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Working in the heart of London's historic financial district, one is never far from a church. Sometimes dwarfed by tall buildings or blocked by offices, commuters may catch a glimpse of a thing or two as they rush to and from work, hearing the long distance service song or bells. But how many of us really appreciate this wonderful part of the City's heritage?
“People come in and say, 'I've worked on the corner for 35 years, but I've never been in here before,'” says the Reverend Canon Alison Joyce, vicar of St Bride's, a parish church in Fleet Street. .
He has made it his mission to inspire people of all faiths and no one else will come in and experience Wren's Grade I listed masterpiece and the 2,000 years of history on which its foundations are based.
Entering and exploring its secrets is a profound experience at any time of the year, but especially at Christmas. There has been a church in this area since the 6th century, as a small chapel in the middle of the crypt tests.
After St Bride's and many other City churches were razed to the ground by the Great Fire of London in 1666, 51 of them were rebuilt – most designed by Sir Christopher Wren – only to be destroyed again in the Blitz.
It's amazing how many have survived, but others doubt how long their doors can stay open.
Urban churches are much more than places of worship. They contain a rich and remarkable history, valuable to all of London. You don't have to be a regular churchgoer or a Christian to appreciate this – but your chances of wandering in and discovering it by accident are slimming down.
Of the 40 or so surviving churches in the Square Mile, not all are open to the public. Friends of the City Churches he organizes volunteer church guards so that they can reach a well-organized weekly visitor. But the financial challenge is great, given the rising costs of keeping listed monuments in good repair.
Many assume that the Church of England or the government will cover the costs, but Joyce points out that St Bride's and other churches are self-supporting and dependent on donations.
Across the UK, church attendance remains lower than pre-pandemic levels. However what is different about the churches of the City of London is that the congregations are transient – this section of the capital's busy population may include the wealthiest people in the whole country, but it disappears at the weekend.
And while many thousands of City workers flock to carol services at Christmas time, very few attend weekday services regularly. The minority of churches that hold Sunday services depend on traveling congregations. The introduction of the congestion charge from midday on weekends has not been set for the 11am service, but requests to extend it by an hour have fallen on deaf ears. ears.
However, the churches have shown great activity in adapting to the modern needs of weekday workers and trades within.
One of the favorite lunch spots for Financial Times journalists Cafe Belowa restaurant in the crypt of St Mary le Bow church in Cheapside, just a short walk from our office. A few minutes' walk in the opposite direction and you'll find Wren Coffee, located in St Nicholas Cole Abbey, described as London's best coffee shop. It's also the only place I know of that sells a London fog – an Earl Gray latte which, when laced with honey, has been known to help several colleagues facing deadlines.
Some of the City's churches are famous for music, concerts and carols. St Andrew's in Holborn hosts regularly City Orchestra. And if you've never heard the world famous St Bride's choir, you're missing out. Yet the church also attracts young people by offering something rare in the hustle and bustle of the City — quiet.
When Joyce was rector ten years ago, he was impressed by the number of City workers he could see through the glass windows who were still hard at work in their offices after eleven o'clock at night. His answer was to find a A Space of Silence. Every weekday at 4pm, the church lights are turned off, candles are lit and all comers are welcome to sit, meditate, pray if they want and find a place of peace and quiet.
“If you can reconnect with that kind of stillness, it helps you get some perspective whether you're a person of faith or not,” he says. So if you happen to walk past a City church and find the door open, there's even more reason to step inside to discover the treasures within.
Claire Barrett is the FT's consumer editor
claire.barrett@ft.com Instagram @Claerb