It sits in a prominent position, at the corner of Lombard Street and King William Street, looking towards the busy Bank junction.

It is not one however that many have been inside, so I paid it a visit!

Origins

There has been a church on the site certainly since 1191, possibly originally established by a Saxon nobleman called Wulfnoth Cild (d. 1014). He was the grandfather of Harold Godwinson and is thought to possibly be the reason behind the unusual ‘Woolnoth’ name.

The name could also be a reference to ‘Wulnoth de Walebrok’, a benefactor of the church, or possibly a reference to the wool trade. 

During the rebuilding of the church in the early 18th century, Roman remains were excavated on the site. There is evidence of major Roman buildings in the vicinity, but what they were, we are not sure. 

The church was rebuilt in the 15th century before being badly damaged in the Great Fire of London. It was subsequently repaired by Sir Christopher Wren but deemed unsafe in the following decades and a decision taken that it had to be rebuilt.

Hawksmoor Steps Up 

In 1711 it was decided that St Mary Woolnoth would be rebuilt under the Fifty New Churches Act. This was a plan to build fifty new churches (surprise, surprise) around London and in the surrounding area to accommodate a burgeoning population.

Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661-1736), Sir Christopher Wren’s protege, carried out most of the commissions.

It was funded by a tax on coal coming into the city, that had originally be set up in 1670 to raise money for the rebuilding of St Paul’s Cathedral.

Only 12 churches ended up being built, so they somewhat fell short of their target, but among them are some of London’s most striking churches: Christchurch Spitalfields, St George’s Bloomsbury and St Anne’s Limehouse, all designed by Hawksmoor.

St Mary Woolnoth was constructed from 1716-1724, is Hawksmoor’s only City of London church and his smallest.

As you can see the design is quite unusual and rather arresting. In fact, when I am leading my walking tours, people sometimes do not even think it is a church initially. 

It has been designed in an English Baroque style with this pair of dramatic flat topped turrets at the front. Hawksmoor employed stark geometric shapes in his compositions and oversized classical features that almost stop you in your tracks when you see them.

The interior is square and small but has a lot of impact despite its size, with its 12 giant Corinthian columns, that cluster around the altar. 

The Church Under Threat

The church has been under threat a number of times throughout its history. The most serious threat came when the City and South London Railway constructed Bank Station from 1897-1900. They were given permission to demolish the church but it was thankfully saved by public outcry at the time. 

Its crypt was however sold to the railway. It was used initially as a booking hall and you can see the old entrance still today on the South facade.

There are two figures sculpted onto the entranceway, representing the new electric underground line. One represents electricity…

… and, the other, is Hermes, the Ancient Greek messenger god, representing speed and delivery. 

It is today, as you can see, home to a Starbucks.

The bodies from the crypt were removed and predominantly reburied at Ilford Cemetery. 

St Mary Woolnoth remarkably managed to survive World War Two unscathed. 

The Man Behind ‘Amazing Grace’

John Newton was the Rector of the church from 1780-1807. I wrote about him recently in relation to a nearby monument to the slave trade and its abolition. You can read that blog post here.

Born in Wapping in 1725, from 1750 he worked captaining slave ships, taking slaves from West Africa over to the Americas to sell them. 

After leaving the business, he ended up becoming a rector in 1764 and became a key part of the abolitionist movement, writing about the horrors of the slave trade. He is also best known for writing the words to Amazing Grace.

This is his memorial in the church.

The epitaph on it, Newton wrote himself before he died, describing himself as ‘once an infidel and libertine’.

What Else To Spot

You will see this memorial to Edward Lloyd (1648-1713) on the wall.

Edward Lloyd set up Lloyd’s Coffee House in 1686 in Tower Street before moving to Lombard Street in 1691, just round the corner from the church. Edward Lloyd’s coffeehouse was where, in the 18th century, Lloyd’s of London, the insurance company started. 

Coffeehouses were buzzing hubs in the city where people gathered to drink coffee but also trade, gossip, educate and barter. Edward Lloyd’s coffeehouse was particularly where merchants and shipowners would meet. Edward even set up a pulpit in the coffeehouse for maritime auctions.

Lloyd’s of London, still going today of course, still have the original coffeehouse frontage in their possession. 

You will also see this clock mechanism.

On the outside are written the words of TS Eliot’s The Wasteland, which mentions St Mary Woolnoth: 

“A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many, I had not thought death had undone so many.
Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled,
And each man fixed his eyes before his feet.
Flowed up the hill and down King William Street,
To where Saint Mary Woolnoth kept the hours
With a dead sound on the final stroke of nine.”

I also thought these two boards by the entrance were quite interesting. This one is the Table of Charities put up in 1809.

It seems to display where the money from various endowments to the church from the 16th century went, such as ‘bread for the poor’ or ‘coals for the poor’.

The other is a ‘Table of Fees’ from 1810.

How To Visit

The church is open 7am-4pm Monday-Friday. A lunchtime service is held on Thursdays from 1pm-2pm.

There is also a little cafe tucked into the entrance where you can grab a coffee.

Find out more about visiting here. Today it is combined and run jointly with St Edmund the King and St Clement Eastcheap nearby.

Thank you for reading, more of London’s incredible historical spots below!