churches Archives - the lost byway

The latest episode of my series walking the churches of the City of London, sees me go in search of the remains and sites of some of the lost churches of the City of London. Featuring: St Mildred’s, St Mary Cole, St Olave Jewry, The Great Synagogue, St Benet Sherehog, St Stephen Walbrook, and St Martin Orgar.
The route goes from Poultry near Bank Station then in a loop round Old Jewry, St Olave’s Court, and Ironmonger Lane. Then Pancras Lane, St Stephen’s Row, St Swithin’s Lane, Cannon Street, Laurence Pountney Hill, Upper Thames Street, Allhallows Lane, Hanseatic Walk, Arthur Street and Martin Lane.

Allhallows Lane, EC4 - lost churches of the City of London walk — Allhallows Lane

Site of Laurence Pountney Church - lost churches of the City of London walk

St Martin Orgar, Martin Lane - lost churches of the city of London — St Martin Orgar, Martin Lane

Many of the sites of the lost churches only survive as a blue plaque on a wall. Some as tranquil gardens and churchyards popular as lunchtime haunts. Others live on as towers embedded in the streetscape. I’m endlessly fascinated by the City of London. Each step in the City feels like a step through time, and if we listen closely, we can hear the whispers of those who walked before us, the echoes of the choirsong, the vibrations of the organs.

You can watch the whole series here

The City of London once had 108 churches – today only 39 of them remain. In 2021, I embarked on a YouTube series to walk between these remaining churches and pick up traces of the numerous lost churches of the City of London, and the few that exist as partial ruins or churchyards. It’s been a magical experience.

Some of the churches date back to the Middle Ages, others contain much older secrets in their foundations and crypts. They link us back into the deep history of London. They link us from the earliest Christian communities in the City through the Anglo-Saxon period, the Norman Conquest to the Great Fire of London when a number of Churches were destroyed. However from the ashes arose the majestic architecture of Sir Christopher Wren who wrote his name across the City.

the spire of St Botolph Bishopsgate - City of London Churches walk

Tower of St Dunstan in the East - City of London Churches walk

My most recent episode in the series picked up the trail at St Margaret Pattens (first documented in 1067) with its magnificent Wren spire. Close by we encounter St Mary at Hill ‘London’s best kept secret’ before walking a cobbled lane to the serene garden in the shell of St Dunstan in the East, destroyed in the 1941 during the Blitz. Our walk then takes us past the Monument to the Great Fire which points the way to our final church, St Magnus the Martyr which once occupied one of the most prominent positions in medieval London, aligned with the old London Bridge, linking Southwark to the City.

St Dunstan in the East - City of London Churches walk

I’ve now walked 37 of the 39 churches of the City but my church crawling won’t end here. I’ll continue haunting the sites of those lost churches and the indelible mark they’ve left on the streets of the Square Mile.

You can watch the whole series here

Watch my walk along the City of London’s lost river Walbrook.