St Olave's Church, Old Jewry facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Olave's Church, Old Jewry
Tower and west wall of St. Olave Old Jewry
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Anglican
Architecture
Architect(s)	Sir Christopher Wren
Style	Baroque

St Olave's Church, Old Jewry was a historic church located in the City of London. It stood between the streets called Old Jewry and Ironmonger Lane. This church was destroyed in the terrible Great Fire of London in 1666.

After the fire, the church was rebuilt by the famous architect Sir Christopher Wren and his team. However, most of the church was taken down in 1887. Only the tower and a part of the west wall still stand today.

The Story of St Olave's Church

St Olave's Church, Old Jewry, was named after Saint Olaf, who was a king and patron saint of Norway in the 11th century. The area known as Old Jewry was once a neighborhood in medieval London. It was mainly home to Jewish people until they were asked to leave England in 1290.

The church was also known by other names, like St Olave in Colechirchlane and St Olave, Upwell. The name "Upwell" came from a well that was located under the eastern part of the church.

Early Beginnings and Rebuilding

The oldest written record of the church dates back to around 1130. But during excavations in 1985, archaeologists found something even older. They discovered the foundations of a Saxon church built between the 9th and 11th centuries. This earlier church was made from Kentish ragstone and old Roman bricks.

After the Great Fire of London destroyed the church in 1666, its parish (the area it served) was joined with that of St Martin Pomeroy. This was a very small church that already shared the churchyard of St Olave Old Jewry. The two churches were very close to each other before the fire.

Rebuilding of St Olave's began in 1671. The builders used many of the old medieval walls and foundations. The church's tower was built separately, sticking out from the west side of the church. It even needed a special wooden platform built 16 feet (about 4.9 meters) underground to support its foundation. The church was finished in 1679. The total cost was £5,580, which included £10 paid to the still-damaged St Paul's Cathedral for rubble to use in construction.

Important People and Changes

Many important people were buried at St Olave's. One was Robert Large, who was a Lord Mayor of London and a successful merchant in 1440. He was also the master of William Caxton, who brought printing to England.

Later, John Boydell, another Lord Mayor and a publisher, was buried there in 1804. Boydell had a unique habit: he would visit the church pump (which was built over the medieval well) every morning at 5 AM. He would take off his wig, place it on top of the pump, and douse his head with water from the spout. His memorial from the church was later moved to St Margaret Lothbury.

Maurice Greene, a famous composer who was the Master of the King's Music, was buried in St Olave's in 1755. When the church was taken down, his remains were moved to St Paul's Cathedral.

Demolition and What Remains

Even though the church was repaired in 1879, most of it was demolished in 1887. This happened under a law called the Union of Benefices Act 1860. The land where the church stood was sold for £22,400. This money was used to build St Olave's Manor House.

The bodies buried in the church were carefully moved to the City of London Cemetery in Manor Park, London. The church's parish was combined with that of St Margaret Lothbury. Many of the church's beautiful furnishings were sent to other churches. For example, the decorative screen behind the altar (called a reredos), the font cover, and other wooden items went to St Margaret Lothbury. The royal coat of arms went to St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe. The clock was moved to St Olave Hart Street. The pulpit and baptismal font went to St Olave's Manor House, and the organ went to Christchurch in Penge.

The tower, the west wall, and part of the north wall of St Olave's were saved. They were included in a new building that served as a rectory (a home for the church's priest) for St Margaret Lothbury. This building was later replaced in 1986 by an office building. This new building was designed to match the style of the old church. The churchyard still exists today as a courtyard for the office building.

Church Design and Features

The church's shape was quite unusual, like a wine bottle lying on its side. The tower sticking out at the west end was like a short neck, and the angled west front was like the bottle's shoulders. The church then narrowed towards the east. The main front of the church, facing Old Jewry, had a large Venetian window. This type of window has a tall arched opening in the middle and two smaller rectangular openings on the sides. It was decorated with columns and a full entablature (a fancy horizontal structure above the columns).

The Tower and Its Clock

The tower is 88 feet (about 26.8 meters) tall. It is the only tower built by Wren's office that is "battered," meaning it is slightly wider at the bottom than at the top. The door to the tower has a curved top (a segmental pediment) and is framed by Doric columns (a simple, strong type of column). At the very top of the tower, there is a simple wall (a parapet) with tall, pointed stone decorations called obelisks on each corner, topped with balls. In the middle of the tower, there is a weather vane shaped like a sailing ship. This vane originally came from St Mildred, Poultry.

The tower once had a clock from 1824, made by Moore & Son. This clock was moved to the tower of St Olave's Hart Street in 1891 when the church was demolished. The clock you see there today was put in after 1972. The decorative frame around the clock is original and used to frame a window.

Inside the Church

An old description from the early 1700s tells us that the inside of St Olave's was very decorated with paintings. It was said to have more paintings than other churches designed by Wren. These paintings included:

• A painting of Queen Elizabeth I on a fancy couch with her royal items, under an arched canopy with her coat of arms.
• A painting of King Charles I.
• A painting of Father Time, a figure with wings, holding a scythe (a large curved blade) and an hourglass. At his feet was a sleeping Cupid, and under him, a skeleton eight feet long.

The remaining parts of the church were recognized as a Grade I listed building on January 4, 1950. This means they are considered very important historical structures.

See also

• List of Christopher Wren churches in London
• List of churches rebuilt after the Great Fire but since demolished