St Dionis Backchurch

St Dionis Backchurch stood in the Langbourn ward of the City of London, a medieval parish church rebuilt after the Great Fire of London to designs by Christopher Wren. The name may come from its position behind other buildings or in relation to St Gabriel Fenchurch. By 1288 it already had a rector, Reginald de Standen, and in 1466 Alderman John Darby added an aisle where he was later buried. John Strype recorded repairs in 1629 and 1632, including a new turret and frames for the bells. The church’s patronage belonged to the canons of Christchurch, Canterbury until the Dissolution, then passed to Canterbury Cathedral. Burial registers list three Virginians who died in 1613 and 1616 while living in Philpot Lane. After the Great Fire the church was rebuilt in 1674 at a cost of £5,737, with a tower added ten years later. Wren’s design used stone and brick, the east end facing Lime Street featuring a pediment and coupled Ionic pilasters. A 15th-century crypt survived beneath the chancel according to a survey in 1858. The main body measured 66 feet by 59 feet, divided by Ionic columns with an arched nave ceiling and horizontal aisle ceilings. A west gallery housed an organ, and the tower rose in three storeys to an open parapet. In 1724 a new three-manual organ with 29 stops was installed, designed by Renatus Harris and approved by Handel and other experts. The church received a commemorative plaque marking its demolition in 1878, now on the wall opposite 24 Lime Street. Its ten bells were moved to All Hallows Lombard Street and later to All Hallows, Twickenham, where six survive. The organ was passed through several churches, its pipework eventually incorporated into the Mander organ at St Vedast Foster Lane. The site now holds modern buildings, while the parish continues as part of St Edmund the King and Martyr with St Mary Woolnoth. A parish mark can still be seen in Philpot Lane.