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Benet, Paul's Wharf
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Location: St Benet, Paul's Wharf, City of London, London, England, United Kingdom. (51°30′42.01″N 0°5′57.38″W).
Website: www.stbenetwelshchurch.org.uk
Phone: +44 20 7489 8754
St Benet, Paul's Wharf
The Church of St Benet Paul's Wharf is the Welsh church of the City of London. Since 1555, it has also been the church of the College of Arms, and many officers of arms are buried there. In 1666, following the Great Fire of London, the church merged with nearby St Peter's. The current church was designed by Sir Christopher Wren.
History of St Benet, Paul's Wharf:
A Church has stood on this site since the year 1111, dedicated to St Benedict. Paul's Wharf was recently excavated to reveal its Roman foundations and was close by on the riverside. A little to the west stood the watergate of Baynard's Castle, frequently mentioned in church records, and part of the sad story of both Queen Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey. Both church and castle were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666.
The present church by Sir Christopher Wren was built by his master mason Thomas Strong between 1677 and 1683. It is a particularly valuable example of Wren's work, for it is one of only four churches in the city of London that escaped damage in during World War II, and remains basically as Wren built it. It resembles a Dutch country church and it is built of red and blue bricks with carved stone garlands over the windows. It also has a hipped roof on the north side. The Tower, built on the site of the original, contains the base of the old Tower to a height above ground of some twelve feet, but encased by new brick and stone.[3] It is surmounted by a dome and cupola, topped by a ball and weathervane, and rises to a height of 115 feet.
