Blue Plaques Part ll: recognising the contribution of Christians in London’s History

Posted on February 27, 2021 by claresimons1

These are some more Blue Plaques found on buildings in central London, commemorating Christians who have lived out their Christian faith in obedience to God and for the benefit of others. Three of them are relatively unknown. In alphabetical order:

Wilson Carlile 1847 – 1942

Photo: Me
Photo: Richard Arthur Norton at en.wikipedia

Wilson Carlile was something of a child prodigy, being gifted musically and at learning languages. He joined his grandfather’s business and by the age of 18, had almost total control, due to his grandfather’s failing health. He determined to be a successful, ambitious businessman, and by 25 he had made his first million in today’s money. But a great depression which began in 1873 meant that he lost almost all the wealth he had acquired, leading to a mental and physical breakdown. Confined to bed, he began to question the purpose and meaning of his life and the chance reading of an evangelical work, Mackay’s Grace and Truth, caused him to turn his life around as he began to believe in ‘the crucified and risen Lord…..He touched my heart, and old desires and hopes left it. In their place came the new thought that I might serve Him and His poor and suffering brethren.’ (Wiki). Fast forward 9 years, during which time Carlile worked with evangelist DL Moody, musical director Ira Sankey, and the Salvation Army, and gained an understanding of mission and evangelism, to 1882, when he formed the Church Army. As a curate in wealthy Kensington, Carlile wanted to break down the barriers between the rich and poor, so he resigned his curacy to work in slum areas, ‘to share the Gospel with people who wouldn’t dream of setting foot inside a church’. (Wiki). He had the idea of using ordinary, non-ordained men (and controversially, women) to train as evangelists to work among the poor and marginalised. The idea of a spiritual ‘army’ was popular at the time as a metaphor for the fight against spiritual forces of evil, so the Church Army was born. Carlile always worked under the authority of the Church of England, ensuring that evangelism carried out in a community always had the approval of the parish priest, and in a prison or other institution, by invitation of the chaplain. Carlile met with resistance from top level Church of England officials because of his unorthodox methods, but gradually the Church Army gained the respect of the Church, partly because of Carlile’s great respect for the Church! By 1925, the Church Army was the C of E’s largest home mission society.

Reverend Philip ‘Tubby’ Clayton 1885 – 1972

Photo: Me
Photo Author: Filibertus at vis.wikipedia

Tubby Clayton was a Church of England ordained priest and served as an army chaplain in World War 1 in France. He and another chaplain, Rev. Neville Talbot, opened a rest home for wounded soldiers at Poperinge, Belgium in 1915 called Talbot House (named for Neville’s younger brother Gilbert, who was killed earlier in 1915). Poperinge was a transfer station where soldiers were billeted on their way to and from the battlefields of Flanders, and the chaplains’ idea was to provide an ‘Everyman’s Club’, where all soldiers would be welcome, regardless of rank. It became known as Toc Aitch, this being signal terminology (a sort of NATO phonetic alphabet) for TH. In 1920 Clayton and his fellow leaders were inspired to set out The Four Points of the Toc H Compass:

Friendship – ‘To love widely’
Service – ‘To build bravely’
Fair-mindedness – ‘To think fairly’
The Kingdom of God – ‘To witness humbly’

At first I thought these four ‘compass points’ were a bit random, but now I think they make sense, these are things that all Christians should aspire to, aren’t they? After the war, other Toc H houses were established in Kensington, Manchester and Southampton, and later, a women’s league. From 1922 to 1962, Clayton was vicar of All Hallows-by-the-Tower (one of my favourite churches) and began working with the East End poor. Following the Blitz in 1940, he played a primary role in fundraising for the restoration of the badly damaged All Hallows and for the devasted East End. He was also chaplain to the British Petroleum Company. The Toc H legacy lives on today in Christian facilities and activities: youth centres, residential holidays for special groups, entertainment for care home residents, and reconciliation work with disparate groups in society.

Elizabeth Fry 1780 – 1845

Photo: Me
Image: Wikipedia (in public domain)

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Nils Jorgensen/Shutterstock (382483d) THE NEW £5 NOTE FEATURING PRISON REFORMER ELIZABETH FRY ANNA WING LAUNCHING THE NEW FIVE POUND NOTE, LONDON, BRITAIN – 21 MAY 2002

Let’s go back in time one hundred years to the inspiring Elizabeth Fry. Born into a wealthy Quaker family, she married Joseph Fry, also a Quaker and a banker. In her teenage years, Elizabeth was inspired by William Savery, an American preacher, abolitionist and an advocate of social justice. She felt that God was calling her to devote her life to working for the poor and socially excluded, an unusual ambition at the time for a wealthy married woman, who would have been expected to spend her days in leisure pursuits and the raising of children. Elizabeth actually did have 11 children, presumably cared for by an army of nannies! Invited to visit Newgate Prison in the City of London when she was 33 years old, she was horrified by the conditions and particularly the overcrowded, filthy cells of women and their children. She was also struck by the injustice of their situation; many of the women were being held without trial. Elizabeth returned to the prison the following day bringing food and clean clothes for some of the prisoners, but she knew she had the means to do more. Despite financial difficulties in the Fry bank, she funded a school for prison children and offered their mothers opportunities to learn needlework, knitting and cooking so that they could earn their own living on release from prison, thus ending the cycle of imprisonment for non-payment of debts (Newgate was a Debtors’ Prison where Charles Dickens’ father was incarcerated.) Elizabeth set up the ‘Association for the Reformation of Female Prisoners in Newgate; a Nursery School; and the ‘Brighton District Visiting Society’, a forerunner to the Health Visitor scheme. She believed that education was a route out of poverty and that people did not choose to beg or steal to survive but needed support to improve their lives. Queen Victoria was impressed by Elizabeth’s concern and determination and provided funding for several of her causes.

