St James Garlickhythe, London

St James Garlickhythe stands beside the Thames in Vintry ward, a rectangular church with a tall tower and a rare projecting chancel. The building is known as ‘Wren’s lantern’ for its many windows, which fill the interior with light. It was first recorded in the 12th century and rebuilt after the Great Fire by Sir Christopher Wren’s office. The church also serves several City livery companies and keeps a pilgrim passport stamp shaped like a scallop shell. The church’s history includes links to garlic traders and wine merchants who once worked nearby. In 1326 the Sheriff of London, a vintner named Richard de Rothing, paid for a rebuilding. Six medieval Lord Mayors were buried here, and Henry VIII’s officials used furnishings from a dissolved church to furnish St James. The oldest parish register in England, starting in 1535, is kept in its vestry. Inside, the body of the church is bright and spacious, with a gallery added in 1644. The tower was finished later by Nicholas Hawksmoor in 1717 after a long delay. The area around the church still follows the old lanes south of Cannon Street, and services use the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.