St. Benet Paul’s Wharf

St. Benet’s stands on the north side of Thames Street, close to Paul’s Wharf, as shown in Civitas Londinum (the ‘Agas map’) from about 1561.

There has been a church on this site since 1111. Until the second half of the 19^th century St. Benet Paul’s Wharf stood on the north side of Thames Street, but the street layout has changed considerably since then. Queen Victoria Street was laid out in the 1860s, passing the north side of the church. Then Thames Street (now Upper Thames Street) was taken through an underpass and is no longer visible from the church.

The parish of St. Benet’s covered an area from Knightrider Street in the north down to the Thames in the south, which encompassed the riverside Baynard’s Castle which, along with the church, was destroyed in the Great Fire.

St. Benet’s is one of four City churches that were dedicated to the 6^th century Saint Benedict, founder of the Benedictine monastic code. It was previously known as St. Benet by the Thames, or St. Benet Hithe, and stood beside the riverside wharf that once belonged to St. Paul’s Cathedral. It had a nave, aisles, and a western tower.

The church is mentioned in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night: “or the bells of Saint Benet, sir, may put you in mind – one, two, three”.

The Welsh-born architect Inigo Jones, a predecessor of Sir Christopher Wren, was buried alongside his parents in the chancel of St. Benet’s following his death at Somerset House in June 1652.

Jones gave us several places of note in London, such as the then new suburb of Covent Garden and its church of St. Paul’s, Banqueting House at Whitehall, Queen’s House at Greenwich, and Queen’s Chapel at St. James’s Palace. He also designed the portico of St. Paul’s Cathedral that was destroyed in the Great Fire. Jones left what was the large sum of £100 for a white marble monument on the north wall of St. Benet’s, including his portrait bust, and representations of Banqueting House and the St. Paul’s portico. It was designed by his pupil and heir John Webb.

Unfortunately, it was destroyed in the Great Fire. In the 19^th century it was replaced by the current simple monument on the east wall, which includes the Latin text from the original. In part, it translates as “The renowned architect to the King of Great Britain lies here. He built Whitehall Palace for the King. He restored St. Paul’s Cathedral”.

The original building was destroyed on Monday 3^rd September 1666 during the Great Fire. It was not one of the first wave of churches to be rebuilt but seems to have started under Sir Christopher Wren in 1678. It is one of the smaller of those rebuilt.

Its exterior and tiled roof, and minimal use of expensive stone, indicate a tight budget, albeit with a pleasing result. The exterior is of dark red and blue brick with stone quoins, and festoons over the round-headed windows. It is described as Dutch in style, similar to St. Mary Abchurch. That indicates that its design was the responsibility of Robert Hooke rather than Sir Christopher Wren, yet there is no evidence of Hooke visiting the site.

The nave and south aisle were combined to provide a larger auditorium than its predecessor. It has galleries on the north and west sides, with that on the north supported on Corinthian columns with high bases. Unusually for a Wren church the ceiling is flat instead of curved or domed. A vestry was added later but since demolished. The diplomat and lawyer Sir Llewellyn provided many of the fixtures, and the reredos, font and pulpit are original from that time.

There is a tower in the north-west corner built on the medieval foundations. It was completed in 1684, with a lead dome, lantern and a small spire. The design of the spire is most likely to have been inspired by St. Charles Borromeo church in Antwerp.

St. Benet’s has remained largely unaltered since the 17^th century, having survived the Second World War unscathed. A fire in 1971 caused by vandals, however, did damage to the east corner of the north gallery. It was restored and reopened in 1973.

The church has strong connections with the College of Arms, which stands opposite. Since 1555 it has been the church of the college and at least 25 officers of the college have been buried in St. Benet’s.

The church has had a long association with Welsh people. Threatened with demolition in the 19^th century, St. Benet’s was instead in 1879 given over to the Welsh Episcopalian Church. It is now the Metropolitan Welsh Church and, along with the Jewin Welsh Church, is one of two holding services in the Welsh language. When it became the Welsh church it ceased to be parochial and its former parish is united with St. Andrew by the Wardrobe.

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