St Olave's Church, Silver Street

St Olave's Church, Silver Street
Current photo of site
Map
LocationLondon
CountryEngland
DenominationAnglican
History
Founded10th century
EventsDestroyed by fire, 1666

St Olave's Church, Silver Street was a church on the south side of Silver Street, off Wood Street[1] in the Aldersgate ward of the City of London. It was dedicated to St Olaf, a Norwegian Christian ally of the English king Ethelred II. The church was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt.

History[edit]

The first reference to the church, in the twelfth century, refers to it as "St Olave de Mukewellestrate" from its proximity to Monkwell Street.[2] John Stow described it as "a small thing, without any noteworthy monuments".[1] It was rebuilt in 1609[3] and repaired 1662, at a cost of £50 7s 6d.

It had a small churchyard, and owned another piece of land for burials in Noble Street, which, from its connection with the Barber Surgeons, was known as the "anatomizer's ground".[4] From 1540 the Barber Surgeons carried out dissections at Monkwell Street for the purpose of anatomical teaching.

The church was destroyed in the Great Fire[5] and not rebuilt. Instead the parish was united with that of St Alban, Wood Street.[1] The site is now a garden,[6] at the end of Noble Street. A late 17th-century tablet marks the spot where it once stood,[7] off London Wall, near the Museum of London.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Pearce, C.W (1909). Notes on Old London Churches. London: C. Winthrop & Co. p. 229.
  2. ^ Huelin, G. (1996). Vanished Churches of the City of London. London: Guildhall Library Publications. ISBN 0-900422-42-4.
  3. ^ 'Cripplegate, one of the 26 Wards of the City of London' Baddesley, J.J p43: London; Blades, East & Blades; 1921
  4. ^ White, J. G. (1901). The Churches and Chapels of Old London. London. pp. 148–9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ Hibbert, C.; Weinreb, D.; Keay, J. (2008). The London Encyclopaedia. London: Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-4050-4924-5.
  6. ^ The Old Churches of London Cobb, G.: London, Batsford, 1942
  7. ^ London: the City Churches Pevsner, N.; Bradley, S. New Haven, Yale, 1998 ISBN 0-300-09655-0

External links[edit]

51°31′02″N 0°05′43″W / 51.5173°N 0.0953°W / 51.5173; -0.0953