All Hallows Lombard Street

All Hallows Lombard Street stood in the City of London behind thin buildings on Gracechurch Street and Lombard Street. It dated from the 11th century and was rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666 under Sir Christopher Wren. The medieval church had aisles added early in the 16th century, with work paid for by the Pewterers’ Company. A stone porch from Clerkenwell Priory was installed, and the tower received a single bell. After the Great Fire the parish paid £8,058 to erect Wren’s plain exterior church, completed in 1694. The rebuilt church measured 84 feet by 52 feet with a plain interior and a west gallery on one column. Oak panelling rose nine feet up the walls, and carved figures of Death and Time stood above the doorcases. An organ by Renatus Harris was installed in 1695 and used until 1902. John Wesley preached here in 1789 after forgetting his sermon, taking the rebuke to trust God instead. During the Napoleonic Wars the roof stored ammunition for a volunteer corps. The church was demolished in 1937 when the parish population declined. Wren’s tower, porch and fittings were moved to All Hallows Twickenham. The site now forms part of a tall building at 2 George Yard and 20 Gracechurch Street, with Ball Alley still marking the old approach. A parish boundary mark survives in Lombard Street, and the parish is now united with St Edmund the King and Martyr.