St Nicholas Cole Abbey

St Nicholas Cole Abbey is a 12th-century church on Queen Victoria Street in the City of London. Destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, it was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren’s office. The building suffered heavy bomb damage during the Second World War and was restored in the early 1960s. Its name comes from ‘coldharbour’, a medieval travellers’ shelter, though it was never an abbey. The church is dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra, patron of children and fishermen. The church’s history includes strong links with local trades. A 16th-century cistern fed by the Thames once stood against its north wall for fishmongers. Records show a boy bishop tradition on Saint Nicholas Day, and fishmongers were buried here in the 16th century. After the Great Fire, it became the first of fifty-one churches to be rebuilt. In the 19th century, its exterior blackened by underground smoke, it was nicknamed ‘St Nicholas Cole Hole Abbey’. Inside, the east wall features three stained-glass windows by Keith New, reminiscent of Marc Chagall’s work. These replaced earlier windows destroyed in 1941. The tower, 41 metres tall, holds a single bell and is topped by a lead spire with a ship-shaped weathervane. The interior was reordered in the 19th century when Queen Victoria Street was built, opening up new windows to the south. The church now serves as a centre for workplace ministry, with a supporting café known as The Wren.