| St Dionis Backchurch | |
|---|---|
 | |
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| Location | London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Christopher Wren |
| Style | Baroque |
| Demolished | 1878 |
St Dionis Backchurch was a parish church in the Langbourn ward of the City of London. Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London to the designs of Christopher Wren and demolished in 1878.
The church of St Dionis was dedicated to Dionysus the Areopagite. The name Backchurch could have come from its standing behind other buildings, or from its position relative to the church of St Gabriel Fenchurch. It was in existence by the year 1288, when Reginald de Standen was recorded as being the rector. In 1466 the Alderman John Darby had an aisle added, in which he was buried. [1]
The patronage of the church once belonged to the prior and canons of Christchurch, Canterbury and later passed to the dean and chapter of Canterbury Cathedral. [1]
The church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and rebuilt to the designs of Christopher Wren in 1674 at a cost of £5,737. [2] A tower, also to Wren's design, was added ten years later. [1]
Wren's church was 66 feet long and 59 feet wide. It was divided into nave and aisles by Ionic columns supporting an entablature. The ceiling of the nave was arched, and pierced with circular windows under groin vaulted openings, while the aisle ceilings were horizontal. There was a west gallery with an organ. [3]
The bell tower was divided into three storeys by string courses. At the top was an open parapet, and a small bell turret which had been removed by the nineteenth century. [1] The church was built mostly of stone, with some brick which was later stuccoed. [4] The east end of the church, in Lime Street, had a pediment and two pairs of coupled Ionic pilasters with a large window below carved festoons. In 1724 the church received a new three manual organ with 29 stops, large for its day, which cost £749. It was designed by Renatus Harris and approved by a number of experts including George Frederick Handel. Charles Burney was later to be appointed organist in 1749.
A row of shops, built against the south wall, stood between the church and Fenchurch street. [1] A City of London commemorative plaque noting the year of demolition is attached to the wall of the buildings that now occupy the former site of St Dionis Backchurch, opposite number 24 Lime Street EC3.
In 1858, the vestry asked the architect George Edmund Street to examine the fabric of the church. He found that the church was in need of substantial repairs and recommended that the most economical course of action would be to demolish the whole church except for the tower, and rebuild it to a Gothic design of his own. Before any such plans could be carried out, however, the vestry decided that the church was no longer needed. In 1878 the parish was merged with that of All Hallows Lombard Street under the Union of Benefices Act 1860 and the church demolished. [5]
While surveying the church, Street discovered that a fifteenth-century crypt had survived under the chancel of Wren's church. [5]
The church had a peal of ten bells, cast between 1726 and 1750. They were transferred to All Hallows Lombard Street when St Dionis was demolished.
A parish mark can be seen in Philpot Lane. The church of St. Dionis, Parsons Green was built with the proceeds of the sale of the site of the City church, and its font and pulpit survive there. [6] [7] The burials were reinhumed at the City of London Cemetery.
According to the account in William Leslie Sumner's The Organ, the organ at St Dionis – a fine instrument by all accounts and the last to be built by the famous organ builder Renatus Harris in 1724 – was removed first to St Mark's, East Walworth where the case was left after the organ itself was again removed to Darenth Training Colony, Dartford, Kent. The pipework was later incorporated into the Mander organ at St Vedast alias Foster, Foster Lane, in the City of London. [8]
The parish now forms part of the combined parish of St Edmund the King and Martyr, and St Mary Woolnoth Lombard Street with St Nicholas Acons, All Hallows Lombard Street, St Benet Gracechurch, St Leonard Eastcheap, St Dionis Backchurch and St Mary Woolchurch Haw – usually shortened to "St Edmund & St Mary Woolnoth". It is part of the Church of England's Diocese of London. [9]
St Mary Woolnoth is an Anglican church in the City of London, located on the corner of Lombard Street and King William Street near Bank junction. The present building is one of the Queen Anne Churches, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor. The parish church continues to be actively used for services, with Holy Communion every Tuesday. St Mary Woolnoth lies in the ward of Langbourn.
Fenchurch Street is a street in London, England, linking Aldgate at its eastern end with Lombard Street and Gracechurch Street in the west. It is a well-known thoroughfare in the City of London financial district and is the site of many corporate offices and headquarters. The name "Fenchurch" means "church in the fenny or marshy ground" and presumably refers to St Gabriel Fenchurch, which stood at the junction of Fenchurch Street and Cullum Street until it was destroyed by the Great Fire.
