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When working in the historic heart of London's financial district, one is never far from a church. Sometimes dwarfed by skyscrapers or obscured by office buildings, commuters may glimpse a tower or two as they speed to and from work, hear the distant strains of a carol service or perhaps the ringing of bells. But how many of us truly appreciate this wonderful part of the city's heritage?
“People will often come in and say, ‘I've worked nearby for 35 years, but I've never been here before,'” says the Rev. Canon Alison Joyce, rector of St Bride's, the journalists' church on Fleet Street. .
She has made it her mission to encourage people of all faiths and none to enter and experience Wren's Grade I-listed masterpiece and the 2,000-year-old history that underpins its foundations.
Entering and exploring its secrets is a profound experience at any time of the year, but especially at Christmas. A church has existed on this site since the 6th century, as a medieval chapel in the crypt attests.
After St Bride's and countless other churches in the city were razed to the ground by the Great Fire of London in 1666, 51 of them – the majority designed by Sir Christopher Wren – were rebuilt only to be destroyed again in the Blitz.
It's a miracle that so many of them have survived, but some wonder how long their doors can remain open.
The city's churches are much more than places of worship. It contains a rich and fascinating history, precious to all of London. You don't have to be a regular churchgoer or even a Christian to appreciate it – but your chances of wandering in and discovering it by chance are slim.
Of the 40 or so churches on the Square Mile that survive, not all are open to the public on a regular basis. Friends of the city churches Organizes volunteer church watchers to enable well-organized visitor access during weekdays. But the financial challenges are significant, given the increasing costs of maintaining listed monuments in good condition.
Many assume that the Church of England or the government will cover the expenses, but Joyce points out that St Bride's and other churches are self-financing and rely on donations.
Across the UK, church attendance remains below pre-pandemic levels. However, a unique issue for City of London churches is that congregations are fleeting – this section of the capital's busy working population may include some of the richest people in the entire country, but disappears at the weekend.
While several thousand city workers flock to carol services in the run-up to Christmas, a much smaller number regularly attend midweek services. The group of churches that hold Sunday services depends on the congregations you travel to. The imposition of congestion charges from midday on weekends is not timed well for services that start at 11am, but pleas to extend them by an hour have fallen on deaf ears.
However, churches have shown great effort in adapting to the modern needs of weekday workers and luring them inside.
One of the favorite lunch places for Financial Times journalists is… Cafe belowa restaurant located in the crypt of St Mary-le-Beau Church in Cheapside, just a stone's throw from our office. A few minutes walk in the other direction you'll find Wren's Café, located inside St Nicholas Cole Abbey, which has been described as the most beautiful café in London. It's also the only place I know that sells the London Fog – an Earl Gray latte, which, when topped with honey, has been known to help many colleagues facing looming deadlines.
Other city churches are known for their music, concerts, and recitals. St Andrew's hosts Holborn regularly City orchestra. And if you haven't heard the world-famous St. Bride's Choir, you haven't lived. However, the church also attracts newcomers by offering something that is a rare commodity in the hustle and bustle of the city: complete silence.
When Joyce became university president ten years ago, she was astounded by the number of city workers she could see through the plate-glass windows still toiling at their desks at 11:30 at night. Her response was to find out Space for silence. Every weekday at 4pm, the church lights are dimmed, candles are lit and all comers are welcome to sit, meditate and pray if they wish and experience an oasis of silence and tranquility.
“If you can reconnect with that kind of stillness, it will help you gain some perspective regardless of whether you are a person of faith or not,” she says. So, if you pass by a church in town and find the door open, there's even more reason to go inside to find the treasures inside.
Claire Barrett is consumer editor at the Financial Times
claer.barrett@ft.com Instagram @clairb
