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St Bride's Church
St Bride's Church, London - Diliff.jpg
Interior of the church, as viewed from the nave looking east towards the altar.
Location London, EC4Y 8AU
Country England
Denomination Church of England
Architecture
Heritage designation Grade I listed building
Architect(s) Sir Christopher Wren
Style Baroque
Administration
Diocese London

St Bride's Church is a famous Church of England church in Fleet Street in the City of London. It's thought to be named after Saint Bridget from Ireland, possibly as early as the 6th century. The church you see today was designed by the famous architect Sir Christopher Wren in 1672.

Sadly, much of Wren's church was badly damaged by fire during the London Blitz in 1940. But don't worry, it was carefully rebuilt in the 1950s to look just like the original. Because it's on Fleet Street, St Bride's has a long history with journalists and newspapers. Its tall steeple, which is 226 feet (69 meters) high, is a well-known part of London's skyline. It's the second tallest of all Wren's church spires, only shorter than St Paul's.

Church History

Ancient Beginnings

Copperplate map St Brides
The medieval church from the south, as it appears on the "Copperplate" map of London, surveyed between 1553 and 1559

St Bride's might be one of London's oldest churches. People may have worshipped here since the 7th century. Its name likely comes from Bridget of Ireland, who is a patron saint of Ireland. Some believe Irish monks, who were missionaries, founded the first church around the 6th century. This makes it possibly the only church in eastern Britain founded by Irish Celts.

The current St Bride's is at least the seventh church built on this spot. The first church may have looked similar to an old church in Kildare, Ireland. A Norman church was built here in the 11th century. It was important for both religion and government. In 1210, King John even held a parliament meeting there. A larger church replaced it in the 15th century.

St Bride's became linked to the newspaper world in 1500. That's when Wynkyn de Worde set up his printing press right next door. For a long time, until 1695, London was the only city in England where printing was allowed by law.

The Roanoke Colony Connection

In the late 1580s, a woman named Eleanor White got married at St Bride's. Her father was the artist and explorer John White. Eleanor and her husband, Ananias Dare, had a daughter named Virginia Dare. Virginia was the very first English child born in North America! She was born on Roanoke Island on August 18, 1587.

A modern statue of Virginia Dare stands near the church's old font. This font is one of the few things that survived from the original church.

The Great Fire and Rebuilding

ONL (1887) 1.060 - St Bride's Church, Fleet Street, after the Fire, 1824
St Bride's Church, 1824
Bride fleet14
St Bride's Church, 19th-century engraving
St Bride, Fleet Street, London EC4 - geograph.org.uk - 1213673
St Bride's Church, Fleet Street
City parish churches, St. Bride Fleet Street - geograph.org.uk - 864025
St Bride's Church, 2008
St Bride's Avenue EC4 and St Bride's Church - geograph.org.uk - 1274106
St Bride's Church, St Bride's Avenue
St Brides from Mayday Rooms-88 Fleet Street 1962
St Bride's Church, Mayday Rooms

A big disaster happened in the mid-1600s. In 1665, the Great Plague of London caused many deaths. Then, in 1666, the church was completely destroyed during the Great Fire of London. This fire burned down a huge part of the city.

After the fire, the church was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren. It was one of his biggest and most expensive projects, taking seven years to finish. St Bride's reopened on December 19, 1675. The famous spire was added later, between 1701 and 1703. It was originally 234 feet tall. However, lightning struck it in 1764, making it eight feet shorter.

The idea for the wedding cake is said to have started in 1703. A baker's apprentice named Thomas Rich fell in love and wanted to make a special cake. He was inspired by the design of St Bride's Church for his extravagant cake.

Second World War Damage

On December 29, 1940, during the Blitz in World War II, fire-bombs hit the church. The Luftwaffe (German air force) dropped these bombs. That night, 1,500 fires started in London, causing huge damage. People called it the Second Great Fire of London. St Paul's Cathedral was saved only because brave firefighters and volunteers worked hard to stop the flames.

After the war, newspaper owners and journalists helped pay to rebuild St Bride's. The bombing had one unexpected good result. It allowed archaeologists to dig and find the church's original 6th-century Saxon foundations. Today, you can visit the crypt, which is called the Museum of Fleet Street. It has old items like Roman coins and medieval stained glass.

St Bride's Today

St-brides-church-london
Exterior of St Bride's Church from Fleet Street, with spire

St Bride's Church was named a Grade I listed building on January 4, 1950. This means it's a very important historical building.

In 2007, the church started an appeal to raise money to preserve its unique history. In November 2007, Queen Elizabeth II attended a special service. This service celebrated 50 years since the church was restored after World War II. In 2012, another appeal was launched to fix the crumbling stonework of the church's famous spire.

In March 2016, the wedding of Jerry Hall and Rupert Murdoch took place at St Bride's.

Music at St Bride's

The Choir

The church choir has 12 adult singers. They sing at two services every Sunday throughout the year. They also perform for many special services. The Director of Music is Robert Jones, and the Assistant Director of Music is Matthew Morley.

The Organ

The organ at St Bride's was built by the John Compton Organ Company. It's considered one of their best works. The organ was ready for the church's reopening in November 1957. It has recently been fully checked and cleaned. The organ has four keyboards, 98 different sounds (called "speaking stops"), and almost 4,000 pipes!

Organists

Many talented musicians have been organists at St Bride's over the years. Here are a few:

  • Henry Lightindollar (1696–1702)
  • John Weldon (1702–1736)
  • Samuel Howard (1736–1782)
  • Gordon Reynolds (1952–1965)
  • Robert Harre-Jones (from 1988)

The Bells

St Bride's Church is famous for its bells. It was the first place where a "full peal" was rung on twelve bells. Ten bells were made for the church in 1710. Two more were added in 1719, making it twelve.

Sadly, all the bells were destroyed during the Blitz in 1940. After the war, one new bell was placed in the tower. It weighs about 760 kilograms and is in the key of F♯. This bell was installed so that more bells could be added in the future to make a full set of twelve again.

Famous People Connected to St Bride's

Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys, baptised at St Bride's

Many famous people have been connected to St Bride's. These include writers like John Milton and John Dryden. The famous diarist Samuel Pepys was also baptized in the church. Pepys even buried his brother Tom there in 1664. The church vaults were so full that Pepys had to pay the gravedigger extra to make space! More recently, Sir Clement Freud's funeral was held at the church in 2009.

Notable Burials in the Churchyard

Some important people are buried in the churchyard of St Bride's:

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Iglesia de Santa Bride para niños

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