Lincoln Stanhope Wainwright 1847 – 1929

Photo: Me
Image: Alan Patient of plaquesoflondon.co.uk

Photo: London Docks c1909.jpg – Wikimedia commons

Lincoln Wainwright was the Assistant Priest and then Vicar of St Peter’s Church at London Docks for 56 years. Being privately educated at Radley and Wadham Colleges Oxford, he could have taken the ‘living’ at any wealthy parish in England but chose to live among the poorest Londoners in the Dockland slums. Wainwright devoted himself to providing the local people with ‘ragged schools’, working men’s clubs and medical facilities, at a time when there was no Welfare State, and education and medical care had to be paid for. He frequently gave his own food to poor parishioners, and on one occasion, his own clothes and shoes. Working on the docks was a precarious lifestyle, particularly for unskilled labourers who would wait each day to be chosen for the most arduous jobs of unloading from the ships, for a pittance of a wage. Only the strongest and fittest would be offered work and families could literally starve to death if Father didn’t get regular work. In the 1880s there was a dock strike and Wainwright supported destitute families financially and emotionally as best he could. When he died in February 1929 one of his parishioners wrote: ‘Dockland was washed with tears because this tiny but indomitable figure, shabby, untiring, spendthrift of love, would not serve them on Earth anymore’. I think it’s a sad legacy that his name is misspelt both on the Blue Plaque and the stained-glass window in the church, but there are many tributes to his life of selfless devotion to the poor.

I think my favourite of these Blue Plaque People has got to be Lincoln Wainwright; he wasn’t the founder of an organisation, he wasn’t a catalyst for change, he wasn’t a major fund raider for some big social project, his name doesn’t appear on any building. But he faithfully served the poorest of communities his whole life, not asking for, or expecting recognition. That was his legacy.

Thanks as always to Wikipedia for information on Carlile, Clayton and Fry, and to the delightfully-named stchrysotoms.wordpress.com for Wainwright.

All photos and images are in the public domain.

January: Churchyards without a church!

Posted on January 30, 2021January 30, 2021 by claresimons1

Many of London’s churches are over one thousand years old, and with the capital’s history of fire and war, not many have escaped unscathed, in fact several have been completely destroyed. Having been unable to get into any city churches for a while, fortunately I did get to visit some gardens and churchyards in November/early December where there used to be a church which has long since gone. The information about the gardens is mainly sourced from The London Gardens Trust website (londongardenstrust.org) which has an inventory of every public garden in every London Borough. Lots more for me to visit when circumstances allow!

St Alphage Gardens, London Wall

In February last year, in Romantic Ruins, I wrote about the beautiful remains of the tower of St Alphage church. The church fell into disrepair and was actually completely demolished in 1540 and the site was made into a public garden in 1872. One century later, the Barbican and London Wall areas were completely redeveloped, being the most heavily bombed sites of the City in WWll. The Corporation of London scheme created a new business and housing district and as part of the landscaping, a fragment of the old Roman Wall and the tower were retained and are now carefully maintained, to my eternal joy! This pic shows one of the famous Barbican Highwalks, the ‘pavements in the sky’. The garden isn’t very impressive in the pic, but it was November!

The tower suffered extensive bomb damage but has been carefully preserved and (I think) sits well with the later architecture, which dates from 1970 to brand new office blocks. I love that at one time the tower was used as a hospital for the blind and disabled, at a time when care for the poor and sick was inextricably linked with the Church and Christian service.

St Mary Aldermanbury

Just across the road from St Alphage (although it’s a very wide road, London Wall) is the garden of St Mary Aldermanbury. Probably named from the Aldermans’ ‘Berry’ or Court Hall, which stood nearby, there was a church here by 1181 and a churchyard by 1250. Interesting things about this site: this statue of Shakespeare is actually a monument to fellow actors John Heminge and Henry Condell, who, after the playwright’s death in 1616, collected his works and published them at their own expense. Shame there’s not a statue of the two of them, we all know what Shakespeare looks like!

And now to the fate of the church that was once here. The plaque on the site reads: ‘Site of the church of St Mary Aldermanbury. First mentioned in 1181. Destroyed by the Great Fire in 1666. Rebuilt by Wren, destroyed by bombing in 1944. The remaining fabric was removed to Westminster College, Fulton Missouri, USA 1966 and restored as a memorial to Sir Winston Churchill’. So a somewhat different fate to most demolished City churches! There’s an engraving of the church in situ in Fulton, Missouri, above the plaque:

And lastly, some footings of the church in the garden:

Interesting that these footings are left, if the whole church was dismantled and rebuilt!

St Mary Staining

A hop skip and jump from St Mary A is St Mary S. There’s been a church on this site since 1189 and ‘Staining’ probably refers to a family living in Staines who held the land. The church was destroyed in the Great Fire and not restored. In 1965 the Corporation of London took over maintenance of the open space created on the site of the church and churchyard. I visited this site (and St Mary Aldermanbury) as part of a London Walks tour in December 2019, these are brilliant walks covering different areas and different themes around London. There are two interesting things about this site: firstly, the building next to the site was built sloping backwards to ensure that the London plane tree in the garden would receive enough light. Hope you get a sense of this from the pic.

Secondly, around this area there are lots of Livery Company Halls, these started out in the 1300s clubs or guilds to protect the different trades or professions; you can look them up on Wikipedia if you’re interested. Each one has a Hall as its headquarters, e.g., the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers, Waxchandlers (they made candles), Saddlemakers, etc, and all are within a few streets of each other. The one closest to this site is the Pewterers Hall which was rebuilt here in 1961 following demolition of the original Hall. Here are the Coats of Arms of the Pewterers Company and the Waxchandlers Company, beautiful, aren’t they? I like their mottoes too.

All Hallows, Southwark

This was quite a recently built church (1880 by George Gilbert Scott Jnr) but was bombed twice in WW11, rendering it completely unusable and demolished in 1957. The only remains of the church are two stone arches and a chapel, now in residential use – great place to live! This pic is from The London Gardens Trust because when I visited, there was a lot of rubbish strewn around this area and I couldn’t take a good photo. The garden itself was well maintained.

I visited this garden in early December, hence the baubles on the tree. A pretty garden whatever the season.

