St Olave's Church, Silver Street

St Olave's Church, Silver Street
St Olave's Church, Silver Street
	Current photo of site
Location	London
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
History
Founded	10th century
Events	Destroyed by fire, 1666

St Olave's Church, Silver Street was a church on the south side of Silver Street, off Wood Street^[1] in the Aldersgate ward of the City of London. It was dedicated to St Olaf, a Norwegian Christian ally of the English king Ethelred II. The church was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt.

History

The first reference to the church, in the twelfth century, refers to it as "St Olave de Mukewellestrate" from its proximity to Monkwell Street.^[2] John Stow described it as "a small thing, without any noteworthy monuments".^[1] It was rebuilt in 1609^[3] and repaired 1662, at a cost of £50 7s 6d.

It had a small churchyard, and owned another piece of land for burials in Noble Street, which, from its connection with the Barber Surgeons, was known as the "anatomizer's ground".^[4] From 1540 the Barber Surgeons carried out dissections at Monkwell Street for the purpose of anatomical teaching.

The church was destroyed in the Great Fire^[5] and not rebuilt. Instead the parish was united with that of St Alban, Wood Street.^[1] The site is now a garden,^[6] at the end of Noble Street. A late 17th-century tablet marks the spot where it once stood,^[7] off London Wall, near the Museum of London.

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c Pearce, C.W (1909). Notes on Old London Churches. London: C. Winthrop & Co. p. 229.
^ Huelin, G. (1996). Vanished Churches of the City of London. London: Guildhall Library Publications. ISBN 0-900422-42-4.
^ 'Cripplegate, one of the 26 Wards of the City of London' Baddesley, J.J p43: London; Blades, East & Blades; 1921
^ White, J. G. (1901). The Churches and Chapels of Old London. London. pp. 148–9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Hibbert, C.; Weinreb, D.; Keay, J. (2008). The London Encyclopaedia. London: Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-4050-4924-5.
^ The Old Churches of London Cobb, G.: London, Batsford, 1942
^ London: the City Churches Pevsner, N.; Bradley, S. New Haven, Yale, 1998 ISBN 0-300-09655-0