St Mary Aldermanbury

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Coordinates: 51°30′59″N 0°05′35″W / 51.51635, -0.09308

Former site of church in the City of London
Former site of church in the City of London
Now rebuilt at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri
Now rebuilt at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri

St Mary Aldermanbury church was first mentioned in 1181[1] but was destroyed by the Great fire of London in 1666 and rebuilt in Portland stone by Sir Christopher Wren[2]. It was again gutted by the Blitz in 1940, leaving only the walls. In 1966 these stones were transported to Fulton, Missouri, by the residents of that town, and rebuilt on the grounds of Westminster College, Missouri as a memorial to Sir Winston Churchill. Churchill had made his Iron Curtain speech at this college in 1946.

The footprint of the church remains in the City, planted with bushes and trees; to this footprint has been added a memorial plaque placed by Westminster College. The gardens also house a monument to Henry Condell and John Heminges, key figures in the production of the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays and co-partners with him in the Globe Theatre. Condell and Heminges lived in the St. Mary Aldermanbury parish and were buried in its churchyard. This monument is topped with a bust of Shakespeare.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ "The Churches of the City of London" Reynolds,H: London, Bodley Head, 1922
  2. ^ "The City of London Churches" Betjeman,J Andover, Pikin, 1967 ISBN 0853721122

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