All Hallows by the Tower

All Hallows by the Tower is the oldest church in the City of London.

All Hallows means 'all saints' and the feast was instituted when martyrdoms increased during the persecutions of the late Roman Empire in order to ensure that all martyrs, known and unknown, were properly honoured. All Saints Day has been celebrated on November 1st since the 8th century.

1st-5th century: The Romans

In the crypt museum, still in its original place and at the ground level of Roman times, is a section of tessellated floor from a 2nd century dwelling. There are also other artefacts from the Roman occupation of this site. 

5th-11th century: The Saxons

In 675 AD Erkenwald was made Bishop of London and founded, on this site, a chapel of Barking Abbey, where his sister, Ethelberga, served as Abbess. Whilst the first church was made of wood, the undercroft and the great Saxon arch probably date from the 8th century and are part of the first stone church on this site. The Saxon arch is believed to be the oldest Saxon arch within the City of London.

11th-15th century: Medieval Times

All Hallows passed between various ownership from the turn of the first millennium to the 16th century. In 1539 it was exchanged to the patronage of the Archbishop of Canterbury, where it remains to this day.

12th-14th century: The Order of the Knights Templar

In 1119 the Order of the Knights Templar was founded. They would go on to become wealthy and influential throughout Europe, which brought them into conflict with the Catholic church. In 1307, Pope Clement instructed all Christian monarchs to arrest Templar Knights and seize their assets. King Edward II, who was unenthusiastic about this, was compelled to receive Inquisition Judges and, in 1311, trials were held at All Hallows.

The altar, in the Undercroft Chapel, is made of stones from Richard I's Castle Atlit, in Palestine.

The Great Fire of 1666: What was lost and what survived?

This plaque marks the spot from where the fire began.

Everyone knows the story of the Great Fire of 1666, from where it began to where it was extinguished. Children even sing a nursery rhyme about it.

History records the devastation, loss of life and the rebuilding, but many notable historic places survived the devastation and because of this are often overlooked.

The Golden Boy of Pye Corner.

Brief History.

The fire started on Sunday September 2, 1666 and burned for four days.

The Great Fire of 1666, began at the shop of Thomas Farriner, in Pudding Lane, and was finally brought under control in the west, at Pie Corner (now the junction of Cock Lane and Giltspur Street), near Smithfield.

A small gilded statue of a boy, called the 'Golden Boy of Pye Corner', marks the spot where the fire reached.

Although the fire was said to be extinguished some isolated fires continued to break out.

The fire's advance was finally stopped for two main reasons: 

1. The strong easterly wind, which had driven the fire, finally subsided.
2. King Charles II had ordered the widespread use of gunpowder to blow up rows of houses, creating wide, empty gaps that the flames could not jump. These firebreaks, combined with the wind dying down, proved the ultimate stopping factor at places like Pie Corner.

How many people died?

The official number of people recorded to have died in the Great Fire of 1666 is only six to eight named people. However, the actual death toll is believed to have been much higher, potentially in the hundreds or even thousands. 

The Bills of Mortality at the time largely failed to account for the deaths of the poor, middle-class citizens, or the homeless, as a substantial portion of the population was displaced and not properly documented.

It is important to remember that the fire was a firestorm, with temperatures reaching 1,700°C, which is enough to completely cremate bodies, leaving no recognisable remains to be counted.

Plus, the official count only includes direct deaths from the fire itself. Many more people likely died in the cold winter months that followed due to disease, exposure and starvation in the makeshift camps set up outside the city walls.

The scale of destruction within the City of London.

What was lost?

Over 13,000 homes were either destroyed by the fire, or pulled down or blown up to create firebreaks.

Old St Paul's Cathedral was completely gutted and later demolished to make way for Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece.

The Royal Exchange, on Threadneedle Street, was completely destroyed.

Some 87 medieval churches were lost in the Great Fire.