St Mary Somerset, Grade I listed former church tower in City of London, England
St Mary Somerset is a Grade I listed church tower on Upper Thames Street in the City of London, built in English Baroque style from Portland stone. It features large windows and decorative pinnacles, and today stands on a small traffic island surrounded by a garden.
A church on this site was first recorded in the 12th century and was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. Christopher Wren rebuilt it from 1686, but the main body of the building was demolished in 1871, leaving only the tower standing.
The tower was once a meeting point for weavers from Brabant who came to this part of the city looking for work. Today, the small garden around the base gives the site a local character that contrasts with the surrounding traffic.
The tower stands on Upper Thames Street and is easy to spot from the pavement. It sits on a traffic island, so reaching the base requires crossing a busy road and paying attention to passing vehicles.
When the main building came down in 1871, it was architect Ewan Christian who personally pushed for the tower to be saved. Without his intervention, this last remnant of Wren's original work would have been removed along with everything else.
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