St Katherine Coleman

St Katherine Coleman was a parish church in the City of London, situated in St Katherine's Row,[1] on the south side of Fenchurch Street, in Aldgate Ward. Of medieval origin, it narrowly escaped destruction in the Great Fire of London in 1666, but was rebuilt in the eighteenth century. The church closed in November 1926 and was demolished soon afterwards.

St Katherine Coleman
LocationChurch Row, London
CountryUnited Kingdom
DenominationAnglican
Architecture
Architect(s)James Horne
StylePalladian
Years built1741
Demolished1926

Dedication

The church was dedicated to St Catherine of Alexandria. The additional name "Coleman" was taken from nearby garden called "Colemanhaw".[2] St Katherine's was known earlier as "All Hallows Coleman-church."[3]

History

Medieval church

The church was in existence by 1346, when the name of a rector is recorded. In about 1489, William White, then Lord Mayor, rebuilt or added the south aisle.[4] There were repairs in 1620, and in 1624 a new gallery was constructed and a vestry added. There were further repairs in 1703.[5] As described by Edward Hatton in 1708, the church was 66 feet (20 m) long, 36 feet (11 m) wide and 23 feet (7.0 m) ft high. There was a brick and stone tower[6] about 60 feet (18 m) high, with three bells.[7] Hatton describes the architecture of the church as being "of the Gothic and Tuscan orders".[7]

Eighteenth-century rebuilding

St Katherine's was demolished in 1734,[5] and rebuilt in 1741[8] at the expense of the parish,[9] to a "vernacular palladian" design by James Horne.[10] Never regarded as one of the more spectacular City churches,[11] it was built of brick, with window and door surrounds of rusticated stonework. The interior was a plain room, with a flat ceiling, coved at the sides, ornamented with a single oval panel, with a flower at the centre. There was an arched recess at the east end to accommodate the reredos. Beneath the church was a burial vault, entered through a door at the west end.[4]

Demolition

The parish was designated for amalgamation under the Union of Benefices Act 1860[12] but the church remained in use[13] until 1926.[14] The final service was held on 20 November, a joyous occasion (as reported in the City Press[15]) after which it was quickly demolished.[16] The gate piers and railings of the churchyard, which probably date from the 18th century survive, and the site of the churchyard itself is now a public garden, owned by Lloyd's Register of shipping. It was re-landscaped in 1996-2000.[17] After the clearance of the graveyard, the burials were reinhumed at City of London Cemetery.

Money raised by the sale of the site was used to erect a new church in Hammersmith, initially called St Catherine Coleman, but now known as St Katherine Westway.[17][18] The marble font from the City church is now at St Peter's, Grange Park, Enfield.[19]

References
  1. British History On-line
  2. Stow, John (1890) [1598]. A Survey of London. 1. London: A. Fullarton & Co. p. 446.
  3. Cobb, G (1977). London city churches. London: BT Batsford.
  4. Godwin, George; John Britton (1839). The Churches of London: A History and Description of the Ecclesiastical Edifices of the Metropolis. London: C. Tilt.
  5. Daniell, A.E. (1896). London City Churches. London: Constable.
  6. "The City Churches" Tabor, M. p124:London; The Swarthmore Press Ltd; 1917
  7. Hatton, Edward (1708). "St Catherine Coleman Church". New View of London. 1. pp. 177–81.
  8. Norman, P. (1929). The London City Churches. London: The London Society.
  9. Church of England, Diocese of London. - Files of parish deeds, papers and related documents, including consecration(Files 40-7, 1750. - M0002765CL); cited in Hallows, A., ed. (1974). City of London Parish Registers Guide 4. London, Guildhall Library Research. ISBN 0-900422-30-0.
  10. Example of his work
  11. Huelin, G. (1996). Vanished churches of the City of London. London: Guildhall Library Publishing. ISBN 0900422424.
  12. Innes, J. (1868). Proposed Union of the benefice of Allhallows Staining with that of St. Katherine Coleman, in the City of London, etc. London: B.Pardon.
  13. Pearce, C.W. (1909). Notes on Old City Churches: their organs, organists and musical associations. London: Winthrop Rogers.
  14. Powell Miller, A. (1954). Annals of St. Olave Hart Street, with All Hallows Staining and St. Katherine Coleman. London: Parrett & Neues.
  15. 26 November 1926
  16. Hibbert, C.; Weinreb, D.; Keay, J. (1983). The London Encyclopaedia. [revised 1993, 2008]. London: Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-4050-4924-5.
  17. "Site details:St Katherine Coleman Churchyard". London Gardens Online. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  18. "SAINT KATHERINE, NORTH HAMMERSMITH: WESTWAY, HAMMERSMITH AND FULHAM". AIM25. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  19. "Enfield: Churches". A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham. 1976. pp. 245–9. Retrieved 26 March 2014.

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