London Drum

St. Bride’s Church – See Christopher Wren’s steeple & Roman pavement in the Crypt Museum

St Bride’sPhoto: londondrum.com
Where? St. Bride’s, Fleet Street, The City · Web: stbrides.com Opening times? 8 AM to 5 PM (Mon-Fri); 10 AM to 3.30 PM (Sat); 10 AM to 6.30 PM (Sun) Price? Free Time required? A typical visit is 1 hour Parking: Nearby car parks Buses: 11, 15, 26, 76, 341 Bus fares Trains: The closest station is St. Paul’s Central Other nearby stations: Blackfriars Train fares

Craig’s review… St. Bride’s has been pulled down, burnt down and put back up at least seven times in the last fifteen hundred years. The 15th-century version succumbed to the Great Fire of London and Christopher Wren’s rebuild barely survived the Luftwaffe after they lit a fire storm that melted the bells and nearly brought down St. Paul’s. So what you’re looking at today is his sturdy outer walls and steeple, but everything inside the front door dates from the post-war restoration.

Inside St. Bride’s churchPhoto: londondrum.com

Christopher Wren’s wedding cake steeple

The steeple famously inspired a local baker to create the world’s first three-tiered wedding cake, and it also gave the church its first link with America after the top was knocked off in a lightning strike. The American inventor Benjamin Franklin was still living in London at the time and was asked to fit one of his new-fangled lighting rods to the top, but he wanted to taper it off to a point whereas the English scientists preferred something blunt. George III then somehow got involved and sided with his own scientists, ordering that every lightning rod throughout the empire should henceforth be topped off with a cannonball. A few years later the American War of Independence broke out and Benjamin Franklin returned home to become one of its Founding Fathers.

Christopher Wren’s tiered wedding cake steeplePhoto: londondrum.com
Christopher Wren’s tiered wedding cake steeple

The second link is the bust of Virginia Dare just inside the front door. She’s believed to be was first English child born in the New World after her parents left London for the new colony of Roanoke. And whilst that fledgling town ultimately failed, millions of Americans can probably trace their ancestry back to a second boatload of parishioners that followed them over thirty years later.

The bust of Virginia Dare and her parentsPhoto: londondrum.com
The bust of Virginia Dare and her parents

Fleet Street newspapers

St. Bride’s has been associated with newspapers since the early 1500s when Wynkyn de Worde set up his printing press in Shoe Lane. For the next 200 years London was the only English city where printing was permitted and Fleet Street attracted every major paper from the Daily Courant up to The Sun. They’ve all moved out now but the church still retains a few plaques and memorials to journalists who lost their lives reporting on foreign wars.

Memorial to Journalists inside St. Bride’sPhoto: londondrum.com
Memorial to Journalists inside St. Bride’s church

Roman pavement inside the crypt museum

Bomb damage during the Blitz uncovered a medieval crypt that had been bricked up since the 17th-century, along with some old stoneware, stained glass and smashed fragments of the bells that were destroyed during the Great Fire of London. You can see all of these finds in an interesting little museum downstairs.

My favourite part is a claustrophobic corridor full of 19th-century headstones that are resting on a tumble of old stones. If you’re lucky enough to be down there on your own then it’s quite atmospheric with the low light and background hum of the air conditioning pipes.

The highlight is a piece of Roman pavement that was uncovered ten feet below the street. It’s not exactly easy to see because it’s awkwardly positioned behind a huge chunk of medieval masonry, so they’ve angled a couple of big mirrors on the ceiling to reflect the view from behind the walls.

Worth a visit? Value for money? freeGood for kids? Easy to get to?

I also recommend… If you enjoy this then try St. Bartholomew-the-Great (you can walk it 10 mins) and Temple Church (you can walk it in 4 mins). There’s another church museum with a piece of Roman pavement in the crypt of All Hallows by the Tower

How to get to St. Bride’s

Bus and train fares to St. Bride’s
Fare zone Cash Oyster & Contactless Travel­card
Single fare Single fare Daily cap One day
Peak Off-peak Peak Off-peak Any­time Off-peak
Bus n/a 1.75 5.25 6
Train (zone 1) 7 2.90 2.80 8.90 8.90 16.60(zone 1-4) 16.60(zone 1-6)
Train (zone 1-2) 7 3.50 2.90 8.90 8.90
Train (zone 1-3) 7 3.80 3.10 10.50 10.50
Train (zone 1-4) 7 4.60 3.40 12.80 12.80
Note: Prices are correct as of
Bus No.11, 15, 26, 76 and 341 all stop near St. Bride’s. The closest train station is St. Paul’s Central

Your comments (2)

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Ask a question, or share your experience of St. Bride’s

Mark When does St. brides open.

Craig Times are a bit different during the pandemic, but it’s usually 8 AM to 6 PM (Mon-Fri); 10 AM to 3.30 PM (Sat) and 10 AM to 6.30 PM (Sun).

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