CHURCH OF ALL-HALLOWS,

BREAD STREET.

1

THIS church, which is one of several in the city of London dedicated to All Saints, is on the east side of Bread Street, Cheapside, at the corner of Watling Street. The advowson belonged to the Prior and Canons of Christ Church Canterbury, until the year 1365, when, in return for many favours conferred upon them by their Archbishop, Simon Islip, they assigned the right of presentation to him and to his successors. Very little is known of the building which occupied the site of the present church previous to the great fire of 1666. It is described by Stow, merely as "the proper church of All-Hallows in Bread Street: " know however, from certain occurrences, that it possessed a tower and spire; and from Strype's expression, who says that after the fire it was "built up again without any pillars," it may be inferred that originally it was constructed with them; or in other words, that it was probably divided into ailes.

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On the south side of the chancel was a small chapel called the Salters', which appears to have been founded by

See "London Churches," All-Hallows, Barking, p. 2.

Thomas Beaumont (of the Salters' company) who served the office of Sheriff in 1442, and died in 1457.1 So early as 1349, Edward III, empowered William de Ifford to convey to the rector, and his successors, a piece of ground contiguous to the chancel for the site of a chapel. The present vestry-room probably occupies the site of the Salters' chapel.

In the year 1531 the church was profaned by a quarrel which occurred between two priests, one of whom wounded the other. In consequence of this, service was suspended for a month, and the priests, being enjoined to do penance, went at the head of a procession bare footed, bare headed, and bare legged, with beads and books in their hands, from St. Paul's Cathedral, through Cheapside and Cornhill. Twenty-eight years after this event, the spire was struck by lightning, and although not greatly damaged, was taken down shortly afterwards to save the expense of repairing it.

The old church was destroyed in the great fire of London in 1666, and the parishioners remained without a regular place of worship for nearly twenty years. In 1680, however, the vestry having obtained £600. from the fund raised by a tax on coal, for building new churches, borrowed a farther sum; and under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren, erected the present edifice, which cost £3348. 7s. 2d.

The church of the neighbouring parish of St. John the Evangelist having been also burned in the same fire, it was resolved to annex that parish to All-Hallows, Bread

1 In this chapel was a very fair window with the figure of Beaumont very curiously wrought upon it."-Stow's "Survey," Strype's Edition, B. III. p. 199.

Street, which was done by act of Parliament two years after the erection of the new church.

As an architectural design, the edifice now referred to does not claim any lengthened notice. It is a parallelogram about 72 feet long and 35 feet broad,' entirely devoid of ornament. It is lighted from windows at the sides, and has a plain ceiling, slightly coved or arched. At the west

1 "New View of London." Vol. I. p. 103. The tower is 86 feet high.

end is a gallery, with an organ which was erected by subscription in 1717, supported in the centre by one Corinthian column, and at the east end in a shallow recess is a gilded altar-piece surmounted by the Royal Arms.1 A plain marble font ornamented with leaves very delicately sculptured, stands beneath the organ. The pulpit and sounding-board of oak are attached to the north wall, and in a recess on the opposite side of the building is a small gallery which projects into the church, somewhat like a balcony, or an orchestra in an assembly room, and has a singular appearance. Beneath this is the entrance to the vestry-room, which is built at the side of the church and probably occupies, as we have said, the site of the Salters' Chapel. In this room is a monumental tablet, inscribed, "In memory of the Rev. Mr. Lawrence Saunders, M. A. Rector of Allhallows', Bread Street. Who, for sermons here preached in defence of the doctrines of the Reformation of the Church of England from the corruptions of the Church of Rome, suffered martyrdom in ye third of Queen Mary, being burned at Coventry, February yo 8th, 1555." 2

In a long list of donations to the church, beginning in 1567, is one from Mr. Ellyot a merchant, who died 1629, for a sermon to be preached every Thursday in the after

1 The carvings on the altar-piece are supposed by Malcolm (" Londinium Redivivum, Vol. II.) to be the work of G. Gibbons.

2 Lawrence Saunders was educated at Eton school, and went thence to Cambridge. After remaining there some time he went to London, and was articled to a merchant; but, disliking the path he had chosen, he afterwards returned to Cambridge, and studied for the Church. In the early part of Queen Mary's dreadful reign he preached against Popery at Northampton, to the great annoyance of the Queen's party, and on his appointment to the Rectory of Allhallows, Bread Street, continued to do so until he was arrested and thrown into prison, where he remained a year and a quarter before his execution. In "Fox's Book of Martyrs," new edit. all the circumstances of his arrest are recorded.

noon. This was done for many years, but has been discontinued lately for want of a congregation.1

The only monument in the church is one to the memory of Mr. Humphrey Levins, dated 1682.

The exterior of the building is represented by the engraving at the commencement of this essay; and, as may be seen, has little, if any, architectural beauty. The upper story of the tower should perhaps be mentioned as an exception, being light and well designed. The key-stones of the openings on this story, too, are admirably sculptured, as are the festoons of flowers above the belfry, but all this is sadly marred by the anomalous introduction of four small obelisks at the angles, adorned on each face with leaf-like ornaments which cause them closely to resemble gothic pinnacles and crockets, and to destroy entirely that consistency in style which should ever be apparent in a building.

At the time Wren designed this church he was intensely occupied with many buildings of great importance, so much so indeed, that as is evident, he did not devote so much attention to the design and distribution of this and other of his churches as was necessary. Plans for the general rebuilding of London; St. Paul's Cathedral; several Halls; and many parish churches, all required his attention at the same moment; and in consequence of this we occasionally find defects in his compositions, so apparent, that they would have been avoided by a man possessed of a tithe of Wren's power and skill, without his numerous engagements.

Plain and unimportant as this church is thus seen to be in an architectural point of view; and unconnected as it

1 The present Rector is the Rev. Gerrard Thomas Andrews, A. M. and the Rev. Robert Watts is the afternoon lecturer.