St Magnus the Martyr, City of London
St Magnus the Martyr, City of London
St Magnus the Martyr is a Grade I Wren church on Lower Thames Street, beside London Bridge, in the Diocese of London.
- Location
- City of London, Greater London
- Country
- England
- County
- Greater London
- City / town
- City of London
- Address
- Lower Thames Street, City of London, Greater London, EC3R 6DN
- Postcode
- EC3R 6DN
- Built
- 1671–87; steeple finished 1705
- Architect
- Sir Christopher Wren
- Denomination
- Church of England
- Dedication
- Magnus the Martyr
- Diocese
- London
- Parish
- St Magnus the Martyr
- Grade
- I
- Style
- English Baroque
- Materials
- Portland stone to the north elevation; rubble patched with brick to the east; lead-covered dome and spire
- Grid reference
- TQ 329 807
- Opening hours
- Church is usually open Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 4pm.
- Access
- Accessible toilets nearby. Level access to the main areas
Overview
Historic England records a rebuild of 1671 to 1687, with the steeple finished in 1705, by Sir Christopher Wren. The church is a rectangular aisled building with clerestory. The north elevation is Portland stone, with a pedimented doorway and a circular opening enriched with a carved festoon; the east wall, of rubble patched with brick, has a single blocked opening. The west tower is pierced by north and south archways, with a bracketed clock dated 1709, a high lantern, pilastered and arcaded, a lead-covered dome, small lantern and spire.
The interior has an Ionic colonnade on octagonal bases supporting a later eighteenth-century plaster barrel vault and flat aisle ceilings. The listing notes a west organ gallery on wrought-iron columns, a large reredos with painted panels of Moses and Aaron, a pulpit with tester, high pews to the west, wainscot, a wrought-iron altar rail and a sword rest. The medieval church stood at the north end of London Bridge; after the Great Fire the parish of St Margaret New Fish Street was united with St Magnus.