Tired of London, Tired of Life - A website about things to do in London

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26 April 2010

Visit All Hallows by the Tower

Your author was outside All Hallows by the Tower, the oldest church in the City of London, yesterday supporting runners in the marathon, and is always captivated by this pretty little church.


Founded in 675 AD by the Abbey of Barking, only one arch remains from the original Saxon church, but beneath it a Roman pavement, discovered in 1926, shows just how long this site has been in use. The church is a rarity in that it survived both the Great Fire of London, which Samuel Peyps reported on from the church tower, and the Second World War, though a 1940 bomb gutted most of the church and only the tower and the walls remained.

The church has also seen its fair share of gruesome ritual as it was here that many beheaded bodies were brought following their execution on Tower Hill, with many of the heads being displayed on Traitors Gate. Some of those who visited after death include Thomas More, Bishop John Fisher and Archbishop Laud.

For on all aspects of the church, see http://www.ahbtt.org.uk/

1 comment:

  1. I love All Hallows - an amazing church, with such an astonishing history as a place of worship.

    ReplyDelete