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In medieval days this was one of London's most
prosperous parishes, sandwiched between the port and the
banking district, with plenty of money about for repairs
and rebuildings. The church had a college of priests, a
choir school and a grammar school, all funded by the
parish. The earliest evidence of the building's existence
is a bequest of 1382 when the building was enlarged (so
it obviously existed before that, and the dedication is
usually an early one, probably Saxon). Elizabeth and
Wayland Young suggest that the medieval spire was second
in height only to that of the old St Paul's Cathedral.We are close to All Hallows Barking here,
but that church survived the Great Fire while this one
did not. However, the quality of the 14th Century
rebuilding meant that the medieval walls were kept, and
all Wren had to do was replace the tower and spire. This
he did in spectacular fashion, the flying-buttressed
crowning recalling that of the medieval Edinburgh
Cathedral and St Nicholas, Newcastle. Interestingly, his
assistant Hawksmoor was paid a fee for the rebuilding
work, so the spire may well be his design.
In 1810 the medieval walls had
begun to sink into the soft ground and were replaced, an
unfortunate date. The Youngs note that most of the 17th
Century fittings were removed at this point, some of them
destroyed, and the church equipped for Georgian
prayerbook worship - this in turn was replaced later in
the century as Tractarianism took hold.
St Dunstan survived the December
1940 firestorm, but was gutted by a later bombing raid in
May 1941. Because of the successive rebuildings there was
little of value except for Wren's tower, and so all that
were kept were the tower and the outside walls, the
interior becoming a rather lovely public garden, with
benches for City folk to eat their packed lunches in
peace. Come on a Saturday and you can have the place to
yourself, but be aware the church is locked outside the
hours of daylight.
Simon Knott, December 2015
location: St Dunstan's Hill, Lower Thames
Street, EC3R 8DX - 4/022
status: tower and ruin in garden
access: open seven days a week dawn till dusk
               
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