St Leonard, Foster Lane, was a Church of England church dedicated to Leonard of Noblac on the west side of Foster Lane in the Aldersgate ward of the City of London.[1][2] It was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and not rebuilt.
| St Leonard, Foster Lane | |
|---|---|
 Ruins of St. Leonard's | |
 | |
| Location | Foster Lane, London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| History | |
| Founded | 13th century |
| Architecture | |
| Closed | 1666 |
History
editThis church originally belonged to the College of St Martin-le-Grand.[3] It was founded in the 13th century by the dean and canons of St. Martin's,[4] to serve the inhabitants of the precinct, who had previously worshipped at the altar of St Leonard in the collegiate church.[1] The building, which was small, stood in the courtyard of the collegiate church, on the west side of Foster Lane.[3]
There is a record of a new window being installed in the chancel in 1533.[3] In 1579, the existing graveyard, being too small was leased out, and a new one laid out on an area of the precinct previously known as the "Dean's Garden" leased by the churchwarden and parishioners for a term of 61 years.[1] The building was repaired and enlarged in 1631,[3] at a cost of more than £500.[1]
The poet Francis Quarles, who died 1644, was buried there.[5]
Destruction
edit
St Leonard's was largely destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and not rebuilt.[6] the parish instead being united to that of Christ Church, Newgate Street, and the site used as a graveyard.[1] Some ruins of the church remained, however, until the early 19th century, when they were finally cleared [7] to make way for the new buildings of the General Post Office.[3]
Despite the destruction of the church, the "Parish Dole"[8] was still available as late as 1907.[9]
Its former burial ground now forms part of Postman's Park.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Newcourt, Richard (1708). Repetorium Ecclesiasticum Parochiale Londinense. Vol. 1. London. pp. 293–4.
- ^ "Vanished Churches in the City of London" Huelin,G: London,Guildhall Library Publications,1996 ISBN 0-900422-42-4
- ^ a b c d e White, J.G. (1901). The Churches and Chapels of Old London. London. pp. 90–3.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Jenkinson, Wilberforce (1917). London Churches Before the Great Fire. London: Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge.
- ^ Wheatley, Henry Benjamin (24 February 2011). London Past and Present. Cambridge [u.a.]: Cambridge Univ. Press. p. 386. ISBN 9781108028073.
- ^ The "Churches of the City of London" Reynolds,H: London, Bodley Head, 1922
- ^ Betjeman, John (1967). The City of London Churches. Andover: Pitkin. ISBN 0-85372-112-2.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 387.
- ^ Pearce, Charles William (1909). Notes on old London city churches : their organs, organists, and musical associations. London: Vincent Music Company.