This garden, in Copper Street, is a couple of streets away from the St Saviour’s Union Workhouse at Mint Street, which is thought to have provided Charles Dickens with the model for the workhouse in Oliver Twist. When Dickens was young, he was in lodgings nearby and would have passed the workhouse on his way to work, seeing the pauper residents going to work in nearby factories and workshops. He revisited the area much later as a journalist on one of his fact-finding missions to schools, factories and workhouses in poor areas and more than likely would have visited St Saviour’s.* I wish I’d explored the surrounding streets and got a sense of how the area would have looked in Dickens’ time. Another time, maybe!

* Info and picture from Southwarkheritage.wordpress.com

December – Nativity! Part II

Posted on December 23, 2020 by claresimons1

This is St Peter’s Catholic Church in Clerkenwell Road EC1, known locally as the Italian Church. It was opened in 1863 for the 2,000 Italian immigrants living in the slums around Clerkenwell (no slums there now!) The notice board outside shows that services are conducted in English and Italian. I like the light shining down on the place where Jesus will be.

This beautiful Nativity is situated in the Crypt of St Martins in the Fields (hence the spiral staircase which can just be seen). The crypt itself is lovely, with a shop, a good café and facilities for doing brass rubbings. Well worth a visit. This nativity is made from oak with beaten copper and gold leaf, and was commissioned as part of the church’s Millennium celebrations, created by Peter Eugene Ball.

This Nativity also belongs to St Martin’s in the Fields and it’s outside in Trafalgar Square. It’s in a glass case so you can see all round it from different angles, and it looks like it’s really outside. I love it! This is called ‘Christmas Crib’ made by Tomoaki Suzuki, with costumes designed by Jessica Ogden.

St Martin’s has long been associated with working with homeless people, and every Christmas there are special services and events with admission charges so that proceeds can support their homeless charity. St Martin was a Roman Centurion, deployed to Londinium, who came across a beggar and tore his cloak in two, giving half to the beggar to keep him warm. That might be just a legend but it’s a lovely story and gives rise to the church’s heritage of helping those in need.

And now for something more classic, this is the Nativity in the Chapel of St Joseph in Westminster Cathedral (not to be confused with Westminster Abbey). A sign in the chapel tells us about Joseph, and I love the importance given to him as the ‘wise and loyal servant chosen by God to raise His Son’. What a responsibility for Joseph, but as Jesus’ stepfather he did a great job!

These photos were all taken last December. As it would have been impossible to visit these churches this year, I’m so glad I kept them, a reminder of a carefree Christmas time!

I’m planning to continue this Blog in 2021, fortunately I have lots of ‘material’ from previous visits to churches etc, in London. Hopefully, it won’t be too many months before I can visit my favourite city again. Thanks for reading, Happy Christmas and here’s to a hopeful, healthy New Year.

November – Nativity! Part I

Posted on November 28, 2020 by claresimons1

Yet again, Lockdown has thwarted my plans this month – but last year I visited some beautiful and diverse Nativity scenes in churches and shop windows, both in central London and locally. Doesn’t everyone just love a Nativity scene? Part I are the local ones, Part II, Central London, next month.

Some churches only put baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas Day, which makes sense, but in this scene, only a cow and a few shepherds are there at the moment. This is because Mary and Joseph are still on their way to Bethlehem (but hang on a minute, the shepherds shouldn’t be there either, they only got there after Jesus was born!) The sign just out of the picture says ‘They’ve not arrived at the crib yet – have a look round the church and see if you can find them on their journey.’ This is at the beautiful All Saints, Carshalton, which I visited again in September in the ‘Open House London’ weekend. By the way. I did look around….and found M and J high up on a shelf!

This is the Nativity in the Oasis Christian Bookshop in Wallington. The shop is a precious local resource as it’s the only independent retailer of its type in the area. The staff are helpful and welcoming, always available for a chat.

The Entertainer is a chain of toyshops which follow Christian principles by not opening on Sundays and giving 10% of their profits to children’s charities around the world. Great to see a Christian retail chain in the UK.

These last pics are from The Salvation Army Church in Carshalton. Just before Christmas they held an Exhibition of more than 100 Nativities from all over the world. Apparently, the church hosts this wonderful display alternate years, I’m so glad it was in 2019 and not this year! Almost impossible to choose my favourites, here are a few…..

These last two pics are of a Nativity completely hand made by one of the Minister’s Grandparents in Switzerland. Apparently, handmade Nativities are a big thing there! It’s beautifully detailed; there are flocks of sheep, shepherds huddled round a fire and some holding lambs, a king on a camel and some kneeling kings. It would look amazing in any church!

Stop Press, just one more! This paper cut out nativity is on the windows of the Salvation Army in Sutton. The photo was taken on 27^th November 2020, I just had to have one from this year!

Next Month: December, Nativity! Part II

October – Creative Christian London

Posted on October 31, 2020 by claresimons1

This month I’ll be looking at London Churches which are traditionally connected with the Arts in one way or another. I’ve visited some beautiful buildings and discovered things about their histories, as well as what they’ve got going on today. Just as well I completed all this before Tier 2 came into force!

The Journalists’ Church. Situated in Fleet Street, the home of the newspaper and other publications, is St Bride’s Fleet Street. A plaque on the church wall tells us that the brilliantly named Wynkyn de Worde was the first printer on Fleet Street (apparently this was a pseudonym, but it’s pretty good, isn’t it?) Two more interesting things about this church: the present steeple was based on designs of Sir Christopher Wren and constructed in 1703. It’s said to have inspired designs for wedding cakes and is known as the ‘Wedding Cake’ Spire. Thirdly, the current church was built over previous buildings and has passages underneath it going back to the 6^th Century. Following an outbreak of cholera in 1854, the tombs in the crypt beneath were sealed up, and when they were reopened after World War 2, a Roman pavement and tombs dating back to Saxon times were discovered. I haven’t done the tour of the crypt, another one for post lockdown!

The Arts and Crafts Church – Holy Trinity Sloane Street is so called because of its association with the Arts and Crafts movement of the 1800s. The church was built between 1888 and 1890 in the ‘Arts and Crafts Gothic’ style and has a spectacular stained-glass window designed by William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones, who were creative types: you’ve probably heard of Mr Morris, who was a textile designer, poet, novelist and social activist. Mr Burne-Jones was an artist and designer who designed stained-glass windows in several other cathedrals and churches in England. The window at Holy Trinity is spectacular, comprising Bible characters, Saints, and Bible ‘events’. But my favourites are the panels representing Matthew 25: Visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, visiting the prisoners. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a good photo because visitors to the church were not allowed into the aisles, so I couldn’t get close to the window which was right at the end of the building. But I did get a nice photo of their Harvest display!

