St Lawrence Jewry — Attraction in London

The church was originally built in the twelfth century and dedicated to St Lawrence; the weathervane of the present church is in the form of his instrument of martyrdom, the gridiron. The church is near the former medieval Jewish ghetto, which was centred on the street named Old Jewry. From 1280 it was an advowson held by Balliol College, Oxford. It is thought that the unusual alignment of the church may be because it was built on the site of the London Roman Amphitheatre, which was rediscovered as recently as 1988. Its remains can now be visited beneath the Guildhall Art Gallery. The medieval church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London and rebuilt by Christopher Wren between 1670 and 1687. The parish was united with that of St Mary Magdalen, Milk Street, which was not rebuilt. The church is entirely faced in stone, with a grand east front, on which four attached Corinthian columns, raised on a basement, support a pediment placed against a high attic. The church suffered extensive damage during the Blitz on 29 December 1940, and after the war the City of London Corporation agreed to restore it as Balliol College had no funds to do so. It was restored in 1957 by the architect Cecil Brown to Wren's original design. It is now a guild church which does not have its own parish and is not responsible to the parish authorities in its locality; it does not have to hold Sunday services. The church was described by Sir John Betjeman as "very municipal, very splendid." It was designated a Grade I listed building on 4...

The Friday service with Communion at 1:15 is perfect. It gives me a boost on Friday to get me through to Sunday and recover from a hard week but fits well within a lunch hour. The sermons always give me something to think about. The church itself is beautiful with a lot of interesting artefacts, locations and stained glass windows. The guide book is very interesting. Finally, I've only been able to attend a couple but the music productions sound great in the acoustics...

==Context== Went to listen to colleague's organ recital

Pros== Generally well kept church in central London According to the guest organist, one of the best organs in London

Cons== None in particular On this occasion, the air ambulance had landed in the square outside, so peopple were restricted where they could go in the church in case the windows blew out; suggests a certain structural...