St Alfege Church, Greenwich

St Alfege Church stands in the heart of Greenwich, a short walk from the Royal Observatory and the river. Built on the spot where Archbishop Alfege was killed in 1012, it was first rebuilt in the late 13th century and again after Henry VIII’s christening in 1491. The medieval church collapsed in 1710, leaving only the tower standing. Nicholas Hawksmoor designed the present rectangular building, completed in 1714, with a Tuscan portico on the east front and giant pilasters running around the walls. The tower was refaced in 1730 by John James, who added the spire that remains today. The church is worth visiting for its long history and the figures connected to it. Henry VIII was baptised here, and Thomas Tallis, one of England’s greatest composers, is buried in the chancel. The organ has roots in the 16th century, and a three-manual console from Tallis’s time is displayed in the south aisle. General James Wolfe, who died at Quebec in 1759, lies against the outer north wall, while the actress Lavinia Fenton and the explorer Henry Kelsey are also buried nearby. The churchyard became a public garden in 1889, planted with 500 trees by Fanny Wilkinson. Inside, the flat ceiling and small apse create a calm space, while the surviving tower and spire mark the medieval past. The crypt served as an air-raid shelter during the Second World War, and the church was restored after bomb damage in 1941. A rood with stencils of Mary and St John was added in the side chapel, and the 1891 organ from Eton College now stands in the nave. The churchyard still holds events, and the park beyond offers a quiet place to sit among the trees.