christ church greyfriars

Christ Church Greyfriars, also known as Christ Church Newgate, was an Anglican church located on Newgate Street, opposite St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. The church was destroyed in the Second World War and the ruins are now a public garden. The first church was the built between 1306 and 1327 as the conventual church of the Franciscan monastery which stood on the site. The Franciscans were known as the Greyfriars due to the grey habits they wore. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, in 1538 King Henry VIII gifted the church to the City. The neighbouring monastery buildings were later used by Christ's Hospital. The church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was rebuilt as a smaller building under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren. The unused space became the churchyard. The church was severely damaged in the Blitz of December 1940, during the Second World War. In the re-organisation of the Anglican Church in London, in 1949, it was decided not to rebuild Christ Church. Its parish was merged with that of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate. The steeple, damaged during the Blitz, was repaired in 1960. Along with the repaired vestry building, it now houses commercial offices. Of the rest of the church only the north and south walls remain; the east wall was demolished during road widening works. The churchyard and the ruins of the church are now public gardens. A finely carved wooden font cover was the only fitting saved from the bombing of 1940, when an unknown postman ran into the burning church to retrieve it. The font cover is now housed in the porch of St Sepulchre's.

Christ Church Greyfriars

See also