St Faith under St Paul's
Encyclopedia
Castle Baynard
Castle Baynard is one of the 25 wards of the City of London, the historic core of the English capital. It covers an irregular shaped area, somewhat akin to a tuning fork bounded on the east by the wards of Queenhithe and Bread Street, the River Thames to the south and Farringdon Without to the...
was an unusual parish within 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 had been physically removed in 1256 to allow for the eastern expansion of the Old St Paul's Cathedral
Old St Paul's Cathedral
Old St Paul's Cathedral is a name used to refer to the medieval cathedral of the City of London which until 1666 stood on the site of the present St Paul's Cathedral. Built between 1087 and 1314 and dedicated to St Paul, the cathedral was the fourth church on the site at Ludgate Hill...
. Until the reign of Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
the parishioners worshipped at the end of the west crypt under St Paul’s Quire . The well known diarist of the Long Parliament, Sir Simonds D'Ewes, attended the wedding of his father Paul and his step-mother, Lady Elizabeth Denton, in "St. Faith's under St. Paul's" on March 5, 1623, and Sir Simonds's younger sister Mary also married there on December 4, 1626 The Mortality Bill for the year 1665, published by the Parish Clerk’s Company, shows 97 parishes within 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...
- of which St Faith was one. From the reign of Edward VI until the Great Fire
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 parishioners, mostly booksellers in Paternoster Row
Paternoster Row
Paternoster Row was a London street in which clergy of the medieval St Paul's Cathedral would walk, chanting the Lord's Prayer . It was devastated by aerial bombardment in The Blitz during World War II. Prior to this destruction the area had been a centre of the London publishing trade , with...
, transferred to the Jesus Chapel, their separateness emphasised by a screen . After this tragedy the parish was united with St Augustine Watling Street
St Augustine Watling Street
St Augustine, Watling Street was an Anglican church formerly located just to the east of St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. It was destroyed in the Second World War but its remains now form part of St Paul's Cathedral Choir School.- History :...
, an arrangement that worked amicably well long after anyone who could have remembered the old cathedral had died , the name also being used in official records and plans. Partial records survive at IGI
International Genealogical Index
The International Genealogical Index is a database of genealogical records, compiled from several sources, and maintained by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
and a drawing by Thomas Kerrich
Thomas Kerrich
Thomas Kerrich was a clergyman, principal Cambridge University librarian , antiquary, draughtsman and gifted amateur artist. He created one of the first catalogue raisonnés ....
is preserved at The British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
while visitors to the rebuilt cathedral are still reminded of the association during their tour.