St Bride’s Church and Charnel House was part of the rebuilding of London by Christopher Wren following the Great Fire of London in 1666, but it held a secret until the 1940s.

The Blitz rained terror on London during the Second World War, but the 29th December was the night St Bride’s Church was hit. Thankfully the building was empty at the time, though the roof timbers caught alight and by morning only the walls and spire were left standing.

The 1950s saw services reappearing on the site and a restoration fund was set up by the new Rector Cyril Armitage. The restoration work uncovered Roman remains, but also long forgotten crypts filled with the remains of thousands of victims from the Great Plague of 1665 and the cholera epidemic of 1854. With the crypts overflowing, Parliament put an end to burials in the City and the crypts were locked up for good.

The rediscovered medieval Charnel House was found to hold nearly 7,000 human remains, mostly grouped into body part ‘categories’ in a checker-board pattern. The bones would have been moved from their original burial locations to free up space due to land shortage in London.

If all that wasn’t enough, the church also has a memorial to Jack the Ripper’s first known victim, Polly Nichols, a Victorian casket from the era of ‘body snatching’ and the Journalists’ Altar commemorating all the journalists and media staff that have died in conflicts.

Due to the age of the building there is only step-free access to the main body of the church, via the west door. Access to the crypt requires using 20 steps, also the floor of the crypt itself is understandably uneven due to age.

Opening Hours

• Mon – Fri: 8am – 5pm
• Sat: 10am – 3.30pm
• Sun: 10am – 6.30pm

Bus: 11, 15, 26, 76 and 341 stop on Fleet Street

Tube: St Paul’s (Central Line) and Blackfriars (District & Circle Lines)

Address: St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 8AU

Website: https://www.stbrides.com/