St Mary’s is tucked away halfway down the narrow Abchurch Lane that links Cannon Street and King William Street (EC4N 7BA). As Stephen Millar has written in his wonderful little book London’s City Churches, to stand in the old churchyard and look at the Dutch influenced red brick exterior it is not hard to imagine yourself back in the 17th century …
Built between 1681 and 1686, this is one of Wren’s greatest parish churches. The interior is almost square, its rich dark woodwork contributing to the intimate atmosphere …
The dome was built during Wren’s experimental period, later perfected on a much larger scale at St Paul’s Cathedral. The dome was painted in 1708 by parishioner William Snow and contains a heavenly choir around the name of God in Hebrew …
It’s very difficult to photograph but I found this image on Pinterest, copyright Rex Harris …
The beautiful reredos features limewood carvings by Grinling Gibbons, the pre-eminent carver of his generation …
The pelican in the centre represents the Eucharist and is also the crest of Corpus Christi College …
Also of note are the original box pews on three sides of the church …
The pulpit (circa 1685) is by William Grey and is one of the finest examples in any City church …
Near the entrance is an original alms box dating from 1694 (three keys were needed to open it!) …
On the front pews are two ceremonial wrought iron sword-rests used to support the civic sword when the Lord Mayor of London attends a service at the church. The arms on the sword-rests are those of two former parishioners who were also Lord Mayors of London, George Scholey (1812) and Samuel Birch (1814). The first …
And the second …
William Emmett made the wooden Royal Arms …
Along with the font cover …
The font itself is by William Kempster.
The church’s connection with the Fruiterers Company is commemorated by this charming stained glass window …
Outside you’ll find an old hydrant cover from 1841 which incorporates a parish marker. The pipe and outlet are clearly seen in the hole in the centre and only the cover that was originally across this hole is missing …
There’s an old ghost sign too …
It’s a lovely church to visit. There are regular organ recitals and you can grab a coffee and a snack from one of the stalls in the churchyard. Find out more here.
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