The garden and a few gravestones on one side are all that remain of the church of St Mary Staining, which was destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666. When architects Norman Foster and Partners designed new offices at the turn of the millennium, they weren't allowed to build over the historic site and even had to bend the outer walls around the tree.
A friend of mine used to work there and took me to see the garden, which is one of London's hidden gems. Apparently the offices inside are very nice too.
If you want to find out more about this history of St Mary Staining, here are some links:
- There's a good article online at The Lost Churches Project.
- London on the Ground offers details about the recent architecture.
I've been blogging regularly about London's parks, gardens, woods and wild places in an effort to dispel a prevalent myth in the pagan community that it's just all concrete. Even in the City, which is of course heavily built up, there are still areas where nature thrives. Interestingly, some are where there used to be churches that are no longer sites of Christian worship. To me this feels symbolic of pagan nature worship subtly regrowing.
Here are links to some of my earlier posts on Green London:
- The Ruins of St Dunstan's in the East: http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/08/green-london-ruins-of-st-dunstans-in.html
- Outisde the Leadenhall Building and St Andrew Undershaft Church: http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/06/green-london-keeping-city-cool-in-summer.html
- Lincoln's Inn Fields: http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/06/green-london-lincolns-inn-fields.html
- Brockwell Park in South London: http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/08/green-london-brockwell-park-in-south.html
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