St Martin Outwich
Encyclopedia
St Martin Outwich was a medieval parish church in the City of London
, on the corner of Threadneedle Street
and Bishopsgate
.
, was consecrated in November 1798.
Cockerell's church was oval in plan, with a recess at the east end forming the chancel. The walls were decorated with pilasters, from the capitals of which rose a coved ceiling, pierced by four semi-circular windows. A fifth window, over the altar, contained stained glass coats-of-arms from the old church. Several monuments from the old church were also preserved , including one to John Outeswich and his wife. There was a fresco of the ascension by John Francis Rigaud
over the altar; it deteriorated badly within ten years of being painted.
The heavily rusticated east front, facing into Bishopsgate, was described by James Peller Malcolm
as "a complete representation of a gaol, accompanied by marks of extreme strength, very ill suited to its diminutive outline." The north side, towards Threadneedle street, was very plain.
Repairs and alterations were made by Charles Barry
in 1827. The church was demolished in 1874 and its parish united with that of St Helen's Bishopsgate
. Eighteen monuments were moved into St Helen's before St Martin's was destroyed..Nikolaus Pevsner
found a portion of the churchyard in the corner of the garden of a nearby office block.
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, on the corner of Threadneedle Street
Threadneedle Street
Threadneedle Street is a street in the City of London, leading from a junction with Poultry, Cornhill, King William Street and Lombard Street, to Bishopsgate....
and Bishopsgate
Bishopsgate
Bishopsgate is a road and ward in the northeast part of the City of London, extending north from Gracechurch Street to Norton Folgate. It is named after one of the original seven gates in London Wall...
.
History
A church of St Martin was built in the fourteenth century at the expense of members of the Oteswich family, from whom the church derives its name. The church escaped the Great Fire of 1666, but fell into decay, and was badly damaged in a fire of 1765 which destroyed fifty houses. In 1796 an act of parliament was obtained, to allow the parish to raise money to rebuild the church. The first stone was laid in May of that year, and the new building, to the designs of Samuel Pepys CockerellSamuel Pepys Cockerell
Samuel Pepys Cockerell was an English architect. He was the son of John Cockerell, of Bishop's Hull, Somerset, and the brother of Sir Charles Cockerell, 1st Baronet, for whom he designed the house he is best known for, Sezincote House, Gloucestershire, where the uniquely Orientalizing features...
, was consecrated in November 1798.
Cockerell's church was oval in plan, with a recess at the east end forming the chancel. The walls were decorated with pilasters, from the capitals of which rose a coved ceiling, pierced by four semi-circular windows. A fifth window, over the altar, contained stained glass coats-of-arms from the old church. Several monuments from the old church were also preserved , including one to John Outeswich and his wife. There was a fresco of the ascension by John Francis Rigaud
John Francis Rigaud
John Francis Rigaud was an eighteenth-century history, portrait, and decorative painter.Rigaud was born in Turin on 18 May 1742 and baptized on 9 September. He was the second son of James Dutilh or Rigaud and Jeanne Françoise Guiraudet...
over the altar; it deteriorated badly within ten years of being painted.
The heavily rusticated east front, facing into Bishopsgate, was described by James Peller Malcolm
James Peller Malcolm
-Life:Son of a merchant in Philadelphia, he was born there in August 1767. He was admitted to the Quaker school; but his family left to avoid the fighting in American War of Independence, and his education was mostly at Pottstown, Pennsylvania. He returned with his family to Philadelphia in 1784,...
as "a complete representation of a gaol, accompanied by marks of extreme strength, very ill suited to its diminutive outline." The north side, towards Threadneedle street, was very plain.
Repairs and alterations were made by Charles Barry
Charles Barry
Sir Charles Barry FRS was an English architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster in London during the mid-19th century, but also responsible for numerous other buildings and gardens.- Background and training :Born on 23 May 1795 in Bridge Street, Westminster...
in 1827. The church was demolished in 1874 and its parish united with that of St Helen's Bishopsgate
St Helen's Bishopsgate
St Helen's Bishopsgate is a large conservative evangelical Anglican church, in Lime Street ward, in the City of London, close to the Lloyd's building and the 'Gherkin'.-History:...
. Eighteen monuments were moved into St Helen's before St Martin's was destroyed..Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
found a portion of the churchyard in the corner of the garden of a nearby office block.