St Ethelburga's Bishopsgate - History

History

This structure is a rare survival of the medieval City churches that were mostly destroyed during the Great Fire of London in 1666. It is dedicated to St Ethelburga, a 7th century abbess of Barking; she was the sister of Saint Erkenwald, a Bishop of London. Its foundation date is unknown, but it was first recorded in 1250 as the church of St Adelburga-the-Virgin. The dedication to "-the-Virgin" was dropped in Puritan times but was later restored.

The church was rebuilt in the 15th century – possibly around 1411 – and a small square bell turret was added in 1775. In order to raise revenue for the church, whose parish covered just three acres (12,000 m²), a wooden porch was built over its exterior in the 16th century to house two shops. It underwent major changes in 1932, when Bishopsgate was controversially widened. The shops were demolished and the porch dismantled, revealing the façade of the church for the first time in centuries.

It suffered modest bomb damage during the London Blitz of the Second World War and was restored in 1953. In 1993, the church was half destroyed when a massive IRA 1993 Bishopsgate bombing bomb exploded nearby, devastating Bishopsgate and causing an estimated £350M worth of damage. An evangelical faction of the Church of England proposed to demolish St Ethelburga's in the aftermath but, following a sustained public outcry, it was rebuilt to its original plan, though much changed internally.