St Leonard's, Shoreditch
Encyclopedia
St Leonard's, Shoreditch is the ancient parish church
of Shoreditch
, often known simply as Shoreditch Church. It is located at the intersection of Shoreditch High Street with Hackney Road
, within the London Borough of Hackney
. The current building dates from about 1740. The church is mentioned in the line "When I grow rich, say the bells of Shoreditch" from the nursery rhyme
Oranges and Lemons
and is noted as being the resting place of many actors from the Tudor period
.
in origin, though the first historical reference to it occurs in the 12th century.
The church was situated near The Theatre
, England's first purpose built playhouse, built in Shoreditch in 1576, and the nearly contemporary Curtain Theatre
(built in 1577). Several members of the theatrical profession from the Elizabethan period are buried in the church, including:
These, with others of their profession from the period, are commemorated by a large classical memorial erected by the London Shakespeare League in 1913, inside the church, which serves as a reminder of Shoreditch's Shakespearian heritage.
In 1774, the Shoreditch Vestry levied a special poor rate for the purpose of setting up a workhouse
for the parish of St Leonard's which highlights the level of poverty in the area.
Following a partial collapse of the tower in 1716, the medieval church was rebuilt in Palladian style built by George Dance the Elder
during 1736–40, with a soaring steeple
192 feet tall – an imitation of Christopher Wren
's magnificent steeple on St Mary-le-Bow
in Cheapside
, – and a giant four columned, pediment
ed Tuscan
portico
. Inside the church the entablature is supported by giant Doric
columns. Dance was also architect of the Mansion House
. Many original 18th century fixtures and fittings remain, including the font
, the pulpit
, the communion table, clock, organ case, bread cupboards and commandment boards. It was lit with gaslight in 1817, the first in London.
The parish stocks
and whipping post stand in the porch of the church and in the churchyard is the Shoreditch parish pump.
, dates from 1994 when the bells were cast by John Taylor Bellfounders
(now part of Taylors Eayre & Smith Ltd) of Loughborough
.
, their fourth single released from their debut album Lungs
.
2010 saw the church being used in the BBC
TV comedy series Rev., as a fictional church named St. Saviour's.
(1755–1824), after whom Parkinson's disease
is named, and who lived at Hoxton Square
nearby, is commemorated with a stone tablet inside the church; his grave is in the churchyard.
John George Appold
, FRS (1800–65), a pioneer of the centrifugal pump
, is commemorated with a stone tablet inside the church.
The Rev. Samuel Annesley (1620–96), father of Susannah Wesley and thus grandfather of John & Charles Wesley, is buried in an unmarked plot in the churchyard.
Thomas Fairchild (1667–1724), a pioneer gardener and the author of The City Gardener, endowed an annual sermon at the church on either "The Wonderful World of God in the Creation" or "on the Certainty of the Resurrection of the Dead proved by Certain Change of the Animal and Vegetable Parts of the Creation." These Whitsun sermons become locally known as "The Vegetable Sermon" and continued into the 1990s.
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of Shoreditch
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
, often known simply as Shoreditch Church. It is located at the intersection of Shoreditch High Street with Hackney Road
Hackney Road
Hackney Road is a London arterial route running from Shoreditch Church to Cambridge Heath. It occupies a no mans land in between Bethnal Green and Haggerston...
, within the London Borough of Hackney
London Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
. The current building dates from about 1740. The church is mentioned in the line "When I grow rich, say the bells of Shoreditch" from the nursery rhyme
Nursery rhyme
The term nursery rhyme is used for "traditional" poems for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the 19th century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...
Oranges and Lemons
Oranges and Lemons
"Oranges and Lemons" is an English nursery rhyme and singing game which refers to the bells of several churches, all within or close to the City of London. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as #3190.-Lyrics:Common modern versions include:...
and is noted as being the resting place of many actors from the Tudor period
Tudor period
The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...
.
Origins
The original church is possibly SaxonAnglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
in origin, though the first historical reference to it occurs in the 12th century.
The church was situated near The Theatre
The Theatre
The Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse located in Shoreditch , just outside the City of London. It was the second permanent theatre ever built in England, after the Red Lion, and the first successful one...
, England's first purpose built playhouse, built in Shoreditch in 1576, and the nearly contemporary Curtain Theatre
Curtain Theatre
The Curtain Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse located in Curtain Close, Shoreditch , just outside the City of London. It opened in 1577, and continued staging plays until 1622....
(built in 1577). Several members of the theatrical profession from the Elizabethan period are buried in the church, including:
- James BurbageJames BurbageJames Burbage was an English actor, theatre impresario, and theatre builder in the English Renaissance theatre. He built The Theatre, the facility famous as the first permanent dedicated theatre built in England since Roman times...
, the founder of The Theatre, England's first playhouse. - His son RichardRichard BurbageRichard Burbage was an English actor and theatre owner. He was the younger brother of Cuthbert Burbage. They were both actors in drama....
, who was the leading man in many of Shakespeare's plays, which were first performed in the contemporary Shoreditch theatres. - The comedian Richard TarltonRichard TarltonRichard Tarlton , an English actor, was the most famous clown of his era.His birthplace is unknown, but reports of over a century later give it as Condover in Shropshire, with a later move to Ilford in Essex...
, who was a stalwart of the pre-Shakespearian stage.
