- St Michael, Cornhill
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name = St. Michael, Cornhill
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caption = View of church from St. Michael's Alley
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denomination =Church of England , earlierRoman Catholic
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address =City of London
country =United Kingdom
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website =St Michael, Cornhill is a medieval parish church in the
City of London with pre-Norman Conquest parochial foundation. The medieval structure was lost in theGreat Fire of London and the current church was designed by SirChristopher Wren between 1670-1677 ["A Dictionary of London" Harben,H: London, Herbert Jenkins, 1918] . The oblong church is 80 by 60 feet. The church has one of the oldest sets of churchwarden's records in the City of London, which are now kept in theGuildhall Library .Wren's tower was replaced in 1715 with a pinnacled structure (completed in 1722), officially by Wren (who was 90 at the time) but the design bears a strong resemblance to the work of Wren's apprentice
Nicholas Hawksmoor [ "London:the City Churches” Pevsner,N/Bradley,S New Haven, Yale, 1998 ISBN 0300096550] , who would create similar towers onWestminster Abbey 's West End.The Gothic-styled porch (1858-1860) facing Cornhill is a Victorian addition by Sir
George Gilbert Scott ["The Visitors Guide to the City of London Churches" Tucker,T: London, Friends of the City Churches, 2006 ISBN 0955394503] . Just as this Gothic addition with its Venetian tracery windows was inappropriate, so too was Scott's restoration, which repainted the interior, disposed of the old furnishings, installed a new reredos, pulpit, pew ends, and inserted stained glass byClayton and Bell . Few original elements of the church were retained from its Victorian re-imagining but the 1672font given byJames Paul did survive, although a new balustrade was added ["The Old Churches of London" Cobb,G: London, Batsford, 1942] .The current rector is the Revd
Peter Mullen .Notable Parishoners
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James Paul
*William Boyce , composer and organist of the church for 32 years
*Dr.Harold Darke , organist of the church from 1916-1966
*Obadiah Shuttleworth , composer and organist of the church until his death in 1734Notes
* [http://www.st-michaels.org.uk/ St Michael's website]
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