St Nicholas Shambles

St Nicholas Shambles was a medieval church in the City of London. It stood on the corner of Butcher Hall Lane and Newgate Street. The church took its name from the Shambles, the butchers’ area in the west of Newgate Street. It first appears as St Nicholas de Westrnacekaria in records. In 1253 Walter de Cantilupe, Bishop of Worcester, granted indulgences to its parishioners. The church was given to the City corporation in 1546 by Henry VIII. It was demolished the following year as part of wider changes. Excavations between 1975 and 1979 uncovered several phases of building on the site. The original nave and chancel probably dated from the 11th century. They were extended in the late 12th century and chapels added in the 14th. The dig also uncovered the church’s graveyard. Among the finds was a woman who died in the later stages of childbirth. Surviving parish records include a detailed inventory of church goods from 1457. Churchwardens’ accounts run from 1452 to 1526 and are now held at St Bartholomew’s Hospital archives.