In 1224 an order of the Franciscans was given a piece of land within Newgate; the area where the Friars settled was poor, as evidenced by the names of local streets such as Stinking Lane and the Shambles. In 1306 the Franciscans commenced 'a magnificent edifice' and it was probably the largest church in England at the time at around 300 feet in length.
It became a parish church after the dissolution and was rebuilt, on a more modest scale, by Wren after the Great Fire. The church was gutted during the war and has been left as a garden. The steeple is formed of triple-tiered squares of columns that ascend as they diminish into the sky.
Digital photograph
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