The Actors’ Church. In bustling Covent Garden, home of market stalls, street theatre and outdoor eateries is peaceful St Paul’s churchyard. St Paul’s Covent Garden was designed and built by Inigo Jones, as was the rest of the Covent Garden Piazza, and completed in 1633. It is known as the Actors’ Church because of its long association with the theatrical community. Before you even set foot inside the church, there’s a striking statue of St Paul falling off his horse, having been struck blind by God on his journey to Damascus. The churchyard is beautifully laid out with flowerbeds and trees and is a peaceful place for a lunch break. In pre-Covid times the church runs up to 400 events a year – classical concerts, musical theatre showcases and an outdoor theatre programme in the summer season. Alas, not this year! Inside the church there are dozens of plaques celebrating actors, musicians and other performers, dating back to Marie Lloyd ‘from 1884 the beloved Queen of the British Music Halls.’

The Poet’s Church, St Giles-in-the-Fields at Tottenham Court Road, is so called because of its poetic links: the wedding of Victorian poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning, the baptism of John Milton’s daughter Mary, and the joint baptism of the children of Byron and Shelley. There’s also a monument to Metaphysical poet Andrew Marvell, who is buried in the churchyard. (I did the Met poets for A Level English Lit, never really understood them!) And a pulpit used by John and Charles, the Wesley brothers, said to have been rescued from nearby West Street Chapel. The church has a tragic history: the first victims of the 1665 Great Plague are buried here. By the end of the year there were 3,216 listed plague deaths in the church’s parish, out of fewer than 2,000 households. Every home must have had at least one family member who had died. Devastating. The church has a tradition of giving ‘to the poor of this parish’ and this continues to this day, with several projects for homeless people (including a facility for them to store their possessions – what a good idea!), grants for people experiencing hardship and educational grants. Their mission statement says ‘Worship is inseparable from compassion, and prayer, from involvement in the lives of others.’

Incidentally, I found out about the Actors’ Church and the Poet’s Church from Tom Jones’ (not the singer!) book London: the Weekends start here.

This ornate tower is built in the 1730s Palladian style. The pop-up café is more recent!

September – Blue Plaques: recognising the contribution of Christians in London’s History

Posted on September 30, 2020 by claresimons1

I don’t know if you’ve noticed the English Heritage Blue Plaques on buildings in London (and elsewhere), commemorating someone’s life or work at that place. I’m going to look at four I’ve found, you will have heard of one of these people, the others probably won’t be familiar, but they were all Christians who changed many peoples’ lives for the better, and hopefully changed the opinions of the politicians and authorities of their day. You might notice that all these people had very posh addresses, but in the 17 and 1800s anyone who had any influence usually had family wealth which enabled them to pursue their Christian/socialist ideals. Admirable, considering many wealthy people just spent their lives in idle luxury, not caring about the plight of those around them or elsewhere in the world.

So, in alphabetical order:

Josephine Butler (1828 – 1906) is described on her Blue Plaque in Wimbledon as a ‘Champion of Women’s Rights’ but she was much more than this. She was a devout Christian and at the same time, a passionate feminist, two things that did not go together in Victorian times! Brought up to a sheltered, privileged lifestyle, she turned her back on a life free from cares and responsibilities to bring the hidden underworld of the Victorian sex trade into the light. She was appalled that teenage girls and young women were kidnapped and sold to brothels, and questioned the double standards of the time, that men seeking sex from prostitutes were ‘sowing wild oats’ or ‘gaining experience’, but the young women they paid for were considered unclean, immoral and denigrated to the lowest station in life. The concept of consent didn’t exist; females were bought and sold as chattels. Josephine helped hundreds of girls and women escape prostitution, being instrumental in the passing of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885, which addressed sexual offences against women and minors and fixed the age of consent to 16 years old. Despite her pioneering work for women, Josephine Butler has been criticised by secular feminists for being too ‘Christian’, but for Christian historians she’s too feminist! I think it’s more important to remember her momentous achievements rather than how she’s identified by others. Premier Christianity Magazine comments: ‘she was the most distinguished woman of the 19^th Century, but she has vanished from the pages of history.’ Well, now you know!

Josephine Butler’s posh address off Wimbledon Common

I love this portrait of Josephine, it looks so modern.
Portrait by George Richmond 1809-1896
Wikimedia Commons File: Josephine Butler.jpg

Frederick Denison Maurice (1805 – 1872) His plaque says ‘Christian Philosopher and Educationalist’ and he was prominent in Christian Socialism. He was an Anglican priest, ordained in 1835, and in 1838 he wrote ‘The Kingdom of Christ’, a book about how God’s Kingdom should be here on Earth now, not a Heaven that we go to when we die. A Rob Bell (‘Love Wins’) of his day! Living in London, he said ‘the condition of the poor pressed upon me with consuming force’. Working class men trusted him when they distrusted other clergymen and the church, because of his social action approach. He believed that ‘Christianity rather than secular doctrines were the only sound foundation for social reconstruction.’ From 1848 to 1854, FD was Leader of the Christian Socialists, and he was characterised as their spiritual leader because he was interested in theological aspects rather than just social action. In other words, he wanted to put the Words of Jesus into action. I would have loved to have met him and discussed his work!

FD’s posh address just off Regent’s Park. Nice!

