St Leonard, Foster Lane

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St Leonard, Foster Lane
Ruins of St Leonards Foster Lane.JPG
Ruins of St. Leonard's
St Leonard, Foster Lane
Location Foster Lane, London
CountryEngland
Denomination Anglican
History
Founded13th century
Architecture
Closed1666

St Leonard, Foster Lane, was a Church of England church dedicated to Leonard of Noblac on the west side of Foster Lane in the Aldersgate ward of the City of London. [1] [2] It was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and not rebuilt.

Contents

History

This church originally belonged to the College of St Martin-le-Grand. [3] It was founded in the 13th century by the dean and canons of St. Martin's, [4] to serve the inhabitants of the precinct, who had previously worshipped at the altar of St Leonard in the collegiate church. [1] The building, which was small, stood in the courtyard of the collegiate church, on the west side of Foster Lane. [3]

There is a record of a new window being installed in the chancel in 1533. [3] In 1579, the existing graveyard, being too small was leased out, and a new one laid out on an area of the precinct previously known as the "Dean's Garden" leased by the churchwarden and parishioners for a term of 61 years. [1] The building was repaired and enlarged in 1631, [3] at a cost of more than £500. [1]

The poet Francis Quarles, who died 1644, was buried there. [5]

Destruction

Site of StL, FL today Site of St Leonard Foster Lane.JPG
Site of StL, FL today

St Leonard's was largely destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and not rebuilt. [6] the parish instead being united to that of Christ Church, Newgate Street, and the site used as a graveyard. [1] Some ruins of the church remained, however, until the early 19th century, when they were finally cleared [7] to make way for the new buildings of the General Post Office. [3]

Despite the destruction of the church, the "Parish Dole" [8] was still available as late as 1907. [9]

Its former burial ground now forms part of Postman's Park.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Newcourt, Richard (1708). Repetorium Ecclesiasticum Parochiale Londinense. Vol. 1. London. pp. 293–4.
  2. ↑ "Vanished Churches in the City of London" Huelin, G: London, Guildhall Library Publications, 1996 ISBN   0-900422-42-4
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 White, J.G. (1901). The Churches and Chapels of Old London. London. pp.  90–3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ↑ Jenkinson, Wilberforce (1917). London Churches Before the Great Fire. London: Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge.
  5. ↑ Wheatley, Henry Benjamin (24 February 2011). London Past and Present. Cambridge [u.a.]: Cambridge Univ. Press. p. 386. ISBN   9781108028073.
  6. ↑ The "Churches of the City of London" Reynolds, H: London, Bodley Head, 1922
  7. ↑ Betjeman, John (1967). The City of London Churches. Andover: Pitkin. ISBN   0-85372-112-2.
  8. ↑ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Dole"  . Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 387.
  9. ↑ Pearce, Charles William (1909). Notes on old London city churches : their organs, organists, and musical associations. London: Vincent Music Company.

51°30′55″N0°05′48″W / 51.5152°N 0.0966°W / 51.5152; -0.0966

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