St Michael Wood Street

St. Michael Wood Street
Country United Kingdom
Denomination Church of England
Architecture
Architect(s) Christopher Wren
Style Baroque

Described by Stow (1598) as a “proper thing”, St Michael’s Wood Street in Cripplegate Ward was the hurried burial site for the head of King James IV of Scotland[1] (Huelin, 1996). First mentioned in 1225 (Harben,1919)[2] the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London (Reynolds, 1922) and rebuilt after some pressure (Hallows, 1974) by Sir Christopher Wren in 1673 (Whinney,1971). The organ was built by Thomas Elliot in 1800 (Pearce, 1909).[3] In 1854 the declining residential population led to proposals to reduce the number of churches within the “Square Mile” (Times, 1854)- a decision the church's vicar had himself proposed (Hume,1853). The church was eventually demolished under the auspices of the Union of Benefices Act (Hibbert) in 1897 (Cobb) and many bodies were disinterred from the churchyard and reburied at Brookwood Cemetery (Clarke). It was then united with St Alban Wood Street (Norman,1902) and after the destruction of that church in World War II, St Vedast Foster Lane (Betjeman, 1972).

The church was on the west side of Wood Street, initially with a frontage on Huggin Lane but later on Wood Street itself.

The site has undergone several redevelopments and, as of 2013, is occupied by a pub called The Red Herring.[1]

Bibliography

Ministers of the church

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Dr. Tony Pollard (8 September 2013). "The sad tale of James IV's body". BBC News Scotland. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  2. As St. Michael de Wudestrate
  3. He notes that the most noted organist was Dr Henry Hiles
  4. Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; National Archives; CP 40/555. year 1399 (first term of Henry IV); http://aalt.law.uh.edu/H4/CP40no555/bCP40no555dorses/IMG_0304.htm; 4th entry, county margination "london"; John Ive, parson, as plaintiff

Coordinates: 51°30′56″N 0°5′41.5″W / 51.51556°N 0.094861°W / 51.51556; -0.094861

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