St Olave's Church, Hart Street — Attraction in London

St Olaves is one of the few examples of mediaeval churches that existed before the Great Fire of London in 1666, the present building was built around 1450, with churches having been on the site from. The fire was raging towards it and got to within 100 metres and then the wind changed direction! However, the second world war was not so kind and the building was badly damaged and was the restored in the 1950s to what it remains today. The church has a range of connections to nationalities and people. Wikipedia has a good history of the church, which identifies some notable patrons. Sir William Penn who helped save the church in 1666 by ordering his men to blow up the houses around the church to create a barrier from the Great Fire.

Samuel Pepys: the famous diarist was a regular worshipper and called St Olaves as ‘our own church’. Both he and his wife are buried in the graveyard.

Charles Dickens: is thought to have been inspired by the church and included it in ‘Uncommercial Traveller’ describing it as ‘St Ghastly Grim’.

Norway: the church is dedicated to the patron saint of Norway, King Olaf II of Norway and it is said that the well in the crypt has some aspect of the saint in it! After the ‘blitz’ restoration was completed, in 1954, King Haakon VII of Norway presided over the rededication ceremony and laid a stone from Trondheim Cathedral in front of the sanctuary.

America: ‘in the tower, there is a memorial with an American connection. It honours Monkhouse Davison and Abraham Newman, the grocers of Fenchurch Street who shipped crates of tea to Boston in late 1773. These crates were seized and thrown into the waters during the Boston Tea Party, one of the causes of the American War of Independence.’

It is a modest parish church in the centre of a global metropolis, ‘a sanctuary in the city’. Wonderfully, in such a densely populated area, there is a very well-maintained garden graveyard attached with benches and some very well looked after grassed areas and well-tended roses.

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This church belongs to the Church of England and is located in the city of London,in the corner of Hart Street and Seething Lane.This religious building is the smallest in the city and is very close to the Fenchurch Street train station.In its time, John Betjeman, described this place as: “Country church in the world of Seething Street.It is one of the few medieval churches that escaped the great fire in London in 1666. In the 13th century,this church was first recorded and was built century of stone,replacing the previous wooden construction. It was dedicated to the Norwegian patron saint,King Olaf II of Norway, who fights alongside the Anglo-Saxon King Ethelred The Unready,against the Danes.Today’s building,which church,there would be much to tell from the historical point of view,but as always, I don’t want to take away from the tourist,lover of ancient history,to make his other interesting discoveries of the place and ..... there are so many to see that are well guarded within these ancient walls. Add it, if you can , to your...

Saint Ghastly Grim ​In The Uncommercial Traveller, Charles Dickens nicknames the churchyard of St Olave Saint Ghastly Grim: “It is a small churchyard, with a ferocious strong spiked iron gate, like a jail. This gate is ornamented with skulls and cross-bones, larger than life, wrought in stone; but it likewise came into the mind of Saint Ghastly Grim, that to stick iron spikes a-top of the stone skulls, as though they were impaled, would be a pleasant device. Therefore the skulls grin aloft horribly, thrust through and through with iron spears.” The stone skulls are still there, grinning down on passers-by and sending a shiver down the spines of those unfortunate souls who – walking this quiet City street at night – chance upon them for the first time.

Where? St Olave, Hart Street EC3R 7NB. Find St Olave on...