St Clement Danes (RAF) — Local services in London

St. Clement Danes is a nice church to visit on the Strand. It is a small Baroque style building with a long history and some interesting things to see both inside and outside the church building. St. Clement Danes church is also referred to as the Church of the Royal Air Force.

Unfortunately, St. Clement Danes is located on an island in the middle of the Strand, with regular road traffic on both sides. This makes visits to the outside of the church a bit noisy. However, the building is large enough that the noise doesn't seem to bother that much once you are inside.

The history of St. Clement Danes stretches back to the 9th century where tradition suggests that a church was built by Danes who had settled here. Some believe the Danes named the church after St. Clement, patron saint of mariners.

There is later reference to the church in William of Normandy's Doomsday book (1086) and it is possible that the church was rebuilt at some stage during his reign as well as again during the middle ages when St. Clement Danes was under the care of the Knights of Templar.

By the 17th century the church had fallen into disrepair. While it survived the Great Fire of 1666, it was demolished shortly after due to its poor condition and then rebuilt in the 1680s by Christopher Wren, who designed the new church in Baroque style. A steeple was added by James Gibbs in 1717, completing this beautiful church.

Unfortunately, the church sustained heavy bombing damage, gutting its interior in 1941. During the 1950s, the Royal Air Force raised funds and had the church restored. This is how you can see St. Clement Danes today.

Within the church, there is a nice wooden panel works behind the alter, a late 17th century organ in the back and attractive glass-stained windows throughout the nave. There is a downstairs crypt, which you can also visit if interested.

The exterior of the church is attractive and it is worth having a look at the statues which surround the building. These include the large Gladstone statue and RAF's past wartime leaders Arthur Harris and Hugh Dowding found in front of the St. Clement Danes. Behind the church, you can see a monument to Dr. Samuel Johnson, who attended services here during the 18th century.

Overall, we like St. Clement Danes Church. Its history is interesting, as are its interior and exterior designs and interesting statues and monuments found outside the church. It is definitely worth a stop if you enjoy...

St. Clement Danes is a beautiful little church in the Strand. The first church on the site was reputedly founded by the Danesin the 9th century. The current building was completed in 1682 by Sir Christopher Wren. Nowadays its dedicated as the main church for the Royal Air Force and there are a few statues of the most well known leaders of the RAF.

Inside the church is richly decorated as befits a church dedicated to the fine men and women who risk their lives to serve our country. All around the church are memorabilia associated with the RAF as well as plenty of memorials to other air forces that served alongside the RAF such as the Polish and Americans.

There's also a crypt which is open to the public with more memorabilia associated...

This church is unfortunately positioned in the middle of the Strand making it just enough out of the way to only visit if you intend or are adventurous. We stopped while we were waiting for another store to open and glad we did.

This is a beautiful old church (which has been rebuilt a number of times) dedicated to military personnel. The lists of the fallen are displayed around the outer aisle of the church with photos and memorabilia displayed in the back.

A wide central aisle with a barrel vaulted ceiling lead the eye to the front altar. There is also a beautifully carved wooden pulpit.

There is a crypt below the church, but was closed the day we were there.

Well worth a visit to...