City Churches: St Andrew Undershaft
After many months of arranging, I finally managed to access St Andrew Undershaft, which is located in St Mary Axe, at the foot of the Swiss Re building, aka The Gherkin. This early 16C church is normally closed to the public, but the good people of St Helen’s Bishopsgate, who administer the building, kindly gave me and three fellow historians the run of the place for well over an hour. It is not especially remarkable as old churches go, but is notable for a number of reasons: it is one of the few surviving pre-Restoration churches in the City; it survived the Great Fire of London, the Blitz and an IRA bomb in 1992. But most important of all, it was the parish church of John Stow, who in 1598 published the Survey of London, an invaluable document which tells us much about life in late-Tudor London. He is commemorated in an alabaster monument to the left of the altar, holding a quill pen. The quill is replaced every three years in a solemn ceremony run by the Merchant Taylor’s Company. The next service is on 6 April in a few weeks’ time.
Like many of the City’s churches, there is the business of the strange name. The shaft that the church was under was, in medieval times, an adjacent may pole, which by all accounts was huge, possibly taller than the church tower. Festivals were celebrated here until in 1517, the apprentices of London staged a violent riot at the site and the City authorities had the pole removed. It eventually perished entirely the following century when the Puritan administration of the Commonwealth ordered it cut up and burned, it having pagan rather than Christian significance.
More info here and here.
This is very good. I knew of St Augustin from Alfred the Great. He had his body carried all round the battle fields when fighting the Danes.
Merchant Taylor’s this is the founders of the school?
Yes, Merchant Taylors Company is very much associated with the school of the same name.
Well done for getting inside. What is the church used for now? The tables and chairs in the nave make it look rather like a classroom or a cafe.
I have not seen this church myself but I did visit one that is nearby – St Helens. I discovered it by chance and was invited to come in and explore (my blog 31/7/09). They discreetly left me to it.
It’s run by St Helen’s Bishopsgate who also look after two other churches in the vicinity, including the St Helens that you mention. As I understand it, St Helen’s is a vibrant Christian community, many of whom are students and volunteers. They use St Andrew Undershaft for having lunch. There’s a full-on food service point out of picture to the left.
http://www.st-helens.org.uk/
I think they wish to avoid being overwhelmed by visitors, but are very accommodating once you get fixed up.
Yes, that makes sense: it does look like a refectory or similar.
I am interested in the relationship between the churches. They certainly do seem welcoming: I was merely photographing the exterior of St Helen’s when someone came out and invited me in. They did suggest that I might like to to buy a printed guide to the church but then discreetly retired to allow me to explore on my own. They also invited me to return another time.
Enjoyed your article – helped fill in my family history research. The Hamersley monument inside is of my ancestors. Good to know about where the undershaft name comes from..
actualy this man John stow is in relation to my family. my name is jeff stow and after the passing of my grandpa i’ve decided to start digging i’m surely in awe of what i find…
i’m related to John Stow too!
Have you been able to trace the family line of John Stow, Jeff?….I’d be interested to know if you have, as I’m his 5x great grandson
John Stow is my husbands 11th great grandfather – and we just made the connection last week that it is the English Historian John Stow!!
I think that the quill changing ceremony every three years might be worth a visit from Queensland.
Have you been able to trace the family line of John Stow, Erica?….I’d be interested to know if you have, as I’m his 5x great grandson
i am also john stow i am also researching into my grandfather, noah stow
his ancestor,s
the church was very helpful and informative, as I’m tracing my Stow family. if a visit is in order, contact St Helen’s church-just across the road.
Thanks for posting this. My relative, Richard Edelen (1635-1694) who emigrated to Maryland, USA had this as his home parish. He was born in Middlesex, England one of three children born to Reverend Philip and Catherine (Offley) Edelen and became a prominent Catholic in Maryland. It is great to see photos of this church and know that it survived!!
Susan
If anyone, especially Stow descendants, has any information connecting Stow to a famous contemporary, one William Shakespeare, or any other information about Shakespeare who lived close by in the late 1580s to early 1590s, I would be delighted to hear from them. justinbarnard@btinternet.com