Explorers, Musicians And Executions: A Look Inside St Sepulchre-without-Newgate

The City of London’s churches are always packed with history and fascinating stories. Visiting them is often like delving into an attic and discovering little treasures and memories. St Sepulchre-without-Newgate is a great example of this.

It is likely there has been a church on this site, in the North-West corner of the City, just outside the walls, since the Saxon period. The early churches were dedicated to St Edmund the King and Martyr, an Anglo-Saxon King who was executed by the Vikings.

A Crusader’s Port of Call

In the 12th century it became the church of St Edmund and the Holy Sepulchre, named after the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Both are outside the North-West gates of their respective cities and it is thought that the London church became a symbolic disembarkation point for soldiers on their way to the ‘Holy Land’ during the Crusades.

Over the centuries it became known as the Holy Sepulchre-without-Newgate, or the less formal ‘St Sepulchre-without-Newgate’, despite St Sepulchre not being an actual Saint.

Rebuilding the Church

The church was rebuilt in the 15th century and then significantly damaged during the Great Fire in 1666. Unlike all the other post-fire City churches it was not rebuilt and restored by Sir Christopher Wren. The story goes that the church wardens were too impatient to wait for Wren to start the work and so instead employed one of his master mason’s, Joshua Marshall.

It went through various alterations and refacing in the 18th and 19th centuries and therefore today is a bit of an architectural mish-mash. Today it is the largest parish church in the City of London. 

What To Look Out For

One Particularly Important Vicar

You will also notice a list of the names of the vicars of the church from the 12th century until today.

There is one to particularly look out for. The vicar of St Sepulchre’s from 1550-1553 was a man called John Rogers, an important early Protestant figure.

John Rogers spent much of his life in exile in Antwerp, where he befriended William Tyndale, the translator of the Bible into the English language. Before Tyndale was executed he passed on the manuscripts to Rogers, who completed the work and published them in 1537. 

After the death of Henry VIII, Rogers returned to London and became the vicar of St Sepulchre’s. After three short years in the position, Mary I came to the throne and England once again became a Catholic country. John Rogers was arrested, spent a year in Newgate prison, before being burnt at the stake at Smithfield on the 4th February 1555. He was the first martyr of Mary’s reign.

The Royal Fusiliers Chapel

Dedicated in 1950, at the end of the South aisle of the church is the regimental chapel of the Royal Fusiliers and the church garden is a memorial garden to the regiment.

The south aisle has various regimental colours and panels in memory of deceased members. 

The Link To Newgate Prison

Directly opposite the church today is the Old Bailey, the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales.

This spot was, from the 12th century, the location of the notoriously dreadful Newgate Prison. The prison, after being rebuilt a few times over the centuries, was finally closed in 1902 and knocked down, with the current Old Bailey building constructed on the site.

The history of the church and the prison are inextricably linked. Newgate was usually where prisoners were kept before their public executions. From the 12th century until the 18th century these generally took place at Tyburn, where Marble Arch sits today on the corner of Hyde Park.

The bells of St Sepulchre’s would ring out as the prisoners were taken in carts through the streets of the city and, outside the church, a nosegay of flowers outside the church would be given to each prisoner.

The bells by the way are remembered in the Oranges and Lemons nursery rhyme as the ‘bells of Old Bailey’. 

The Execution Bell

In 1605 money was donated to the church by a local merchant tailor called John Dowe for a handbell to be cast. This handbell was to be used by the Rector of St Sepulchre’s to ring outside the cells of the condemned the night before their execution. The idea being that he would encourage them to repent their sins.

Many people seem to think there was a tunnel that connected the church to the prison cells, but I am always pretty sceptical of any stories of tunnels…

The Rector would ring the bell and also recite this poem: 

You can see a replica of the bell in the church today, a reminder of that rather macabre tradition. 

In the late 18th century the public executions were moved to the area outside the front door of Newgate Prison. The churchyard therefore would have been thronged with people on execution days, struggling to get a good vantage point.

The Musicians’ Chapel

By the North aisle you will find the Musicians’ Chapel. It was established in 1955 using money raised in memory of Sir Henry Wood.

Henry Wood (1869-1944) was christened at St Sepulchre’s and his father was a member of the choir. Wood grew up learning to play the organ here and went on to have a successful career as a conductor. The impressive organ, still there today, dates from 1676. 

Wood is best known for establishing the Promenade Concerts in 1895 and conducting them for nearly 50 years. The Proms are of course still going today and are the longest running series of orchestral concerts in the world. On the last night of the Proms a wreath is placed on the bust of Henry Wood at the Royal Albert Hall and the next day is brought to the church to be laid with his ashes in the church.

Since 1955, the church has been the National Musicians’ Church and they have regular musical performances, free concerts and events there. I have gone in on many occasions and stumbled upon a performance or a musician practicing. 

The John Smith Window

One of the most famous characters associated with the church is Captain John Smith. John Smith (1580-1631) was an explorer and one of the early founders of the colony of Jamestown, Virginia. He became the Governor of Virginia and helped turn it into a viable settlement. 

He is also known for having been captured in 1607 by the Powhatan tribe. It is said he was saved from execution by the chieftain’s daughter Pocahontas. The story goes that she threw her body across his to save him.

Despite what we were made to believe from the Disney film, Pocahontas actually ended up marrying another man called John Rolfe. When they visited England in 1616, Smith and Pocahontas were reunited. Pocahontas sadly died in 1617 in Gravesend, just before hoping to make the journey back to North America. 

Smith was buried at the church in 1633 in the South aisle. There is a stained glass window commemorating this association. 

Font Cover

This font cover was made in 1690 and was once resident of another church: Christchurch Greyfriars down the road. During the Blitz, on the night of the 30th December 1940 when Christchurch was ablaze, a postman ran into the church and grabbed this font cover. Christchurch Greyfriars is now a beautiful pocket park, laid out in the bombed out nave of the church.

London’s Oldest Drinking Fountain

Finally, set into the railings of the church, make sure to pay attention to the unassuming water fountain. It is in fact London’s oldest public drinking fountain. 

It was installed in 1859 with funding from an MP called Samuel Gurney who that year had co-founded the ‘Metropolitan Drinking Fountain Association’ – later renamed the ‘Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association’.

Although not operating today, until recently it still had its drinking cups still attached. I am not sure where they have disappeared to… 

Find out more about visiting the church and the events they have on here.

Thank you for reading, more of London’s historic churches below…