Mother Churches of London - reconnecting with the present through the past

Mother Churches of London

A personal project

Mother Churches of London celebrates my links to London, in particular the City of London. This project brings together the churches in which many of my ancestors were baptised or married. Shot in the space of two days in London, it was a moving way to revisit my former hometown, and seek connection with the lives of my mother’s paternal ancestors.

St James Garlickhythe. Know as ‘Wren’s Lantern’ for it profusion of windows, this church is sited approx 100m from where my 3rd Great-Grandfather Augustus had his warehouse. He married here in 1851.
St James Garlickhythe. Attribution panel to its architect, Sir Christopher Wren. In the background you can see a panel that illustrates the strong links between the church and the livery companies, particularly the Worshipful Company of Vintners.
St James Garlickhythe interior. The church is a stop on a pilgrims’ route ending at the cathedral of Santiago da Compostela. Visitors to the London church may have their credencial, or pilgrim passport, stamped with the impression of a scallop shell, the insignia of St James.
St James Garlickhythe, exterior. The church once would have stood much closer to the Thames when it was first built. It’s name comes from the landing places for Garlic (‘hythes’) that were close to the church.
St Giles-without-Cripplegate, At least two of my ancestors were baptised here, one of them also married in the church in 1755.
St Giles-without-Cripplegate. Known for it’s link with the puritan movement as well as the Livery Companies, it was the parish church for many prominent people of the age, including John Milton.
St Giles-without-Cripplegate, as seen from the Barbican. The church, as its name suggests, was built outside Cripplegate in the city walls. It is one of the few surviving medieval churches standing in the City of London, after the fire of 1666 and Nazi bombing in the 1940’s.
St Luke’s Old Street. It served as a parish church from 1733 to 1959. It was designed by John James and Nicholas Hawksmoor, and is a Grade I listed building.
St Luke’s Old Street. Now home to the London Symphony Orchestra, my 5th Great-Grandfather John married here in 1775
St John-at-Hackney, designed by James Spiller and built in 1792
St John-at-Hackney, a 2000 seat church built for the days when the parish had more than 3000 parishioners.
St John-at-Hackney, tower. My 4th Great-Grandfather Joseph was married here in October 1815.
St Dunstan’s and All Saints, Stepney. Founded in 952, the existing building is the third on the site and was built in the fifteenth century.
St Dunstan’s and All Saints, Stepney has long had links with the Vintners, Mercers & Coopers Livery Companies. My 3rd Great-Grandfather Augustus, son of a cooper, and future cooper, was baptised here in 1827.
With the ancient port of London nearby, St Dunstan’s and All Saints became known as the Church of the High Seas, and for this reason the red ensign, the flag flown by British passenger and merchant ships, is still flown from the tower. The church allowed the registration of those born at sea into the parish of Stepney.
St Anne’s Limehouse, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoorand consecrated in 1730.
St Anne’s Limehouse’s ornate ceiling. The church was gutted by fire in 1850, but restored to it’s former glory by 1854
St Anne’s Limehouse. Queen Anne decreed that as the new church was close to the river it would be a convenient place of registry for sea captains to register vital events taking place at sea.
St Mary-at-Lambeth. Originally founded in the 11th Century, it now is home to the Garden Museum after being deconsecrated in 1972
St Mary’s with it’s neighbour Lambeth Palace, home to the Archbishop of Canterbury. My 5th Great-Grandfather John was baptised here in 1753

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