These, with others of their profession from the period, are commemorated by a large classical memorial erected by the London Shakespeare League in 1913, inside the church, which serves as a reminder of Shoreditch's Shakespearian heritage.
In 1774, the Shoreditch Vestry levied a special poor rate for the purpose of setting up a workhouse
Workhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
for the parish of St Leonard's which highlights the level of poverty in the area.
Current building
George Dance the Elder
George Dance the Elder was an English architect of the 18th century. He served as the City of London surveyor and architect from 1735 until his death....
during 1736–40, with a soaring steeple
Steeple (architecture)
A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...
192 feet tall – an imitation of Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
's magnificent steeple on St Mary-le-Bow
St Mary-le-Bow
St Mary-le-Bow is an historic church in the City of London, off Cheapside. According to tradition, a true Cockney must be born within earshot of the sound of the church's bells.-Bells:...
in Cheapside
Cheapside
Cheapside is a street in the City of London that links Newgate Street with the junction of Queen Victoria Street and Mansion House Street. To the east is Mansion House, the Bank of England, and the major road junction above Bank tube station. To the west is St. Paul's Cathedral, St...
, – and a giant four columned, pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
ed Tuscan
Tuscan order
Among canon of classical orders of classical architecture, the Tuscan order's place is due to the influence of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, who meticulously described the five orders including a "Tuscan order", "the solidest and least ornate", in his fourth book of Regole generalii di...
portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
. Inside the church the entablature is supported by giant Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
columns. Dance was also architect of the Mansion House
Mansion House, London
Mansion House is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of the City of London in London, England. It is used for some of the City of London's official functions, including an annual dinner, hosted by the Lord Mayor, at which the Chancellor of the Exchequer customarily gives a speech – his...
. Many original 18th century fixtures and fittings remain, including the font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
, the pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
, the communion table, clock, organ case, bread cupboards and commandment boards. It was lit with gaslight in 1817, the first in London.
The parish stocks
Stocks
Stocks are devices used in the medieval and colonial American times as a form of physical punishment involving public humiliation. The stocks partially immobilized its victims and they were often exposed in a public place such as the site of a market to the scorn of those who passed by...
and whipping post stand in the porch of the church and in the churchyard is the Shoreditch parish pump.
Bells
Whilst the church has had bells for many centuries, as evidenced by its inclusion in the Oranges and Lemons nursery rhyme, the current ring of 12 bells (plus a "sharp second" to allow a lighter ring of eight bells using 1, sharp second and 3–8 to ring a true octave), hung for change ringingChange ringing
Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a series of mathematical patterns called "changes". It differs from many other forms of campanology in that no attempt is made to produce a conventional melody....
, dates from 1994 when the bells were cast by John Taylor Bellfounders
John Taylor Bellfounders
John Taylor & Co, formerly trading as Taylors, Eayre & Smith Ltd and John Taylor Bellfounders Ltd, and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell foundry, located in Loughborough in the United Kingdom.The company manufactures bells for use in...
(now part of Taylors Eayre & Smith Ltd) of Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
.
Media use
In 2009, the church was used as the set for a music video for Florence + The Machine's Drumming SongDrumming Song
"Drumming Song" is the fourth single released from Lungs, the 2009 debut album by Florence and the Machine. The song was released on Island Records on 13 September 2009 in the UK. The song is also the band's second consecutive single to be A-listed on BBC Radio 1...
, their fourth single released from their debut album Lungs
Lungs (album)
Lungs is the debut album by English indie pop band Florence and the Machine, released 6 July 2009 by Island Records. The album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart for five weeks after its release, behind The Essential Michael Jackson compilation. On 10 January 2010 the album returned to...
.
2010 saw the church being used in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV comedy series Rev., as a fictional church named St. Saviour's.
Distinguished parishioners
James ParkinsonJames Parkinson
James Parkinson was an English apothecary surgeon, geologist, paleontologist, and political activist. He is most famous for his 1817 work, An Essay on the Shaking Palsy in which he was the first to describe "paralysis agitans", a condition that would later be renamed Parkinson's disease by...
(1755–1824), after whom Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
is named, and who lived at Hoxton Square
Hoxton Square
Hoxton Square is a garden square situated in Hoxton in the London Borough of Hackney, in London's East End. Formerly home to industrial premises, since the 1990s it has become the heart of the Hoxton arts and media scene, as well as being a hub of the thriving local entertainment district...
nearby, is commemorated with a stone tablet inside the church; his grave is in the churchyard.
John George Appold
John Appold
John George Appold, FRS was a British fur dyer and engineer. Appold was the son of a fur-skin dyer, established in Finsbury...
, FRS (1800–65), a pioneer of the centrifugal pump
Centrifugal pump
A centrifugal pump is a rotodynamic pump that uses a rotating impeller to create flow by the addition of energy to a fluid. Centrifugal pumps are commonly used to move liquids through piping...
, is commemorated with a stone tablet inside the church.
The Rev. Samuel Annesley (1620–96), father of Susannah Wesley and thus grandfather of John & Charles Wesley, is buried in an unmarked plot in the churchyard.
Thomas Fairchild (1667–1724), a pioneer gardener and the author of The City Gardener, endowed an annual sermon at the church on either "The Wonderful World of God in the Creation" or "on the Certainty of the Resurrection of the Dead proved by Certain Change of the Animal and Vegetable Parts of the Creation." These Whitsun sermons become locally known as "The Vegetable Sermon" and continued into the 1990s.