A visit with a group from the local U3A last week took us to St Bride’s Church near Ludgate Circus in the City of London. Located just off Fleet St, this became the church for publishers and Newspapers, although most of these have now moved away from the area.
First we were given a tour around the Church, including the optical illusion that is the apse behind the altar which is actually painted on a flat wall, although it is difficult to see this until you get really close to it.
We also visited the chapel dedicated to journalists who have died, been held hostage or persecuted whilst covering the news.
The Font cover has a model of the original Wren design for the Tower.
The name of the Church is believed to come from St Bridget, an Irish saint. It has been speculated that the original church foundation in the 6th Century may have been by a group of Irish Monks.
The church has been rebuilt and extended many times most notable after it was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666 and by the air raid on December 29th 1940 during the Blitz of London. The Church we see today was rebuilt after the war, predominantly with funds from the Newspaper and Publishing industries to the 1667 design of Christopher Wren. One consequence of the rebuilding was the rediscovery of the crypt, which had been sealed off over 100 years previously. Here there were many coffin burials, along with a Charnel House containing the bones recovered when the Churchyard was cleared in the 19th Century, alongside the remains of the earlier churches on the site.
The Tower id said to have inspired the first tiered Wedding cake, when in 1703 Thomas Rich, a Baker’s apprentice from nearby Ludgate Hill drew on the Tower’s design to make an extravagant cake.
Pete's Favourite Things 