St Benet Fink

St Benet Fink was a 13th-century church on Threadneedle Street in the City of London. It stood there until the Great Fire of 1666 destroyed it. Sir Christopher Wren rebuilt it in the 17th century after the fire. The church had a decagonal plan with an oval dome and lantern. Its tower reached 110 ft and carried a ball and cross instead of a weather vane. The church’s history includes the 1662 marriage of Puritan divine Richard Baxter. John Henry Newman, later a cardinal, was baptised there in 1801. The Royal Exchange’s rebuilding in the 19th century led to the church’s demolition between 1841 and 1846. Its furnishings and altarpiece paintings were later moved to other sites. Today the site holds an eight-storey office block on Threadneedle Street. The churchyard once extended behind houses in Sweetings Rents, supported by pillars forming a colonnade. Wren’s design may have drawn on Bernini’s Roman church. The church’s unique features included a square dome and a ball-and-cross spire.