St Mary Somerset facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St. Mary Somerset |
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Photo of the tower of St. Mary Somerset
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| 51°30′40.92″N 0°5′48.80″W / 51.5113667°N 0.0968889°W | |
| Location | Queenhithe, City of London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Sir Christopher Wren |
| Style | Baroque |
| Demolished | 1871 |
St. Mary Somerset was a church in the City of London, first mentioned way back in the 1100s. It was sadly destroyed in the terrible Great London Fire of 1666. After the fire, it was one of 51 churches rebuilt by the famous architect Sir Christopher Wren and his team.
Today, only the church's tall tower remains. You can find it on Upper Thames Street. The main part of the church was taken down in 1871.
Contents
A Look Back: The Church's History
Before the Great Fire, London had 14 churches named after the Virgin Mary. Six of these were rebuilt after the fire, including St. Mary Somerset.
What Does "Somerset" Mean?
The name "Somerset" is a bit of a mystery! Some people think it comes from Ralph de Somery, a person mentioned in old records from the same time. Others believe it's linked to Summer's Hithe, which was a small harbor on the Thames River. In medieval times, the river banks were much closer to the church.
The church was first written about in a document during the time of King Richard the Lionheart.
Weavers and Disputes
In 1370, the Mayor of London told weavers from Brabant (a region in Europe) to meet in the churchyard of St. Mary Somerset. This was to help them hire workers, especially after some arguments with weavers from Flanders. The Flemish weavers had to meet far away at another churchyard to keep the peace.
Rebuilding After the Great Fire
After the Great Fire, the area around St. Mary Somerset was joined with another nearby parish, St Mary Mounthaw, which was not rebuilt.
Work on the new St. Mary Somerset church started in 1686. It was one of the last churches to begin rebuilding. Work stopped for a year in 1688 because of money problems during the Glorious Revolution. Building started again the next year, and the church was finished in 1694. It cost about £6,579, which was a lot of money back then!
The people in this church's parish were not very wealthy. St. Mary Somerset was one of only two churches for which Christopher Wren used special funds from a "Coal Tax" to buy furniture and decorations. The new church was also smaller than the old one because the city took some land to make Thames Street wider.
Famous Burials and Changes
Bishop Gilbert Ironside, a leader at Oxford University, was buried here in 1701. He was known for standing up to King James II. His remains were later moved to Hereford Cathedral in 1867.
In the late 1700s, the church was known for a more relaxed style of worship. One writer in 1803 even said that because a well-known Methodist preacher, Mr. Gunn, sometimes spoke there, the church often looked "trampled and dirty."
Sadly, in 1805, the church's special communion plates (used in services) were stolen and never found.
For a long time, the Bishop of Hereford chose the priest for St. Mary Somerset. But in the mid-1800s, this job was given to the Bishop of London.
Why the Church Was Demolished
In the second half of the 1800s, many people moved out of the City of London to new suburbs. This meant that many city churches had very few people attending services. At the same time, the new suburbs didn't have enough churches.
To fix this, a law called the Union of Benefices Act 1860 was passed. This law allowed old city churches to be taken down and their land sold. The money from the sales could then be used to build new churches in the suburbs.
The last service at St. Mary Somerset was held on February 1, 1867, with about 70 people attending. The church was then taken down in 1871.
However, an architect named Ewan Christian insisted that the church tower should be saved. The money from selling the church land was used to build a new church called St. Mary Hoxton. This new church also received the old church's furniture and bell.
Before World War II, the tower of St. Mary Somerset was used as a rest room for women. Today, the tower stands on a traffic island, surrounded by a small, pretty garden.
The Church Building: What It Looked Like
The church built by Christopher Wren had a single main room with a flat roof. One writer, George Godwin, said the inside was "a mere room with low whitewashed walls." There was a gallery (a balcony) at the back, supported by two columns, and a Royal coat of arms hung from it.
The Unique Tower
The tower sticks out from the southwest side of where the church used to be. It is 120 feet tall and made of strong Portland stone. It has rows of windows, some round and some with arched tops. You can also see funny-looking masks and cherubs carved into the stone above the windows.
The most special part of the tower are its eight Baroque-style pointy tops, called pinnacles. There are four at each corner, with fancy bases and scrolls, topped with vase-like shapes. Between these, there are 20-foot tall obelisks (tall, thin stone pillars) with round balls on top. Many experts think these unique pinnacles were designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, another famous architect. They create a cool optical illusion, looking like they change height depending on where you stand!
The pinnacles were taken down after World War II because they were damaged by bombs during the London Blitz. But the City Corporation fixed and put them back in 1956. The remains of the church were given a special protection status as a Grade I listed building on January 4, 1950.
Currently, the tower is being updated and made into a private family home by a company called Pilbrow and Partners.
See also
- List of Christopher Wren churches in London
- List of churches rebuilt after the Great Fire but since demolished
- St Michael Queenhithe
