St. Michael, Crooked Lane
Encyclopedia
St Michael, Crooked Lane was an “antient” parish church situated on the east side of Miles' Lane, Great Eastcheap in Candlewick Ward
Candlewick
Candlewick is a small ward, one of the 25 ancient wards in the City of London.Its northern boundary runs along Lombard Street the boundary with Langbourn Ward, then east down Gracechurch Street the division with Bridge Ward to the Monument, erected to commemorate the place where the Great Fire abated...
in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. It was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London by Sir Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
and demolished in 1831.
History
The church was in existence by 1304. It was a originally a small church, standing amongst the slaughter-yards of the butchers of Eastcheap. It was rebuilt on a much larger scale in 1336 by John Lovekeyn, four-times Lord Mayor of London, and received furher benefactions from Sir William WalworthWilliam Walworth
Sir William Walworth , was twice Lord Mayor of London . He is best known for killing Wat Tyler.His family came from Durham...
, who was Lord Mayor in 1374. The patronage of the church belonged first to the prior and convent of Christ Church, Canterbury until 1408 and later to the archbishop of Canterbury, becoming one of 13 peculiarities in the City of London belonging to the him.
It was in the parish that the first cases of The Plague
Great Plague of London
The Great Plague was a massive outbreak of disease in the Kingdom of England that killed an estimated 100,000 people, 20% of London's population. The disease is identified as bubonic plague, an infection by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, transmitted through a flea vector...
occurred in 1665.
After its destruction in the Great Fire of London
Great Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
, the church was rebuilt in 1687, by Sir Christopher Wren. The interior of the new church was 78 feet long, 46 feet wide and 32 feet high, with round-headed windows. James Peller Malcolm
James Peller Malcolm
-Life:Son of a merchant in Philadelphia, he was born there in August 1767. He was admitted to the Quaker school; but his family left to avoid the fighting in American War of Independence, and his education was mostly at Pottstown, Pennsylvania. He returned with his family to Philadelphia in 1784,...
called Wren’s church "so plain as to be indescribable", noting only the Corinthian reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
, "the usual tablets" and the lack of an organ. There was a Portland stone tower, about 100 feet high, topped with a perforated parapet, with vases at its angles, and a spire – described by James Elmes
James Elmes
James Elmes was an English architect, civil engineer, and writer on the arts.-Biography:...
as "remarkably picturesque" – with clock, weather-vane and cross.
The church was demolished in 1831 to make way for the wider approaches needed for the rebuilt London Bridge
London Bridge
London Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London...
. Its parish was united with that of St Magnus the Martyr. A stained glass window In the church of St Magnus commemorates the former parish.
See also
- List of Christopher Wren churches in London
- List of churches rebuilt after the Great Fire but since demolished