SAINT CLEMENT DANES, WESTMINSTER
Identity Statement
Reference code(s) | : GB 0074 O/540 |
Held at | : London Metropolitan Archives Click here to find out how to view this collection at https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/lma › |
Full title | : SAINT CLEMENT DANES, WESTMINSTER |
Date(s) | : 1955 |
Level of description | : Collection |
Extent | : 0.16 linear metres |
Name of creator(s) | : LCC | London County Council |
Context
Administrative/Biographical history:
The origins of the name "Saint Clement Danes" remains unclear; any connection with Danish peoples is uncertain although an account by John Stow suggests that "Harold [Harefoot], a Danish king and other Danes were buried here". Another tradition holds that it became the church of the Danish community in the ninth century who had been expelled from the City of London - the church stands at the entrance to the City at the end of Fleet Street. Between 1170 and 1312 it was in the care of the Knights Templar. The church survived the Great Fire but shortly afterwards it became so decayed that rebuilding became essential. A new church by Sir Christopher Wren was completed by 1682, with a steeple added by James Gibbs in 1719.
In 1941, extensive bomb damage gutted the church. It was restored between 1953 and 1958 by WAS Lloyd, paid for with contributions from the Royal Air Force and Allied Forces. It became the Central Church of the Royal Air Force. Inside the church there are many items relating to the air-force including Remembrance Books, colours and standards, and the names of 19,000 American airmen based here during the war, commemorated in a special shrine.
Saint Clements Danes is one of the churches referred to in the popular nursery-rhyme 'Oranges and Lemons'.
Information from The London Encyclopaedia, eds. Weinreb and Hibbert (LMA Library Reference 67.2 WEI).
Content
Scope and content/abstract:
Records of Saint Clement Danes church, comprising report from the London County Council containing a list of coffins removed from the vault, 1955.
Access & Use
Language/scripts of material:
English
System of arrangement:
One document.
Conditions governing access:
Available for general access.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Copyright to these records rests with the City of London.
Finding aids:
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
Archival Information
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
Presented to the Archive as a gift in November 1956.
Allied Materials
Related material:
For further records of Saint Clement Danes church please see reference P96/CLE.
Publication note:
Description Notes
Archivist's note:
Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Date(s) of descriptions:
March to April 2010.
Related Subject Search
* To search for other records with similar subjects, tick any subjects above then click "Run New Search"
Related Corporate Name Search
* To search for other records with similar names, tick any names above then click "Run New Search"
Related Placename Search
* To search for other records with similar placenames, tick any names above then click "Run New Search"