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.

Walking alone: Farringdon to Tower Hill... and beyond

St George-in-the-East church.

Monday December 8, 2025.

Today was my last day of annual leave, for 2025, and I wasn't going to waste it. So, off to London I headed.

Farringdon station.

A short walk to Watford underground station saw me catch a Baker Street-bound train, which I took to Finchley Road, where I waited 3-minutes for an Aldgate-bound train. Soon I was alighting at Farringdon station, ready for a walk.

Holborn viaduct.

I headed down Farringdon Road and onto Farringdon Street, passing below the Holborn Viaduct, crossed Fleet Street, and joined New Bridge Street, before heading west along Tudor Street. With lots of building work going on I took a slight detour up Bouverie Street and entered Magpie Alley. 

Magpie Alley tiles.

The tiled walls of Magpie Alley, which I had never seen, tell the history of Fleet Street's printing evolution from around 1500. Suitably filled with new knowledge I made my way out of Magpie Alley, avoiding the scaffolding and myriad trucks and lorries that filled the streets, and made my way down Whitefriars Street until I reached Tudor Street, again. This time I headed east and rejoined New Bridge Street, which I followed north until I turned east along Ludgate Hill.

How many street names in one photo?

Ludgate Hill brought me to St Paul's Churchyard and one of London's unique thoroughfares... Peter's Hill. Now, Peter's Hill has, over the centuries, moved as the area has gone through rebuilding. Now, it shares its route with Sermon Lane and Knightrider Court, which has moved from its original position to the east of Sermon Lane, to the west of it. And, depending on which online map you use, this thoroughfare is listed under different names. Confusing.

The St Lawrence Jewry drinking fountain.

Suitably confused I continued east onto Cannon Street, passing the St Lawrence Jewry drinking fountain, before turning up Queen Victoria Street, just so that I could walk through the Bloomberg Arcade and see 'Forgotten Stream' by Cristina Iglesias. 

The oldest church in the City of London.

I then rejoined Cannon Street until I reached Eastcheap. Following my feet I continued along Eastcheap until I reached Byward Street and All Hallows by the Tower. Now, All Hallows by the Tower is the oldest church in the City of London and I have walked by it on countless occasions, but never ventured inside. So, I remedied this error, on my part, and entered this ancient building.

As I entered a couple were just leaving, which, to my surprise, left me alone in the church, apart from a few volunteers who were replacing leaflets and checking the aisles.

The Lady chapel.

I set about exploring and was taken in awe with how incredible the interior was. My footsteps echoed off the flagstone flooring as I made my way through the building taking in the chapels and artefacts on display. Making my way through the door, below the organ, I noticed the Saxon arch and a sign 

indicating the directions to the Undercroft Museum, which I followed. 

The Undercroft chapel.

I carefully made my way below the church and was soon at the Roman street level of Londinium, with a tessellated floor still in place. Slowly I explored the entire space with its Roman, Saxon, Norman and countless other eras of artefacts all on display. More chapels were visited, before the route brought me back up into the church. Having explored as much as I could I headed outside to find that it had rained while I had been inside.