History
The first church on the site was reputedly founded by Danes living nearby in the 9th century. The location, on the river between the City of London and the future site of Westminster, was home to many Danes at a time when half of England was Danish; being a seafaring race, the Danes named the church they built after St Clement, patron saint of mariners. King Harold I "Harefoot" was buried here in March 1040 after his body was disinterred by his briefly usurped brother Harthacnut, and thrown into the marshes bordering the Thames.
The church was first rebuilt by William the Conqueror, and then again in the Middle Ages. It was in such a bad state by the end of the 17th century that it was demolished and again rebuilt from 1680–1682, this time by Christopher Wren. The steeple was added to the 115 foot tower from 1719-1720 by James Gibbs.
William Webb Ellis, often credited with the invention of Rugby football in 1823 was once rector of the church, and is commemorated by a memorial tablet.
Saint Clement is commemorated every April at St Clement Danes, a modern clementine custom/revival. Reverend William Pennington-Bickford initiated the service in 1919 to celebrate the restoration of the famous church bells and carillon, which he’d had altered to ring out the popular nursery rhyme. This special service for children ends with the distribution of oranges and lemons to the boys and girls. Formerly William Bickford, William Pennington-Bickford (died 1941) was Rector from 1910 to 1941 and he and his wife Louisa became known for their devotion to the welfare of the parish. (He had succeeded his father-in-law in the benefice.)
The church was almost destroyed by German bombs during the London Blitz of 10 May 1941. The outer walls, the tower and Gibbs's steeple, survived the bombing, but the interior was gutted by fire.
In 1844 St. Clement Danes School was constructed on land on Houghton Road, Holborn which the churchwardens had purchased in 1552. It opened in 1862 and remained there until 1928, then moved to Shepherd's Bush until 1975, when it was finally re-established as a comprehensive school in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire.
Read more about this topic: St Clement Danes
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