St Margaret Lothbury is a Church of England parish church on Lothbury in the City of London; it spans the boundary between Coleman Street Ward and Broad Street Ward. Recorded since the 12th century, the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and rebuilt by the office of Sir Christopher Wren. St Margaret Lothbury still serves as a parish church, as well as being the official church of five Livery Companies, two Ward Clubs and two Professional Institutes. It also has connections with many local finance houses, all of which hold special services each year.
All Saints' Church, Northampton is a Church of England parish church in the centre of Northampton. The current church was largely built after a fire and was consecrated in 1680. It is a Grade I listed building.
All Hallows Bread Street was a parish church in the Bread Street ward of the City of London, England. It stood on the east side of Bread Street, on the corner with Watling Street. First mentioned in the 13th century, the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The church was rebuilt by the office of Sir Christopher Wren and demolished in 1876.
All-Hallows-the-Great was a church in the City of London, located on what is now Upper Thames Street, first mentioned in 1235. Destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666, the church was rebuilt by the office of Sir Christopher Wren. All-Hallows-the-Great was demolished in 1894 when many bodies were disinterred from the churchyard and reburied at Brookwood Cemetery.
St Edmund, King and Martyr, is an Anglican church in Lombard Street, in the City of London, dedicated to St Edmund the Martyr. From 2001 it housed the London Centre for Spirituality, renamed the London Centre for Spiritual Direction, but is still a consecrated church. Since 2019, Imprint Church organises regular worship inside of the building.
St Benet Gracechurch, so called because a haymarket existed nearby (Cobb), was a parish church in the City of London. First recorded in the 11th century, it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666 and rebuilt by the office of Sir Christopher Wren. The church was demolished in 1868.
The Worshipful Company of Parish Clerks is one of the Guilds of the City of London. It has no livery, because "in the 16th century, the Parish Clerks declined to take the Livery on the grounds that the surplice was older than the Livery and was the proper garb of members of the Company." It is not, therefore, technically a livery company although to all intents and purposes it acts as such. It is one of two such historic companies without livery, the other being the Company of Watermen and Lightermen.
St Swithin, London Stone, was an Anglican Church in the City of London. It stood on the north side of Cannon Street, between Salters' Hall Court and St Swithin's Lane, which runs north from Cannon Street to King William Street and takes its name from the church. Of medieval origin, it was destroyed by the Great Fire of London, and rebuilt to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren. It was badly damaged by bombing during the Second World War, and the remains were demolished in 1962.
St Nicholas Acons was a parish church in the City of London. In existence by the late 11th century, it was destroyed during the Great Fire of London of 1666 and not rebuilt.
Langbourn is one of the 25 ancient wards of the City of London. It reputedly is named after a buried stream in the vicinity.
All Hallows Lombard Street, also seen with the descriptor Gracechurch Street, was a parish church in the City of London. It stood behind thin buildings fronting both streets in Langbourn Ward, The west and south sides faced into Ball Alley. Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London. It was demolished in 1937; its tower was reconstructed at Twickenham as part of the new church of All Hallows, which also received its bells and complete interior fittings.
St Mary Woolchurch Haw was a parish church in the City of London, destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666 and not rebuilt. It came within the ward of Walbrook.
St. Leonard, Eastcheap, sometimes referred to as St Leonard Milkchurch, was a parish church in the City of London. Of medieval origin, it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt. The site of the church was retained as a graveyard.
The City of London Cemetery and Crematorium is a cemetery and crematorium in the east of London. It is owned and operated by the City of London Corporation. It is designated Grade I on the Historic England National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
All Hallows Twickenham is a Grade I listed church and parish of the Church of England in Twickenham, London. It incorporates the tower of All Hallows Lombard Street and is prominently south of a major road of west London, near Twickenham Stadium, specifically the Chertsey Road (A316).
Lombard Street is a street notable for its connections with the City of London's merchant, banking and insurance industries, stretching back to medieval times.
St. Dionis, Parsons Green, is a Grade II listed Anglican church at Parsons Green, Fulham, London.
Media related to St Dionis Backchurch at Wikimedia Commons
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