Google Street View of St
Mary-at-Hill
View Larger Map
Location: St Mary-at-Hill, City of London, London, England, United Kingdom. (51.510069°N 0.08374°W).
Website: www.stmary-at-hill.org
Phone: +44 20 7626 4184
St Mary-at-Hill
St Mary-at-Hill is a Church of England church on Lovat Lane, a cobbled street off Eastcheap in the ward of Billingsgate in the City of London. Coordinates: 51.510069°N 0.08374°W
It was originally founded in the 12th century and it was first known as "St. Mary de Hull" or " St. Mary de la Hulle". It was badly damaged in the Great Fire of London in 1666; afterwards it was partly rebuilt and has been much altered since, although some medieval fabric survives.
Although its official address is Lovat Lane, the more notable side faces a street, itself called 'St. Mary at Hill', where there is a large two-faced clock extending several feet into the street. There is a narrow alleyway alongside, but no right of way.
History of St Mary-at-Hill:
St Mary-at-Hill dates to 1336. The north aisle was rebuilt at the end of the 15th century, and a south aisle and steeple were added a little later. John Stow, writing at end of the 16th century, described it as "the fair church of Saint Marie, called on the Hill, because of the ascent from Billingsgate".
The church was badly damaged in the Great Fire of 1666 which began only a few feet away in Pudding Lane. After the blaze, the parish was united with that of St Andrew Hubbard, which was not rebuilt. Christopher Wren rebuilt the interior and the east end, but retained the medieval walls on the other three sides, and the west tower to which he added a lantern. Wren's east end has a venetian window, now blocked up, and a broken pediment. His interior has four free-standing corinthian columns, supporting barrel vaults in a Greek cross pattern, and a coffered central dome. The church is 96 ft long and 60 ft wide.
A hoard of coins (now known as the Mary Hill hoard) was found in a basement near St Mary-at-Hill in the 18th century. The hoard included the only known example of a coin from the Horndon mint.
There have been considerable alterations since the 17th century. In 1787-88, George Gwilt rebuilt the west wall and replaced the tower in brick and in 1826-27 James Savage installed round-headed iron-framed windows in the north wall and replaced the vaults, ceilings and plasterwork. In 1848-49 he added a cupola to the dome and cut windows through the chancel vault. In 1849, the 17th century wooodwork was sympathetically augmented and adapted by W. Gibbs Rogers. The church survived the Blitz unharmed but was severely damaged by a fire in 1988, after which the roof and ceiling had to be rebuilt. Much of the woodwork, including the box-pews, has not been reinstated.
Writing before the 1988 fire, John Betjeman said of the church: "This is the least spoiled and the most gorgeous interior in the City, all the more exciting by being hidden away among cobbled alleys, paved passages, brick walls, overhung by plane trees…"
The church was designated a Grade I listed building on 4 January 1950. On the street St Mary at Hill, there is an adjacent Grade II brick and stone rectory of 1834 designed by James Savage, incorporating a vestry of the late 17th century.
