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John the Evangelist Friday Street
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Location: St John the Evangelist Friday Street, City of London, London, England, United Kingdom. (51°30′43″N 0°5′36″W).
St John the Evangelist Friday Street
St John the Evangelist Friday Street was a church in Bread Street Ward of the City of London.
History of St John the Evangelist Friday Street:
The church stood on the south side of Bread Street, on the corner with Friday Street. In the early 18th century, the parish was described as covering "part of Watling Street", the number of houses being "24 and an half." The patronage of the church belonged to the prior and abbey of Christchurch, Canterbury, until the dissolution, and then to the dean and chapter of Canterbury Cathedral.
In the early 1620s a debate was held between George Walker, the church's puritan rector, and some Roman Catholics. The pastor argued that the Church of England was the "true church" and that the Church of Rome was "the whore of Babylon." The Catholic priests replied that "you Protestants in England, have no Church nor Faith." The debate, which was conducted mainly in a series of syllogisms, was published in a pamphlet.
The building was renovated at the cost of the parishioners in 1626, and in the same year a gallery was added at the sole expense of one of them, Thomas Goodyeare. Burials at the church included Sir Christopher Askew, who was Lord Mayor of London in 1533.
The parish was the only one in the City parishes not to register a single death during the Great Plague.
