St Dunstan-in-the-East, Gothic church garden in City of London, England.
St Dunstan-in-the-East features stone walls covered with climbing plants, creating a garden space within the preserved church structure from 1100.
After the Great Fire of London in 1666, Christopher Wren designed a new steeple for the church, which survived the German bombing raids of 1941.
The transformation of these medieval ruins into a public garden in 1971 represents London's approach to preserving historical structures for modern purposes.
Visitors can reach the garden via Monument or Tower Hill underground stations, with the space remaining open throughout the day without entrance fees.
The north and south walls of this Grade I listed building incorporate gothic windows where climbing plants now grow instead of traditional stained glass.
Location: City of London
Inception: 1698
Architects: Christopher Wren
Architectural style: Gothic Revival, Gothic architecture, Gothic Survival architecture
Address: St Dunstan's Hill, London, EC3R 5DD
GPS coordinates: 51.50967,-0.08272
Latest update: May 26, 2025 21:53
This selection presents urban locations including historic churches, public gardens, libraries, museums, and markets. The sites range from underground salt mines to rooftop gardens, from historic bookstores to converted railway stations. Many of these places are situated away from regular tourist routes.
London offers far more than Tower Bridge and Buckingham Palace. Away from the main attractions, numerous sites remain unfamiliar even to many locals. This selection includes the ruins of St Dunstan-in-the-East, where a medieval church has been transformed into a public garden, the Sir John Soane's Museum with its antiquities and architectural fragments, and Dennis Severs' House, a Georgian townhouse preserved as a lived-in time capsule. The collection features gardens such as Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park and Kyoto Garden in Holland Park, historic buildings like the 14th-century Charterhouse and St Bartholomew the Great, London's oldest parish church. It also covers unusual museums including the Old Operating Theatre, Europe's oldest surviving surgical theater, and industrial monuments like Crossness Pumping Station with its Victorian steam engines. Leadenhall Market displays Victorian architecture in the financial district, while God's Own Junkyard in Walthamstow exhibits thousands of neon signs. Other sites range from the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu temple in Neasden to Wilton's Music Hall, London's oldest music hall, and the Victorian dinosaur sculptures at Crystal Palace Park. Little Venice presents canals lined with houseboats, the Freud Museum preserves the psychoanalyst's London home, and Keats House commemorates the Romantic poet. These locations provide insights into history, architecture, and culture beyond the standard tourist circuit.
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