St Edmund, King and Martyr, London

St Edmund, King and Martyr is an Anglican church in Lombard Street, in the City of London. It stands in the ward of Langbourn and has a ward noticeboard outside. The church is dedicated to St Edmund the Martyr, who died in AD 869. It has housed the London Centre for Spirituality and now the London Centre for Spiritual Direction. Regular worship is organised by Imprint Church. The building remains consecrated.

The church has a long history. It was first recorded in 1292 as ‘Saint Edmund towards Garcherche’. John Stow’s Survey of London in 1598 called it St Edmund Grass Church because a grass market came up to the church. The medieval church was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. The present church was built between 1670 and 1679 to designs by Robert Hooke, signed off by Sir Christopher Wren. Its tower has flaming urns in allusion to the Great Fire, and its altar faces north instead of east.

The church has seen notable events. Joseph Addison was married here in 1716. In 1868 a riot occurred outside after sermons by the Rev. J. L. Lyne. Bomb damage in 1917 and 1941 required extensive repairs. Fragments of the German bomb from 1917 are preserved inside. The church was listed Grade I in 1950. Today it forms part of a combined parish and houses the office of the Bishop of Islington.