The United Parishes
Since the Great Fire of 1666, St Vedast has been accumulating adjacent parishes as churches have disappeared, either through fire, war or development.
The current list of thirteen other parishes now under the auspices of St Vedast is as follows:
St Alban Wood Street – dating back to Saxon times, the church was destroyed in the Great Fire and rebuilt by Wren in the Gothic style, only to be bombed in WWII. Only its tower remains.
St Anne and St Agnes – a medieval foundation just at the junction of Foster Lane and Gresham Street, the church was rebuilt by Wren after being burnt down in the Great Fire. It was largely rebuilt after WWII to Wren’s original plans.
St Lawrence Jewry – possibly founded as early as the 10th century, and now the Guild Church of the City of London Corporation. Wren’s post-Great Fire church was destroyed in the Blitz and restored by Cecil Brown, reopening in 1957.
St Mary Aldermanbury – what was left of this Wren church after WWII was demolished and reconstructed at Westminster College in Fulton Missouri. The foundations of the church are planted as a garden.
St Michael-le-Querne – the medieval church was destroyed in the Great Fire and not rebuilt. The only evidence of its existence is a boundary marker on the St Paul’s Choir School building.
St Matthew Friday Street – the church formerly stood in the lane off Cheapside where fishmongers sold their goods on Fridays. Although rebuilt by Wren after the 1666 fire, it was demolished for redevelopment in the 19th century.
St Peter Cheap – the churchyard of St Peter’s is now a garden in Wood Street, just off Cheapside, featuring a fine 200 year old plane tree. The church was not rebuilt after the Great Fire.
St Olave Silver Street – both church and street are now gone, the church in the Great Fire and the street in post war redevelopment. An open space has an inscribed stone marking the church’s destruction.
St Michael Wood Street – having been rebuilt by Wren after the Great Fire, the church was demolished in 1894 when the parish was united with St Alban Wood Street. Nothing remains of the church.
St Mary Staining – burnt down in the Great Fire, the church was not rebuilt. The site of church and churchyard now forms an attractive garden beside the Pewterers’ Company hall.
St Mary Magdalene Milk Street – a small church dating back to the 12th century, it was not rebuilt after the Great Fire, and the site was later occupied by the City of London School.
St John Zachary – the church, which stood opposite the Goldsmith’s Hall at the junction of Gresham Street and Noble Street where there is now an attractive garden, was not rebuilt after 1666. The parish was united with that of St Anne and St Agnes, and consequently later united with St Vedast.
St Michael Bassishaw – the church perished in the Great Fire and was rebuilt by Wren. It was eventually demolished in 1900 as nearby excavations made its foundations unsafe.