The history of the German Lutheran Church in London began in earnest with many craftsmen from Hamburg coming here after the Great Fire of 1666 to help in the rebuilding. They were granted the site of the burned-out parish church of Holy Trinity the Less. puts the Lutheran Church on the south-east corner of the junction of Little Trinity Lane and what is now Great Trinity Lane (see image).
Here a Lutheran church was built and opened in 1673. It served various nationalities in a variety of languages. Over the years other Lutheran churches were built and congregations formed, including two German chapels in the Savoy Palace, St Marys and (what would become) St Pauls; a Danish one in the Palace of St James, the Lutheran Court Chapel; and the Swedish Lutheran church in Swedenborg Square. Holy Trinity became known as the Hamburg Lutheran church, using only the German language.
Note: the St Pauls church was for the German Evangelical Reformed Church - see our St Pauls page for their story.
The 1714 arrival of Lutheran King George I (raised in Hanover) brought another influx of German Lutherans to London. And the fourth German Lutheran church was founded in 1763, St George's in Alie Street, Aldgate. A Lutheran group briefly occupied Hanbury Hall sometime between 1787 and about 1820.
The church on the City site of Holy Trinity survived until 1871 when it was closed and demolished as part of the development of the Mansion House station and the new Metropolitan line. The last service took place on 15 January 1871 and the congregation moved to the newly-built Dalston church.
In 1875-7 the building of the Embankment caused St Mary's to move to Cleveland Street. A German Lutheran church was built in Sydenham in 1876. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was pastor at Sydenham and at St Pauls. In 1902 the St James congregation moved to Montpelier Place and was renamed Christ Church.
See the Dalston church for information about their self-declared Nazi pastor.
Sources: , .
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