Churches of the British Isles

The church was first rebuilt by William I, and then again under the Plantagenet kings. It was in such a bad state by 1680 that it was demolished and again rebuilt by 1682 by Christopher Wren. The steeple was added to the 35 metre-tall tower in 1719-1720 by James Gibbs. The church was almost destroyed during the Blitz, on 10 May 1941. The outer walls, the tower, and Gibbs' steeple survived, but the interior was gutted by fire. Rebuilding was completed by the RAF in 1958.

The Parish Church of St Mary-le-Strand occupies the centre of the Strand, close to the Postland Road junction. It existed in 1147, a short distance to the south, and by 1222 it was known as the Church of the Innocents, or St Mary and the Innocents. This church was pulled down in 1549 by Edward Seymour, first duke of Somerset, to make way for Somerset House. The parishioners were promised a new church which he never built, forcing them to move to the Savoy Chapel.

The current site was formerly occupied by a great maypole which had been the scene of May Day festivities in the 1500s and 1600s but was severely decayed by the early 1700s. Church building began in February 1714 under the architect James Gibbs. The steeple was completed in September 1717, but the church was not consecrated for use until 1 January 1723, and narrowly escaped destruction at the start of the twentieth century when the Strand was widened.

The Salvation Army Congress Hall of 1904 formerly stood at the southern end of Kingsway, overlooking it from the Strand. The hall was erected specifically as a temporary structure for the '1904 Congress'. A great Salvation Army 'March Past' took place at the Crystal Palace in South London. Today Bush House stands on the Kingsway site, home until recently for the BBC World Service. Bush House was built by the Bush Terminal Company of New York, opening in 1923-1935.

Enon Chapel formerly existed on St Clement's Lane, now on the north side of the Royal Courts of Justice. The building stood close to the eastern entrance to Clement's Inn, and access to it was through a gateway leading into a narrow and extremely dingy court, which opened out into Carey Street. It was converted from secular to religious use in 1823 by a Dissenting congregation. The main floor was used for services, while the large sub-floor level was used to bury the dead.

The basement filled up with coffins thanks to a corrupt Congregational minister. The scandal was uncovered in 1844 when a new sewer was laid. The chapel was closed but the bodies left to rot. The main hall was tenanted by teetotallers who turned it into a dancing-room ('Dancing on the Dead', pictured). A surgeon took over the chapel in 1848 and removed most bodies to Norwood Cemetery. The building was then converted into a chapel of ease called Clare Market Chapel.

St John the Evangelist Drury Lane is on the western side of the Strand's Drury Lane in the City of Westminster. The first place of worship to open here, in 1838, was known as Tavistock Chapel. Possibly this was an Anglican mission, although that cannot be confirmed. That was replaced by a permanent building in 1855 to cater for the burgeoning Covent Garden population. Records start in 1855, but the church gained its own parish in 1858 - sometimes taken as its opening date.

The architect William Butterfield (1814-1900) was known for the Gothic revival style he championed. He was responsible for the design work on the building - and many other such buildings - having set up his own design practice in 1840. He was later awarded a gold medal, in 1884, by the Royal Institute of British Architects. The church was closed in 1938 and the declining parish was united to that of Holy Trinity Kingsway (see 'related links').

Crown Court Scottish National Church is nestled amongst the Covent Garden theatres, immediately west of St John Drury Lane (above). It is the Presbyterian representative of the Scottish Church in London, the first of its kind to be established south of the border in 1711, just four years after the 'Act of Union' between England and Scotland, although Whitehall Palace Chapel (see links) perhaps was unofficially used from 1603 by the court of James I of England.

Eight photos on this page by P L Kessler, and one kindly provided by Rob Kinnon-Brettle and reproduced with permission, © SA Historical and Philatelic Association.