Recall the Great Fire of London. St Benet Fink Church once stood here on Threadneedle Street. It was a landmark etched in the city’s history. The story of St Benet Fink is one of resilience and change.
St Benet is short for St Benedict. Before the Great Fire, London had four churches with this dedication. Records show St Benet Fink existed as early as 1216. The discovery of a 10th-century Saxon gravestone suggests even earlier origins. Some say it had Saxon foundations. This hints at a rich history predating written records. The Benedict in St Benet Fink refers to Benedict of Nursia. He was the 6th-century founder of Western monasticism.
The name Fink comes from Robert Fink. He was a 13th-century benefactor. He paid to rebuild the church. Finch Lane was named after the same family. It was originally called Fink or Finck Lane.
Before its fiery demise, St Benet Fink witnessed a notable event. Richard Baxter a Puritan divine married Margaret Charlton here in 1662. Mr Samuel Clarke officiated the wedding ceremony.
The Great Fire of 1666 devastated London. St Benet Fink was among the 89 churches destroyed. Rebuilding started in 1670. George Holman a Roman Catholic donated 1000 pounds. In return, he received two pews and a place in the vault. The rebuilt church and steeple were completed in 1675. The total cost was 4129 pounds.
Parish registers tell a cautionary tale. In 1673, church warden Thomas Sharrow died. He fell into a vault in Paternoster Row. He lay there undiscovered for 11 days. The register entry warns all who read it to take heed of drink.
In 1801, John Henry Newman was baptised in St Benet Fink. He later became a cardinal.
The Royal Exchange also burned down in 1838. To improve the Exchange site, the Corporation of London sought to demolish St Benet Fink’s tower and appropriate its churchyard. Edward John Carlos protested in The Gentleman’s Magazine. The Bishop of London supported the Corporation because there were many other churches nearby.
Demolition began in 1842. A new entrance was made in the truncated church’s west wall. This proved unsatisfactory. The Corporation got another Act to demolish the rest of the church. The final demolition occurred in 1846.
The parish was combined with St Peter le Poer. Proceeds from the sale of the site helped build St Benet Fink Church in Tottenham. The sale of furnishings only brought in 15 pounds and 5 shillings. Paintings of Moses and Aaron are now in Emanuel School Chapel.
Today, Number One Threadneedle Street occupies the site. It is an eight-story office block built in 1991.
Before the Fire, St Benet Fink was rectangular. After the Fire, the City widened Threadneedle Street. Wren rebuilt St Benet’s to a decagonal plan because of the irregular site. An oval dome with a lantern sat on top of the decagon. Six arches supported it from within. The church had two aisles spanned by entablatures. These supported barrel vaults. Wren possibly borrowed the decagonal design from Bernini’s Sant’Andrea al Quirinale in Rome. Wren had studied Bernini’s drawings.
The walls were made from brick and rubble. They were faced with Portland stone. Houses surrounded the church for much of its history.
The tower stood at the west end of the decagonal body. It had a square dome. A bell cage surmounted it. Uniquely for a Wren church, it had a ball and cross instead of a vane. The tower including the steeple was 110 feet high. Houses in Sweetings Rents were partly built over the churchyard. Pillars supported these forming a colonnade. St Benet Fink’s story is a reminder of London’s ever-changing landscape. It highlights the blend of faith architecture and urban development.