Christ Church Greyfriars

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Christ Church Greyfriars seen from the southeast

Christ Church Greyfriars was the Church of the Franciscans (Gray Friars) in London; it is also called Christ Church Newgate Street because it is on Newgate Street opposite St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London . It was built as a monastery church in the 13th century and became a parish church after the monasteries were dissolved; Destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, the church was rebuilt according to plans by Sir Christopher Wren . Except for the tower, it fell victim to bombs in World War II . The ruins of the church are now a public park.

history

The Gothic Church

Christ Church Greyfriars was originally the church of a London Franciscan convent. The first structure was erected in the 13th century but was soon replaced by a new church, construction of which began in 1306 and which was consecrated in 1326. This new church was the second largest in medieval London, 91 meters long and 27 meters wide; eleven altars were installed in its interior. It was built partly at the expense of Margaret of France , the second wife of King Edward I. She was buried in the church, as was Isabella of France , Edward II's widow ; the heart of Eleanor of Provence , wife of Henry III. was also buried here. Richard Whittington , Lord Mayor of London († 1423), founded a library associated with the Church.

The monastery was closed in 1538 when the English monasteries were dissolved . The buildings and facilities suffered great damage afterwards - graves were stolen so that the marble could be sold and monuments were defaced. In 1546 Henry VIII gave the monastery and church, as well as St Nicholas Shambles and St Audoen within Newgate, to the city. A new parish was formed, including the parishes of St Nicholas and St Audoen, and part of St Sepulcher. The monastery buildings later housed those of Edward VI. founded Christ's Hospital School, making the church the primary place of worship for students.

Christopher Wrens Church

Christ Church in the 1845 edition of the Illustrated London News .

The medieval church was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. The reconstruction was entrusted to Sir Christopher Wren, who steered a decade-long building program with which around 50 parish churches in the fire zone, including the cathedral, were to be restored. There seems to have been some discussion about the shape of the new Christ Church, as a surviving design shows a much larger church than was actually realized. The parish was merged with that of St Leonard, Foster Lane , which was not rebuilt.

The parishioners raised £ 1,000 to begin work on the chosen design. To save time and money, the foundations of the Gothic church were partially reused. The new church, including the tower (but excluding the steeple), was completed in 1687 at a cost of £ 11,778. At 35 meters long and 25 meters wide, it was smaller than the previous church, so that it only occupied the eastern part of the old location and the western part could be rededicated as a cemetery. The tower on the west side had a simple round arch as an entrance, above it windows with neoclassical gables. Large pineapple sculptures adorned the four corners of the nave as a sign of welcome. The east and west halls were the only ones of Wren's churches to have buttresses. The 49 meter high steeple was completed in 1704 - an additional cost of £ 1963.

Over time, the church has been significantly rebuilt. In 1760 a sacristy was added to the south side of the facade and parts of the south wall. Rooms were also built into the north and south aisles, the original white window glass of the central triple window was replaced by lead glass, which shows Jesus with children. On the organ built by Renatus Harris in 1690 , Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy played, among other things, the fugue in A minor by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1837 . Even Samuel Wesley occurred here. Of the Christ's Hospital students, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Charles Lamb served as acolytes.

Destruction and Post War

Christ Church was destroyed on December 29, 1940 by a German incendiary bomb ( The Blitz ), which penetrated the roof and penetrated the main nave. The roof and vault collapsed, the walls and tower remained standing. When the Church of England parishes were reorganized in London, it was decided not to rebuild Christ Church. The ruin was declared a monument on January 4, 1950. The parish was merged with St Sepulcher without Newgate .

The steeple, which survived the war, was dismantled in 1960 and rebuilt using modern construction techniques. The east wall was demolished in 1962 to make way for an extension to King Edward Street . In 1981, a brick building in the neo-Georgian style and in imitation of the sacristy from the 18th century was built on the southwest corner of the ruin. In 1989 the former nave was turned into a public park. The tower became a private building and now serves as a commercial space. In 2002, Merrill Lynch opened its regional headquarters to the north and west of the site. In connection with this construction, Christ Church was archaeologically examined, King George Street was restored to its old course, and the church was restored to its former floor area. The cemetery was tended, the metal fence restored. In 2006 the tower was inaugurated as a twelve-story private residence.

Burials

literature

  • Derek Bell, Malcolm Reynes, Christchurch Newgate Street: Its History and Architecture Bene Factum Publishing Ltd. for Christchurch Group of Companies 1997.
  • Simon Bradley, Nikolaus Pevsner, London: The City Churches. New Haven, Yale, 1998. ISBN 0-300-09655-0
  • G. Cobb, The Old Churches of London : London, Batsford, 1942
  • George Godwin, John Britton, The Churches of London: a history and description of the ecclesiastical edifices of the Metropolis: With biographical anecdotes of eminent persons, notices of remarkable monuments ...; Illustrated by numerous plates2, volumes (1838/1839, reprinted 2008)
  • Paul Jeffery, The City Churches of Sir Christopher Wren. The Hambledon Press 1996. ISBN 1-85285-142-2

Web links

Commons : Christ Church Greyfriars  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Godwin / Britton
  2. ^ Bradley / Pevsner, London: The City Churches, p. 53.
  3. ^ A b "The Visitors Guide to the City of London Churches" Tucker, T: London, Friends of the City Churches, 2006 ISBN 0-9553945-0-3
  4. ↑ a b Jeffery, p. 191.
  5. ↑ Bell and Reynes, p. 33.
  6. ↑ Bradley / Pevsner, p. 54.

Coordinates: 51 ° 30 '56.9 "  N , 0 ° 5' 56.9"  W.