St Andrew Undershaft

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name = St Andrew Undershaft
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address = City of London
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St Andrew Undershaft is a Church of England church located at St Mary Axe, in Aldgate ward of the City of London, near the Lloyd's Building. It is a rare example of a City church that has managed to escape both the Great Fire of London and the Second World War bombing ["The Visitors Guide to the City of London Churches" Tucker,T: London, Friends of the City Churches, 2006 ISBN 0955394503] .

The first church on the site was built in medieval times, being recorded in the 12th century. It was rebuilt in the 14th century and again in 1532 ["London:the City Churches" Pevsner,N/Bradley,S : New Haven, Yale, 1998 ISBN 0300096550] , whence the present church dates. It is constructed in the Perpendicular style [ "The City of London Churches" Betjeman,J Andover, Pikin, 1967 ISBN 0853721122] with its entrance located at the base of its off-centre tower. The interior is divided into six bays, with a variety of original fittings that has fortunately survived Victorian renovation. It used to have one of London's few surviving large stained glass windows, installed in the 17th century, but this was destroyed in an IRA bomb attack in 1992.

The church's curious name derives from the shaft of the maypole that was traditionally set up each year opposite the church [Cobb,G “London city churches”: London, B T Batsford Ltd., 1977] . The custom continued until 1517, when student riots put an end to it, but the maypole itself survived until 1547 when a Puritan mob seized and destroyed it as a "pagan idol".

The church is administered from St Helen's in Lime Street ward.

Notable people associated with the church

* John Stow, author of the "Survey of London": buried 1605
* Hugh Hamersley, Lord Mayor of London in 1627, whose memorial is in the church.

Notes

* List of churches in London

External links