**Very early, but very clear, photograph of FD. Photogragh from 1865, original edited in Photoshop CS2, Author Acabasi. Wikimedia Commons File: Frederick Denison Maurice Portrait c1865.jpg**

William Smith (1756 – 1835) His plaque says ‘Pioneer of Religious Freedom’, Wiki says ‘William Smith (abolitionist.)’ So which was he? The answer is both: he was an English Dissenter; they were Protestant Christians who separated from the Church of England in the 17^th and 18^th Centuries because they disagreed with state intervention in religious matters. William was instrumental in bringing political rights to dissenters, imagine not being able to vote because of your religion, that’s so wrong! He was also a friend of William Wilberforce (more of him later) and a member of the Evangelical group, the Clapham Sect, with Wilberforce. This was a multi-denominational group of church leaders and influential, prominent individuals who saw the slave trade as immoral and were in a position to be able to do something about it. The two Williams joined with other Christians of different denominations to campaign for the abolition of slavery in the Americas. Smith was also at the forefront of campaigns for social justice and prison reform, and he also co-founded the London Society for the Abolition of Slavery in our Colonies. Ending the transatlantic slavery trade was just the beginning, the fight would continue to free the slaves in the Southern States of America and the West Indies. Interesting fact: William Smith was the grandfather of Florence Nightingale. She turned out to be considerably more famous than him!

William shares his posh address in Queen Anne’s Gate, St James Park, with Admiral of the Fleet, Lord Fisher.

Portrait looks very posed, but I suppose that’s how he wanted it!
Portrait by Henry Thompson, English Portrait painter 1773-1845
Wikimedia Commons File: William Smith Thompson.jpg

William Wilberforce (1759 – 1833) entered politics as an Independent candidate in 1784 and following a dramatic Christian conversion in 1785, decided to dedicate the rest of his life to the service of God. He initially thought of leaving politics and taking up church ministry but was counselled by friends John Newton and William Pitt (the future Prime Minister) to remain, arguing that he could have more influence as an MP. They got that right! Wilberforce became involved in the Abolition of the Slave Trade following a meeting with some influential activists who were horrified by the cruel treatment of African slaves by colonial plantation owners in America and the West Indies. They encouraged him to bring the case for abolition to Parliament, but Wilberforce felt he was ‘unequal to the task allotted to him,’ there being massive opposition from slave owners and British businessmen. As we’ve lately become more aware, so much of Britain’s wealth was built on the slave trade, and many people in the 17 and 1800s had a vested interest in continuing the slavery industry. Wilberforce gets all the credit, but it’s important to remember that a diverse group of hundreds of people were involved in the movement: Quakers, Anglicans, Evangelicals, like minded businessmen, titled men and women, and former slaves – and even former slave owners! Wilberforce’s poor health forced him to hand over the leadership of the campaign to the even more radical Thomas Fowell Buxton in 1825. On 26^th July 1833 Wilberforce heard that passing of the Bill for the Abolition of Slavery was guaranteed; he died three days later. The actual Act was passed into law one month later in August 1833. At least he lived long enough to know!

Posh address: Cadogan Place, Chelsea, and Plaque at Holy Trinity, Clapham

Portrait of Wilberforce in the Museum of London Docklands, and Holy Trinity Clapham

August – Cathedrals in the City

Posted on August 31, 2020 by claresimons1

Did you know there are at least six cathedrals in the capital? I say at least, because there were 4 I knew about, then I discovered a fifth, then a sixth! Who knows how many more there are? Of the five I’ve visited, three are Catholic, two are Church of England, three are North of the River, two are South. You probably know at least one of them….

Before I start, some facts about cathedrals. They differ from abbeys and priories in that they provide a place of worship but are not religious communities occupied by monks or nuns. The word Cathedral is from Latin: cathedra, meaning chair and it’s where the Bishop has his seat or throne. Most cathedrals were either formerly churches or built on the site of a church and some have histories of over 1,000 years.

South of River, right next to London Bridge is Southwark Cathedral. There has been a religious building here since AD606: firstly, a convent, then in 1106, a priory, in 1540 a parish church, and finally in 1905 it was consecrated as a cathedral. The current building is in the Gothic style (the 12^th Century bits) and Gothic Revival (the 19^th Century bits). The original church was called St Saviour and then St Mary Overie, which means Over the River. The reason for the third name change is that it’s the Anglican Mother church of the Diocese of Southwark (which covers Sutton, incidentally). The cathedral is used by King’s College for its medical degree ceremonies because the nearby St Thomas teaching hospital used to be an infirmary attached to the building when it was a priory, 900 years ago. What a great tradition and heritage!

I had to get the Shard in the background!

Also South of the River is the Roman Catholic St Georges Cathedral, situated close to the Imperial War Museum, well worth a visit even if you’re not a fan of war. The cathedral is a relative newbie, built in 1848. It was severely damaged by incendiary bombs in World War II and there’s a wonderful picture of a priest walking through the bombed-out shell of the building on Wikipedia (I can’t show it because I’d need permission, but you can look it up yourselves.) The cathedral was redesigned and rebuilt by the brilliantly named Romilly Craze in a 20^th Century Gothic Revival style (of course, what else?) There is a Spanish Mass to serve the large Latin American community and the cathedral is involved with several projects in South America and Africa. The Southbank University holds its graduation ceremonies here. I love the modern smooth stone look of the interior, there’s probably a technical word for this.

I visited just before Christmas last year on a beautiful sunny day

The iconic, instantly recognisable St Paul’s Cathedral is situated at the highest point of the City of London, Ludgate Hill. The present building dates from the late 17^th Century and was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren in the English Baroque style. The earlier 1087 Gothic cathedral was destroyed in the Great Fire, and interestingly, before the Fire, Wren was commissioned to simply repair Old St Paul’s which had been damaged in the English Civil Wars. But he ended up building a whole new one, to a completely new design! The cathedral escaped major damage in World War II while other buildings around it were reduced to rubble. and there is another atmospheric photo of the dome shrouded in smoke but still standing, which you can find on Google Images. A church dedicated to St Paul was built on or near the site in AD604 as the seat of the new Bishops of London. Bishop’s seat, cathedra, remember? A personal connection – when I was eight, my Dad took me and my sister to visit St Paul’s and I climbed a vertical ladder right into the gold cross at the very top. That hasn’t been allowed for years!

From the Millennium Bridge, an optical illusion because the Cathedral doesn’t look like it’s on a hill

This shows the contrast between the ultra-modern Salvation Army Headquarters and the centuries-old cathedral.

