St. Bride’s church

St. Bride’s stood immediately west of Fleet Bridge and north of Bridewell Palace, as shown in Civitas Londinum (the ‘Agas map’) from about 1561.

The current St. Bride’s is at least the seventh church on the site. It is said to have been founded by Bridget of Kildare – St. Bride – a nun and contemporary of St. Patrick. Born in Ireland in the mid-5^th century, she established Ireland’s first nunnery. If so, at the time of its foundation the church would have been on the bank of the River Fleet just to the west of, and outside, the city gate that became known as Ludgate. London by then had gone into a long, slow decline and may have been largely deserted during that period. The second church on the site was built later in the Saxon period. It was replaced by a new building in about 1135, with a tower that housed a bell that rang the daily curfew. In 1210 King John used St. Bride’s to hold his first parliament. The church was rebuilt in the 15^th century.

William Caxton, the first printer in the English-speaking world, set up his press at Westminster in the 15^th century. Many of England’s leading clergy, who were the main purchasers of Caxton’s books, then resided in the area to the west of St. Paul’s. Following Caxton’s death, in 1501 his apprentice, Wynkyn de Worde, moved the printing press from Westminster to Fleet Street to be closer to the customers. The street thus became synonymous with printing and newspapers for the following four centuries. De Worde was buried in the church in 1535, leaving in his will the sum of one pound per year for the poor of the parish. Over time St. Bride’s became known as the ‘journalist’s church’.

Seating in St. Bride’s is in collegiate style.

The 15^th century building was completely destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. Its replacement was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and built in the 1670s by the King’s mason, Joshua Marshall. It was one of the first churches completed, reopening in December 1675. One of the earliest buildings constructed after the Great Fire was the Bell Tavern, adjacent to the church, which was built to house the men working on St. Bride’s. It had become a wealthy parish so it was the third most expensive of Wren’s City churches and one of the finest. His famous steeple – said to be the inspiration for modern wedding cakes – was added in 1703 and the tallest of the Wren designs. It was originally eight feet taller, until 1764 when the top was struck by lightning.

The west end of the nave features sculptures of St. Bride and St. Paul by David McFall. The royal arms below the minstrel’s gallery, a copy of the original, is carved from a block of Beer stone and weighs nearly two tons.

St. Bride’s was badly damaged during the Blitz, leaving only the steeple and outer walls. It was subsequently restored by Godfrey Allen, Surveyor of the Fabric of St. Paul’s. Shortly after the post-Great Fire rebuilding, galleries were added along the west wall, which obscured Wren’s design. These were not replaced by Allen, which reestablished the spaciousness of Wren’s vision. The rebuilding was partly funded by the major newspapers of Fleet Street. Seating is now in collegiate-style. The west end of the nave features large sculptures of St. Bride and St. Paul.

Medieval foundations can be seen below the church.

There was a well in the churchyard – Bride’s well – that in the 16^th century gave its name to Henry VIII’s 16^th century nearby Bridewell Palace, which went on to become a notorious prison.

The rebuilding after the Second World War led to archaeological discoveries beneath the Wren-era church, led by Professor W.J Grimes. The oldest dated back to the Roman period, possibly of a villa. Two charnel houses below the church that had been sealed since the 19^th century was rediscovered. The crypt was transformed into a museum where it is still possible to view the Roman and medieval foundations and bones from the charnel house. A medieval chapel below the church was restored in 2002 as a memorial to the Harmsworth family and staff of Associated newspapers who died in the two World Wars.

In 1906 Holy Trinity Gough Square church closed and was demolished. St. Andrew Holborn ceased to be parochial after the Second World War. The parishes of both churches were united with that of St. Bride’s.

Numerous famous people from history have lived in or close to the parish of St. Bride’s. Samuel Pepys and his eight brothers and sisters were all christened in the church. The 17^th century poet Richard Lovelace was buried in St. Bride’s