Mentioned by London for Free
Historic Churches
"Day 1: Arrive in London, Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour, the London EyeDay 2: Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Whitehall, Covent GardenDay 3: Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Borough Market, Tate Modern, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Sky GardenDay 4: National Gallery, Greenwich, Prime Meridian, Up at the O2Day 5: British Museum, Portobello Road Market, Victoria and Albert Museum, Harrod’s"
"Along the south bank (always worth a wander), you can stop in at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern Art Gallery, and even quickly cross the Millennium bridge for a visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral. The Globe and St. Paul’s Cathedral are both included on the London Pass, whilst the Tate Modern is free to enter."
"Finally, All Hallows-by-the-Tower is believed to be the oldest surviving church in London, and overlooks the Tower of London on Byward Street. The church was founded in 675, and while it has obviously undergone extensive restoration since then, it still contains an Anglo-Saxon arch from the time which we believe qualifies it to take the crown as London’s oldest church!. Thanks to its proximity to the Tower of London, this church was frequented often where beheading victims were sent for a temporary burial!"
"Reconstruction during 1955, after extensive damage in the Blitz. Image source: Ben Brooksbank / CC BY-SA 2.0. Located on the doorstep of the Tower of London, this church has buried the bodies of numerous victims sentenced to death on Tower Hill, including those of Thomas More, Bishop John Fisher and Archbishop Laud."
"All Hallows-by-the-Tower is associated with the executions on Tower Hill, and has a piece of Roman pavement in the crypt 4"
"Temple Church in Central London is the physical embodiment of the Knights Templar, a religious order that also trained as warrior monks. This is history that is strong on narrative and bursting with battles and blood-lust. Temple Church was built by the Knights Templar, the order of crusading monks who sought to protect pilgrims on their journeys to Jerusalem in the 12th century."
"This church belongs to the Inner and Middle Temple, two of England’s ancient societies of lawyers. Located in the heart of the city between River Thames and Flee Street, the Temple Church’s origin dates back to 12th century. Built by Knights Templar, this church showcases a typical round structure."
"early 6th century CE Location: Fleet Street, City of London Purpose: Church (Current Denomination – Church of England) Still Standing: Yes. photo source: Flickr via Jim Linwood. According to the official history of St. Bride’s Church, the site that the church rests on has been a place of worship not long after the Romans established Londonium in 43 CE."
"There was a church on this site during the time of the Romans.Some believe that St Bridget, an Irish saint, established the first Christian church on the site in the 6th century. During the Great Plague of 1665, a plague pit was dug within the churchyard. Pepys mentions having to bribe the gravedigger in order to find room to bury his brother."
"Famous for its three-tiered spire which inspired a baker to create a tiered wedding cake. It has an interesting museum underneath 2"
"He was the 5th century Bishop of Arras who converted Clovis. “Foster” is an English bastardisation of his name. This was Wren’s cheapest church, as he was able to re-use some of the earlier walls."
"St Dunstan-in-the-West is the westernmost church in the City. The Great Fire stopped a few doors east, and the church was not burned. However, it was entirely rebuilt about 1833 in the Gothic style."
"This is my nomination as the most beautiful of the churches in the City of London. It was also built bySir Christopher Wren, and I’d go so far as to say that it’s a London must see. It’s a beautifully proportioned Church, appearing quite small from outside but inside there’s a soaring, lofty central dome and wonderful sense of space."
"St Stephen Walbrook has the most beautiful interior of all Wren’s churches reputedly. He was experimenting with his plans for St Paul’s Cathedral. St Stephen is a variation on the same theme – an un-English central dome married to a traditional English church plan of nave with aisles, chancel and crossing transepts."
"Sir Christopher Wren is best known for the design and construction of St Paul’s Cathedral. He also built many other churches around London after the Great Fire. He probably did more to shape the appearance of London than any other single person, all the way through to the 19th century."
"St. Giles-in-the-Fields is known as the Poets’ Church and has a number of important burials plus a burial pit of plague victims"
"Restaurants Austrian Marylebone. If your idea of romance is waltzing round old Vienna to the sound of Strauss, you can capture some of that old ‘Blue Danube’ magic with a trip to this instantly comforting Mittel-European number from Messrs Corbin & King. Schnitzels, sausages, ice-cream coupes and – of course – incomparable viennoiserie provide welcome sustenance, with excellent hot chocolate and coffee adding that vital X factor."
"Corbin and King’s refined Marylebone homage to Viennese waltzes past and present is always a fine, low-key luxurious breakfast venue, and in the spirit of fried batter its Austrian crêpes, served either with apricot and brandy jam or a gianduja-approximating hazelnut and chocolate, make a winning centrepiece around which to build an Austrian feast."
"e5 Bakehouseis an East London artisan bakery and coffee shop that is absolutely sourdough mad. The bakers only deploy the finest organic, locally-sourced ingredients in their daily-baked bread and its the unique mixture of flour in all the different loaves they sell that makes e5 Bakehouse one of the very best bakeries in London. The ‘Hackney Wild’, for example, is a country loaf made with a blend of heritage and modern wheat grains whereas the seedy ‘Multigrain’ loaf they bake contains a blend of four flours (including e5 stoneground wheat, Shipton white wheat and Cann Mill rye and spelt)."
"Restaurants London Fields. Some of London’s hottest kitchens get their breads from Ben MacKinnon's tiny bakehouse in the arches beneath London Fields station, and E5’s hand-baked wares are top stuff if you’re stocking up on the staff of life. This independent outfit has its own stone mill and uses only organic grains and the finest ingredients to craft fresh, nutrient-rich loaves – most of which depend on 100 percent sourdough ‘starters’."
"E5 Bakehouse are one of London's premier sourdough providers and you'll find them in many a restaurant too. The range also includes a spelt loaf, rye breads and buns and plenty of top drawer pastries. Brunch at their cafe is very popular, and they have a coffee roastery in Poplar."
"Take a day trip to Winchester, where you can visit Winchester Cathedral (the site of Jane Austen’s grave) and Winchester Castle. You can also tour the City Mill or one of the numerous museums and science centres. Return to London for the night."
"The gable and rose window is all that’s left of the medieval palace of the powerful Bishop of Winchester who once ruled south of the river 1"
"Located on an island in the middle of the bustling Strand, St Clement Danes Church church offers an oasis of calm. Explore the famous London church, whose bells are mentioned in the traditional Oranges and Lemons nursery rhyme, and hear them ring out across the City of London several times a day. Reconsecrated as the Central Church of the Royal Air Force in 1958, the church is also home to books of remembrance and more than 1,000 RAF badges."
"St Clement Danes church is one of the best-known churches in Westminster, London. It’s a fine white Baroque building with a prominent spire on a traffic island in the Strand, close to the Royal Courts of Justice. It’s famous for the nursery rhyme ‘Oranges and lemons ring the bells of St Clement’s’, and it’s not the only church in our list to get a mention in."
"Christopher Wren and James Gibbs rebuilt the original 9th-century church, but only its outer walls and steeple survived destruction in the Blitz"