Everything about St Sepulchre-without-newgate totally explained
St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, also known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Holborn), is an
Anglican church in the
City of London. It is located on
Holborn Viaduct, almost opposite the
Old Bailey. In medieval times it stood just outside ("without") the now-demolished old
city wall, near the
Newgate.
The original
Saxon church on the site was dedicated to
St Edmund the King and Martyr. During the
Crusades in the
12th century the church was renamed St Edmund and the Holy Sepulchre, in reference to the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre in
Jerusalem. The name eventually became contracted to St Sepulchre.
The church is today the largest parish church in the City. It was completely rebuilt in the
15th century but was gutted by the
Great Fire of London in
1666, which left only the outer walls, the tower and the porch standing. Modified in the
18th century, the church underwent extensive restoration in
1878. It narrowly avoided destruction in the
Second World War, although the 18th-century watch-house in its churchyard (erected to deter grave-robbers) was completely destroyed and had to be rebuilt.
The interior of the church is a wide, roomy space with a
coffered ceiling installed in
1834. The north aisle is dominated by a splendid
organ built by
Renatus Harris in
1670.
During the reign of
Mary I in
1555, St Sepulchre's vicar,
John Rogers, was burned as a
heretic.
St Sepulchre is one of the "Cockney bells" of London, named in the nursery rhyme
Oranges and Lemons as the "bells of Old Bailey". Traditionally, the great bell would be rung to mark the execution of a prisoner at the nearby gallows at Newgate. The clerk of St Sepulchre's was also responsible for ringing a handbell outside the condemned man's cell in
Newgate Prison to inform him of his impending execution. This handbell, known as the Execution Bell, now resides in a glass case to the south of the
nave.
The church has been the official musicians' church for many years and is associated with many famous musicians. Its north aisle (formerly a chapel dedicated to
Stephen Harding) is dedicated as the Musicians' Chapel, with four windows commemorating
John Ireland, the singer Dame
Nellie Melba,
Walter Carroll and the conductor Sir
Henry Wood respectively. Wood, who "at the age of fourteen, learned to play the
organ" at this church
(External Link
) and later became its organist, also has his ashes buried in this church.
The south aisle of the church holds the regimental chapel of
the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), and its gardens are a memorial garden to that regiment.
Notable people associated with the church
Further Information
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