St Margaret Pattens, Anglican church in Eastcheap, City of London, England.
St Margaret Pattens is an Anglican church on Eastcheap in the City of London, designed by Christopher Wren and completed in 1687. The building has a slender tower rising about 200 feet (60 meters), and its rectangular interior features white walls, a wooden ceiling, and a set of original 17th-century furnishings.
A church on this site was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, along with most of the surrounding buildings. Christopher Wren designed the replacement, which was finished in 1687 and has survived largely intact, making it one of the few Wren churches that still holds most of its original interior.
St Margaret Pattens takes its name from the pattens, wooden overshoes once sold by craftsmen near this spot, and the church still has ties with the guild that bears that name. Display cases inside show objects connected to the craft, giving visitors a rare look at how a medieval trade shaped the life of a parish.
The church is open mainly on weekdays, and a visit around midday tends to work well since the surrounding streets are less busy. It is worth checking ahead, as services and events can affect access to certain parts of the interior.
The church contains the only surviving pair of canopied pews from the 17th century still in place in London, originally reserved for the churchwardens. This type of furniture was once common in English churches but was removed from almost every parish over the centuries.
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