St Margaret Lothbury

St Margaret Lothbury is a 12th-century parish church on Lothbury in the City of London. It stands where Coleman Street Ward meets Broad Street Ward. The church was rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666 by Sir Christopher Wren’s office. Today it remains an active parish church and the official church of five Livery Companies. Two Ward Clubs and two Professional Institutes also use the building. Finance houses in the area hold annual special services here. The church’s history begins in 1185 when it was dedicated to Margaret of Antioch. After the Dissolution its patronage passed from Barking Abbey to the Crown. In 1440 Robert Large, Lord Mayor and William Caxton’s former master, paid for a major rebuilding. The Great Fire destroyed it again in 1666, and Wren rebuilt it between 1686 and 1690. In 1781 the parish of St Christopher le Stocks was merged into St Margaret Lothbury after its church was demolished for the Bank of England’s expansion. Inside, the church preserves fine 17th-century woodwork rescued from other demolished Wren churches. Grinling Gibbons is thought to have carved the reredos, communion rails and font. The pulpit sounding board and rood screen came from All-Hallows-the-Great. Two paintings of Moses and Aaron, now flanking the high altar, were transferred from St Christopher le Stocks in 1781. George Pike England’s organ of 1801 still stands in its original case with nearly all its original pipes. The building was recognised as a Grade I listed structure in 1950.