I took this photo of the Cathedral at the end of an alley because this might not be too far from how it would have looked in the crowded narrow streets of the 17^th Century (minus the coffee shop and The Whiskey Shop….or perhaps with the coffee shop and The Whiskey Shop!)

Just a stone’s throw from Victoria Station is Westminster Cathedral. Tourists (and Londoners) confuse this Roman Catholic Cathedral with the much older and larger Westminster Abbey. The cathedral was constructed between 1895 and 1903 and was built roughly on the footprint of the former New Bridewell Prison. The large site allows for a spacious Cathedral Piazza and the cathedral is the largest Roman Catholic in England, the seat of the RC Archbishop of Westminster. It was built in the Neo-Byzantine Style and is very striking, inside and out. You can pay £6 to travel by lift to the top of the 87m (284ft) tower, for great views over London but there’s no charge to visit the main building. The interior is striking because the decoration only goes halfway up the walls. Apparently for reasons of economy, the decoration had hardly been started before the cathedral was consecrated in 1910 and a lack of funds meant it was never finished. The outside is striking because of the dramatic frontage and because it’s beautifully stripy!

The impressive frontage with stripy tower

The inscription translates ‘Lord Jesus, King and Redeemer, heal us through your blood’.

The High Altar. You can just make out the black top half of the walls

The Ukrainian Holy Family Catholic Cathedral is located just behind Oxford Street, I wonder how many shoppers realise it’s there! It was built in 1891 by architect Alfred Waterhouse in the Romanesque Revival style and was formerly the Congregational King’s Weigh House Chapel. The Congregationalists sold it to the Ukrainian Catholics in 1967 and it became their headquarters. It might seem too large a building for one immigrant nationality group but there are have been large Ukrainian communities in London and Manchester since the late 19^th Century. The curious thing about the building is that there is absolutely nothing to indicate what the building is used for: no notice board, posters, signs on the doors. Behind the locked iron gates were the familiar Covid-19 H &S notices, in English and Ukrainian, but nothing about services or activities. The other interesting thing is its strong resemblance to Westminster, a similar stripyness! (Spellcheck doesn’t know that word, by the way.)

The only ‘notice’ anywhere on the building!

Glorious stripyness and another impressive tower!

July – Skyscrapers and city churches: 1000 years’ difference!

Posted on July 30, 2020July 30, 2020 by claresimons1

View across the River Thames to the City

These might not be popular with everyone, but I love these buildings! And most of all, I love the stark contrast between their 21^st Century looks and the medieval and classical designs of the city churches. As mentioned in previous posts, I love the way the Walkie Talkie (the squarish one) peeps into my pictures, so, as I still can’t go inside churches yet, I thought I’d try to get some photos of churches with these big boys lurking in the background. It was quite a challenge to get the right shots. Here are four for July, plus a couple of other interesting ones. Information about all the buildings mostly obtained from Wikipedia*

St Margaret Pattens and the Walkie Talkie

Hard to believe that 100 years ago the church would have been the tallest building!

St Margaret Pattens: Founded 1067, rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren 1686 – 1688. The original church was destroyed in the Great Fire, but this one was not damaged in the Blitz. The name is probably derived from pattens, wooden-soled overshoes which people wore in the muddy London streets. But why name a church after shoes? Because it has associations with the Livery Company, the Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers. The church is designated a Grade 1 listed building as are all the City churches, meaning that they can’t be demolished or altered in any way, inside or out.

The Walkie-talkie: 20 Fenchurch Street, completed 2014, Architect: Rafael Vinoly. Architectural Style: Neo-futurism. Floor Count: 35, plus the 3 storey ‘Sky Garden’ which is free to visit, but you have to book in advance. There’s a restaurant and coffee bars and a lovely garden of tropical plants, plus panoramic views of London. The building was originally proposed to be 200m tall (it’s actually 160m) but there were concerns about its visual impact on St Paul’s and the Tower of London. Even after its height reduction there were complaints from heritage groups, resulting in a public inquiry but this ruled in the developers’ favour and in 2007, full planning permission was granted. In 2015, the Walkie Talkie was awarded the Carbuncle Cup for the worst new building in the previous 12 months. What do you think?

No 1 St Andrew Undershaft and The Gherkin

No 2 St Helen Bishopsgate and The Gherkin

St Andrew Undershaft: founded in 1147, survived both the Great Fire and the 1940s Blitz. The current church was built in 1532, I would LOVE to have seen the surrounding streets in those days! Its name comes from the shaft of the maypole which was set up in Spring each year opposite the church for Mayday revels. It was removed and destroyed in 1547 by a mob who saw it as a ‘pagan idol’.

St Helen Bishopsgate: founded in 1210 as a nunnery, St Helen of the Benedictine Order. The church also survived the Fire and the Blitz but in both 1992 and 1993 the church was badly damaged by IRA bombs set off nearby, including the destruction of all the stained-glass windows. Since then the church has been restored and improved: ‘a more flexible, open space, lighter than ever before and yet retaining all its ancient grandeur.’ So it says on their website, I’ll have to go inside when we’re allowed again!

The Gherkin: 30 St Mary Axe was the former site of the Baltic Exchange which was completely destroyed by that IRA bomb in 1992. Completed in 2003, Architect: Foster + Partners, Architectural style: Neo-futurism. Floor count: 41 storeys. Originally the London Millennium Tower was to occupy the site, which would have been the tallest building in Europe, but Heathrow Airport objected to the disruption that such a tall building would have on their flight paths. A word about the street name: St Mary Axe was a church demolished in 1561 and the name derives from the being associated with the Worshipful Company of Skinners who used axes in their trade. The sign of the Axe was said to have been present over the church. Further interesting fact: true Londoners pronounce the street name ‘Simmery Axe.’!

I like this picture of St Andrew Undershaft and the Scalpel. The Gherkin can just be seen reflected in its windows

The Scalpel: 52 Lime Street, is built on a site formerly occupied by Prudential House and Alianz Cornhill House. Completed in 2018, the architect was Kohn Pedersen Fox and the floor count is 38. No architectural style cited but I’m guessing neo-futurism. The name ‘Scalpel’ was coined by the Financial Times due to the building’s ‘distinctive angular design’. This building has a pointed top but also a dark triangular roof lower down, which if seen from the train on a sunny day, looks like a ‘play’ button! Lime Street is also home to the distinctive Lloyds of London building (and also it appears, a local Lloyds branch!)

