There has been a church on the present site since the first was built in around 1136, which was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The present church building was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and was begun in 1670 with work completed by 1677. It was the most expensive of Wren's City churches and is widely regarded as one of his finest.
During the Second World War, on the evening of 29th December 1940, the church was extensively damaged but not completely destroyed during an incendiary bomb attack on the City. Almost immediately, to maintain a presence in the building, the 'Tower Chapel' was constructed in the base of the tower and worship continued in this small chapel for the remainder of the war years. In the early 1950's the patronage of the church was handed over to the City of London Corporation (from Balliol College, Oxford) and work was begun to rebuild and restore the church to it's former glory.
The building was designated Grade I listed on 4th
Who was St. Lawrence?
When Sixtus became Bishop of Rome in AD257, Lawrence was ordained a deacon and was placed in charge of the administration of Church goods and care for the poor. For this duty, he is regarded as one of the first archivists and treasurers of the Church and was made the Patron Saint of librarians.
In the persecutions under Emperor Valerian in AD258, numerous priests and deacons were put to death, while Christians belonging to the nobility or the Roman Senate were deprived of their goods and exiled.
The Prefect of Rome believed that the Church had a great fortune hidden away, so he ordered Lawrence to bring the Church's treasure to him.
Lawrence went through the city and gathered together all the poor and sick people supported by the Church and presented them to the Prefect saying: "This is the Church's treasure!"
In great anger, the Prefect condemned Lawrence to a slow, cruel death. He was tied to an iron grill over a slow fire that roasted his flesh little by little, but Lawrence had so much love of God that it is said he almost did not feel the flames. In fact, God gave him so much strength that he even joked: "turn me over, I'm done on this side!"
Why "Jewry"?
The first church on this site was built on the western edge of what was at the time a Jewish trading area. There was a significant Jewish community in the area until the time of being expelled expelled by Edward I in 1290. At the time, it is believed there were over 156 churches in the City. The suffix was part of the church name so to distinguish it from other churches dedeciated to St. Lawrence. The nearby street of 'Old Jewry' also
The symbol of St. Lawrence is the gridiron. It is depicted in many part of the church, including the weather vane.