St. Margaret Lothbury

To get an authentic feel of how the interior of a Post-Fire Christopher Wren Church would have looked, try St. Margaret Lothbury. Located opposite the Bank of England and built on vaults over the ancient Walbrook River, this is the third church on this site. The first mention of St. Margaret’s was in the 12^th Century and was rebuilt in 1440, funded by Lord Mayor Robert Large. After succumbing to the Great Fire of 1666, it was rebuilt between 1683-92 in Portland Stone, by Mason Samuel Fulkes to Christopher Wren’s design. The Steeple was added soon after (for a Post-Fire Church), just eight years later, in 1700.

Apart from the slender lead Spire, it’s plain exterior belies the treasures to be found inside. The church not only has many of it’s own original furnishings, including the Pulpit, but also some of the finest from demolished city churches. These include, a superb 17^th Century Choir Screen, obtained from ‘All Hallows the Great’, demolished in 1894. The items moved to St. Margaret’s were installed by West Country Architect Walter Tapper from 1890-8. Today it is still a serving Parish Church, used by the Bank of England, several Livery companies, and regularly by local city workers.Jeremy Crossley is  the present Vicar of St. Margaret Lothbury, but also oversees two other City churches, St. Mary Woolnoth, and St. Edmund King & Martyr, both designed by Christopher Wren’s colleague Nicholas Hawksmoor.