St Katherine Cree (in the foreground) has the distinction of being photo-bombed by three modern skyscrapers!

St Katherine Cree: Founded in 1280, replaced by this Jacobean building in 1628, the name derives from ‘Crichurch’, an abbreviation of Christchurch. This is a guild church, rather than a parish church, designated by an Act of Parliament, no less, to ‘serve and minister to the non-resident, daytime population of the City’. There are several of these churches and this one is the Guild Church to Finance, Commerce and Industry, not surprising really. In practice, this means that the church is open on weekdays offering on different days, Holy Communion and prayer for healing, Bible study, talks with church wardens, a ‘Not on a Sunday’ service, and Lloyd’s choir practices. At the present time, some off this is being offered online, according to the notice board.

The Cheesegrater: 122 Leadenhall Street, also known as The Leadenhall Building. I walked right underneath this without realising what it was, easily done. Completed in 2013, architect Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. The floor count is 48 and the architectural style is post-modern structural expressionism, looks neo-futurism to me. It is said that the City of London’s Chief Planning Officer, Peter Rees, on seeing a model of the concept ‘told Richard Rogers I could imagine his wife using it to grate parmesan’. Not ordinary cheddar, mind. As the Gherkin and the Shard had already been given nicknames, The Cheesegrater continued the trend. It makes Tower 42 sound boring, doesn’t it?

2 Extras:

Better views of Minster Court and St Olave’s Church

Minster Court: Three buildings onMincing Lane and Mark Lane. Completed in 1992 and designed by architects GMW Partnership, it has been described as post-modern gothic. Personally, I don’t like it, but it certainly has a dramatic, Gotham City look to it. The exterior was used as Cruella De Vil’s haute couture fashion house in Disney’s 1996 live action remake of 101 Dalmatians, and No 3 Minster Court is the offices of the London Underwriting Centre.

St Olave’s Hart Street: This little church has a literary history, being the burial place of diarist Samuel Pepys and his wife, who worshipped here, and named by Dickens as ‘one of my best beloved churchyards.’ The poet John Betjeman described St Olave’s as ‘a country church in the world of Seething Lane’ (a nearby street.) The present building is 1450 and described as ‘Perpendicular Gothic’, although it doesn’t seem to bear any resemblance to post-modern gothic!

St Mary-at-Hill: Founded in 1336, but there is evidence of a church on the site in 1177, according to ancient documents. The church was severely damaged in the Great Fire, not surprising as the starting point of the Fire was Pudding Lane, two streets away. It was skilfully rebuilt by Christopher Wren who managed to retain the medieval walls. The church serves the Parish of Billingsgate and has strong links with the famous Fish Market, formally situated at Billingsgate Quay down the hill at the waterside. A Fish Harvest Festival is still held annually at the church!

The Shard: Also known as The Shard of Glass and formerly, London Bridge Tower. Situated on the Southbank, it is the tallest building in the UK at 95 floors and was completed in 2012. The architect was Renzo Piano and the style is neo-futurism. The story goes that entrepreneur Irvine Sellar wanted to redevelop the Southwark area and met the Italian architect for lunch in Berlin, to discuss plans for a new building. Piano expressed contempt for conventional tall buildings and sketched a spire-like sculpture emerging from the Thames on the back of a menu. I wonder how many other buildings started as a doodle on a random piece of paper? Probably most of them!

*A Final Word: I’ve loved doing this month’s blog; the challenge of getting the right photos, walking the lately almost deserted streets of the City and marvelling at the contrast of ancient stone and modern glass and steel. Today I donated £10 to Wikipedia, I couldn’t do this without the vast knowledge, seemingly on absolutely every subject, on their site. It’s been fascinating, hope you enjoyed reading it too.

June – Abbeys and Priories in the English Countryside

Posted on June 29, 2020 by claresimons1

Yet again, the lockdown has caused me to be creative about the boundaries of our capital. This month I’m looking at four of the abbeys and priories around Surrey, and one beyond. It’s amazing to think that these huge structures once dominated the English landscape, before their demolition in the 1530s and 40s, as part of the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry III. This happened when Henry created the new Church of England (of which he was head, of course) and confiscated land, property and money belonging to the Catholic monastic orders, of which there were hundreds. In the 1100s, 1 in 50 men and women took holy orders and lived a simple, secluded life in one of these establishments, so when they were seized by Henry and demolished, the upheaval must have impacted many people. Although the abbeys were extraordinarily rich establishments, owning vast amounts of land and valuables, their lowly inhabitants wouldn’t have benefited from this wealth. However, these buildings were safe havens for the poor, sick, destitute and persecuted; an early version of the Welfare State perhaps?

The abbeys and priories that remain fall into 3 categories (in my opinion): Completely intact – smaller priories that were not demolished but were saved and converted to parish churches, mansion houses or places of learning. Partially intact – usually with the valuable lead roof removed, but some of the walls standing, including my favourite, Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire (pictured). Yes, I do realise that North Yorkshire is stretching it a bit for London!

Unusually for N Yorkshire, the temperature last July when this was taken was 35 degrees!

And thirdly, there are several, like Merton Priory below, which are basically just a footprint!

Merton Priory

When plans were made to build the Savacentre (now Sainsburys) in Merton, the extensive foundations of Merton Priory were discovered. The rooms of the Chapter House are now permanently preserved in the pedestrian tunnel under Merantun Way in a small museum. In normal times you can view the protected foundations, but because of Coronavirus, it’s closed to the public at the moment. Founded in 1117, Merton Priory was one of the greatest monastic houses of the Middle Ages. It was demolished in 1538 and its materials were taken away to build Nonsuch Palace in Cheam (ironically, also demolished.) The foundations became buried and forgotten, until 1986, when they were uncovered. I like the fact that the Priory was founded in 1117, demolished in 1538, 421 years later, then rediscovered in 1986, 448 years after that. I think there’s some sort of poetic justice there.

