St Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St. Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street
Location	Old Fish Street and Old Change, London
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Architecture
Architect(s)	Christopher Wren
Style	Baroque
Demolished	1893

St. Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street was a historic church in London, England. It stood at the corner of Old Fish Street and Old Change. This area is now covered by buildings built after World War II. The church was first mentioned in the 1100s. It was sadly destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. After the fire, it was rebuilt by the famous architect Sir Christopher Wren and his team. In 1886, a fire in a nearby building damaged the church's roof. It was never fixed and was eventually taken down in 1893.

A Look Back: History of the Church

St. Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street was special. It was the only church in London named "St. Mary" that was dedicated to Mary Magdalene. Other churches were usually named after the Virgin Mary. Old Fish Street used to lead from the River Thames towards St Paul's Cathedral. It was a busy place with a fish market for hundreds of years. In 1872, this street became part of Knightrider Street.

The church was first mentioned in a record from 1181. It was called "St Mary Magdalen." Over time, it had other names like "St. Marie Magdal in Piscaria apud sanctum Paulum," which means "St. Marie Magdalen parish at the Fishmarket."

Before the Great Fire, there were memorials inside the church. One was a brass plaque from 1586. It honored a merchant and kind person named Thomas Berrie. This plaque survived the Great Fire! You can still see it today in St Martin, Ludgate. Part of the plaque says:

How smale soever the gift shall be/Thanke God for him who gave it thee/xii penie loves to xii poore foulkes/

Geve everie saboth day for aye

This means that every Sunday, twelve poor people received twelve small loaves of bread. St Martin, Ludgate also has the old bread shelves from St. Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street.

In 1653, during a time when Anglican church services were not allowed, a man named John Evelyn wrote in his Diary that he and his family went to St. Mary Magdalen's for a special service.

The church was completely destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. After the fire, its parish (the area it served) was joined with that of St Gregory by St Paul's. St. Gregory's was not rebuilt. Work on the new St. Mary Magdalen church began in 1683. They built new foundations for the north wall and tower. Some of the old walls were used too. The church was finished in 1687. It cost about £4315 to build, which was a lot of money back then!

From 1824 to 1842, the church's leader was Reverend Richard Harris Barham. He was a writer famous for his book The Ingoldsby Legends. He was buried at the church in 1845.

On December 2, 1886, a fire started in a warehouse nearby. The fire spread to the church's roof and caused a lot of damage. Even though the church had insurance and could have been fixed, it was a time when many undamaged churches in London were being taken down. This was happening because of a law called the Union of Benefices Act 1860. So, instead of repairing St. Mary Magdalen's, they decided to demolish it. Its parish was then joined with St Martin, Ludgate, which received some of the church's old furniture.

The land where St. Mary Magdalen's once stood was built over after World War II. It is now part of Old Change Square. The church's parish still has a special role called a clerkship. This role is now connected to St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe.

The church is also mentioned in a poem by John Betjeman. In the poem, the church's warden describes Wren's design as "a box with a fanciful plaster ceiling."

Church Design and Features

The church building was mostly rectangular. The north wall was a bit narrower towards the east. The two sides facing the streets – Old Fish Street to the east and Old Change to the south – were made of Portland stone. The parts underneath were made of stone rubble.

The church had four large, round-topped windows on the south side. There were three similar windows on the east side. Each window had pilasters (flat columns) on either side, topped with volutes (spiral shapes). You entered the church through a door under the western window on the south side. The roof had a decorative balustrade (a row of small pillars).

The church's tower was next to its north-western wall and stood 86 feet (about 26 meters) tall. It had a stone spire, which looked like an eight-sided pyramid with five steps. On top of this sat an open, eight-sided lantern. From this lantern, a curved steeple rose up. The very top of the steeple had a finial (a decorative top) shaped like an urn. This urn was a symbol of St. Mary Magdalen's pot of balm (a healing oil). The design of the spire was inspired by the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, an ancient tomb in what is now Turkey.

The Church Organ

An organ built by Samuel Green was put in the church in 1786. It was later rebuilt in 1857 by a company called Gray and Davison.

Organ Players

Here are some of the people who played the organ at St. Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street:

• Mary Hudson (1785–1801)
• William Adams (between 1801–1815) – until June 1834
• Frederick Michelmore (temporary) – June to September 1834
• Carolina Townsend (September 1834–1855)
• J. S. Carter (1865)
• E. Smyth (1881)
• Douglas Stewart