- St Botolph's Aldgate
Infobox Historic building
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name= St Botolph's Without-Aldgate and Holy Trinity Minories
location_town=London
location_country=England
architect=George Dance the Elder
construction_start_date=1115 , 16th Century, and1741
completion_date=1744
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style=Georgian architecture Infobox church
name = St. Botolph's Aldgate
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denomination =Anglican , earlierRoman Catholic
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website =St Botolph's Church, Aldgate is a Church of England liberal inclusive parish church in the
City of London standing at the junction ofHoundsditch and Aldgate High Street. The current 18th Century church is made ofbrick with stone quoins and window casings ["The Old Churches of London" Cobb,G: London, Batsford, 1942] . The tower is square with an obelisk spire.cite book
last = Saunders
first = Ann
authorlink =
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title = The Art and Architecture of London: An Illustrated Guide
publisher = Phaidon
date = 1984
location = Oxford
pages = 80 ] It is a short walk away fromMitre Square , the site of the murder ofCatherine Eddowes byJack the Ripper .History
The first written record of this church appears in
1115 when it was received by theHoly Trinity Aldgate priory (recently founded byQueen Matilda ) but the parochial foundations may very well be pre-1066 [ "The City of London Churches" Betjeman,J Andover, Pikin, 1967 ISBN 0853721122] . The church was rebuilt in the 16th Century and then again between1741 -1744 to designs byGeorge Dance the Elder .The interior "was redecorated byJ. F. Bentley , the architect of Westminster Cathedral ["London:the City Churches” Pevsner,N/Bradley,S : New Haven, Yale, 1998 ISBN 0300096550] , was severely bombed at intervals during theSecond World War and then, after its restoration byRodney Tatchell , was much damaged by an inexplicable outbreak of fire in1965 , so that further restoration had to be carried out ["The Visitors Guide to the City of London Churches" Tucker,T: London, Friends of the City Churches, 2006 ISBN 0955394503] . St Botolph's was rehallowed on8 November 1966 by theBishop of London , in the presence of the Queen Elizabeth, theQueen Mother and SirRobert Bellinger , theLord Mayor of London , who attended in state."Organ
The organ by
Renatus Harris was built in the early 18th Century ["Notes on Old City Churches: their organs, organists and musical associations" Pearce,C.W. London, Winthrop Rogers Ltd 1909] . It has recently undergone a historical restoration by the organ builders "Goetze and Gwyn". It has been restored to its 1744 specification using many of the original components. This organ has been described as the oldest church organ in the UK. [http://www.organfocus.com/features/events/stbotolphs.doc Organ restoration press release] Although there are older pipes and cases, this is the oldest collection of pipes in their original positions on their original wind chests. [http://www.goetzegwynn.co.uk/restored/aldgate.shtml Restorers website]Donated by
Thomas Whiting in 1676 and was built between 1702-4. It was enhanced for the new church (the current building) by Harris' son-in-law John Byfield in 1740. The organ was considerably enlarged several times in the 19th Century, and again rebuilt byMander Organs in 1960’s having survived aWorld War II bomb , which lodged in the roof of the Church but failed to explode. The decision to restore the instrument was taken by St Botolph’s in 2002 after which a fundraising campaign was launched. The restoration, undergone under the consultancy of Ian Bell took 9 months during which time the organ has been at the workshops of Goetze and Gwynn inWelbeck ,Nottinghamshire . It was reinstalled in May 2006.Notable parishioners
*
Daniel Defoe was married here in1683 .
*Thomas Bray founder ofSPCK was Rector here 1706-1730References
External links
* [http://www.stbotolphs.org.uk/index.php Church website]
* [http://www.goetzegwynn.co.uk/restored/aldgate.shtml Website of Goetze and Gwynn, containing pictures and specification of the organ]
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