This is a photograph of some of what you can see in the Museum

If you know this area, you can see from the footprint how big the whole complex would have been. Amazing, and somehow sad to think that the rest of it is buried under a Sainsburys superstore, a KFC, a Pizza Hut and a carpark; and Merton Abbey Mills by the Wandle.

I think this is my favourite picture, a CGI of the Abbey in situ, with pylon behind. Imagine seeing that on your way to the shops!

Waverley Abbey

This abbey is a property of English Heritage and the website says that this is the first abbey of the Cistercian monks (from France) to be built in Britain. It was founded in 1128 and rebuilt in the 13^th Century, following flood damage from the nearby River Wey. This was another large complex of buildings and included fishponds and farmlands; the monks were self-sufficient and also sold their produce. Following dissolution in 1536, it was granted to Sir William Fitzherbert, the treasurer of the King’s household. It was dismantled and the stone used for local building works including nearby Waverley House, which is now a Christian conference centre and head office of CWR.

This is the vaulted refectory (dining hall) which has an atmospheric, gothic feel. It’s been used as a setting for several films: Elizabeth: The Golden Age; Hot Fuzz; Into the Woods; The Huntsman: Winter’s Tale, and loads more, plus some TV productions.

Dormitory………………………………………and Dining Hall

Newark Priory

This one, an Augustine Priory, has a beautiful setting, again in the middle of floodplain of another part of the River Wey, which still floods regularly today. You might question why they were built in such a vulnerable place, but they needed to be near a supply of flowing water, and there is evidence that the monks undertook water management and altered the river channels for fishing. Unfortunately, it’s situated on private land, so it can only be seen as glimpses through the trees from the Wey path. It was established in 1189 and disestablished in 1538. The Prior was pensioned off, a good outcome for him for often they were ‘let go’ as we might say today, with nothing. The valuables were sent to the Tower of London and the building fell into ruin with some of the stone being taken away to repair local roads. It’s now listed as a Grade 1 Ancient Monument, which means it can’t be altered in any way, ever. A dawn service is held in the ruins on Easter Sunday at 6am, run by local churches.

This is about as close as you can get, but the walk alongside the peaceful River Wey makes it a worthwhile visit

Lesnes Abbey

A bit further East and closer to London, in the London Borough of Bexley, lie the ruins of Lesnes Abbey. Founded in 1178 by Richard de Luci, the Lord Chief Justiciar, which was similar to a modern Prime Minister. It is said he established it as a penance for the murder of Thomas Becket, in which he was involved. This was an Augustine Abbey and the duties of the monks were to ‘baptise, preach, give penance and bury the dead.’ It’s situated in the ancient Lesnes Abbey Woods and its walls have been partially restored so the visitor gets a good idea of its size and purpose. Although it was clearly a very large complex of buildings, it never became a large community and was one of the first to be disestablished in 1534. As with the others, the stone was used for local buildings. It’s now a free to visit public park and is on the wonderful South East London Green Chain Walk.

Loving these arches, they’re not original though!

That’s the end of the pictures, but I want to say a couple of other things about the abbeys/priories and their inhabitants. It’s tempting to think that people were much more ‘Christian’ 900 years ago; they were certainly more ‘religious’. You have to remember firstly, that the church had a lot of power and wealth, and therefore control over others; and secondly that people were very superstitious in their beliefs. Young men and women were encouraged to enter holy orders, believing that their reward for a life of poverty, chastity and obedience would be in the next world, not this one. That said, most monks and nuns lived productive, rewarding lives: caring for the sick and offering hospitality; growing produce and rearing livestock for themselves and to sell; managing their own lands and financial affairs. Also, abbeys provided a safe haven; monks were not expected to fight in battle (these were violent times!) And lastly, although they ate a meagre, spartan diet, they would not starve if famine came to the area, as many farmers and labourers would. At a time when all life was precarious, except for the very rich, the monastic life might have seemed the best option!

May – the Things People Say

Posted on May 30, 2020 by claresimons1

I’m still having to be creative about posts due to the lockdown; hope you like this selection of words I’ve seen on notices, posters and plaques around the capital (visited before the lockdown, I hasten to say) and more locally, revealing more of God’s presence on our streets (see also January).

Prayer for Workmen at Lambeth Palace

No apologies for repeating this picture from January. I love that the Archbishop of Canterbury specifically said a blessing over all the workers on the building site at Lambeth Palace, how many other building sites get a blessing, do you think?

Sign outside St Botolph Aldersgate

This sign emphasises that, though the church building is wonderfully old, with so much history and beauty, the most important thing is that Jesus is present now and has been for 1,000 years. It makes me think of everyone who has worshipped here down the ages. I wasn’t able to go inside but it’s on my list of places to visit when lockdown ends. (It’s a very long list!)

John Wesley Conversion Plaque

Amazingly, this huge bronze plaque is situated right outside the Museum of London, you can’t miss it! I talked about this in my Museums in March post; John Wesley and his brother Charles were active in the church: doing good works among the poor and leading Bible studies. But I’m guessing they did not realise that God’s love could be personally assured for each individual. I love the way it says ‘In the Evening I went very unwillingly to a Society……’ (presumably a Bible study group of some sort!) While he was there, John ‘felt my heart strangely warmed’ – the Holy Spirit was convicting him of his sin, but at the same time, assuring him that Jesus had forgiven him and saved him ‘from the Law of Sin and Death.’ Not often you see a testimony outside a museum, I love it!

Sign at St Mary-le-Bow, EC2

Inclusive Church believes that the suffering caused by discrimination is the same, whatever its reason. ‘IC’s unique interest and expertise is in recognising the experience of being “outside” because of the process of discrimination……(it) confronts the generic problem of discrimination within the church. It does this by promoting an inclusive view of the scriptures and appealing to the values of social justice.’ From www.inclusive-church.org.uk Brilliant stuff!

Chaldon Church, near Old Coulsdon

One of the benefits of lockdown is exploring and visiting places nearer to home. This gorgeous country church is reached by crossing Happy Valley and some crop fields, and then along a country lane. And still has a Croydon postcode! The Vicar has had the brilliant idea of providing wood discs and pens for people to decorate or write a message to hang on the yew tree. These are a few of my favourites.