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Building    From 1225  To /12/1940

Christchurch - Greyfriars Church

Categories: Religion

Christchurch - Greyfriars Church

An information board at the site reads: "Christchurch Greyfriars churchyard covers the site of the church of the Franciscan monastery which stood here from about 1228. The original church was demolished in 1306 and a new one built in 1325. This stood until it was demolished by the Great Fire of London in 1666. the church was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren between 1687 and 1707 on the site of the quire of the old building. the churchyard became an open space in 1872, and the church remained until it was gutted by bombs in December 1940."

says: " This lovely garden is located on the site of the Franciscan Church of Greyfriars, which was established in 1225. Numerous well-known people, including four queens, were buried in the old church, which was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. A new church, designed by Wren, was completed in 1704. In 1940, incendiary bombs destroyed the body of the Wren church, and only the west tower now stands. The 1989 rose garden reflects the floor plan of the original church with box-edged beds representing the original position of the pews. An avenue of trees marks the former nave."

Greyfriars Church was not destroyed in the Reformation, only closed. It was reopened in 1547 as Christ Church and continued in use as a parish church until the Great Fire in 1666.

 is a campaign to partially rebuild this church and transform it into a memorial of national significance to commemorate the heroism and sacrifice of the citizens of London during the Second World War.

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Christchurch - Greyfriars Church

Commemorated ati

Charles Lamb - Giltspur Street

Ornamental Passions have a good post on this memorial, saying that Lamb is sh...

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Christchurch - Greyfriars Church

Christchurch - Greyfriars This Wren church was destroyed by fire-bombs in De...

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Christchurch Greyfriars Church

This plaque is on the low wall you can see close to the road.

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Other Subjects

St Peter’s Cornhill

St Peter’s Cornhill

In the south-east corner of Cornhill and Gracechurch Street.  A medieval church on the highest point of the City of London.  The legend about its origin given on the Cornhill Insurance door is from...

Building, Religion

1 memorial
St Katharine by the Tower / Royal Foundation of St Katharine

St Katharine by the Tower / Royal Foundation of St Katharine

Full name: Royal Hospital and Collegiate Church of St. Katharine by the Tower. This was a medieval church and hospital founded by Queen Matilda of Boulogne, wife of King Stephen. From 1273 onwards...

Building, Religion

1 memorial
Stratford Martyrs

Stratford Martyrs

The church website has done a very thorough job on the history not just of the memorial but the church and the area so we quote them here on the background to the martyrs: "In 1553 Queen Mary Tudor...

Group, Execution, Religion

1 memorial
Canon Richard Watson Dixon

Canon Richard Watson Dixon

Born Islington. Ecclesiastical historian and poet. At Pembroke College, Oxford, he became one of the ‘Birmingham Group’ along with William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. He was considered for Poe...

Person, History, Poetry, Religion

1 memorial
Rev. Alfred Rowland

Rev. Alfred Rowland

Chairman of the London Congregational Union, and pastor of Park Chapel, Crouch End in 1892.

Person, Religion

1 memorial