St Margaret Pattens
St Margaret Pattens is a historic Church of England parish church tucked into the heart of the City of London, standing at the corner of Eastcheap and Rood Lane. It is one of the churches rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren following the Great Fire of London in 1666, and one of the relatively few that has survived largely intact through the subsequent centuries of urban change, wartime bombing, and commercial redevelopment. The church is a Grade I listed building, meaning it is considered to be of exceptional interest and among the most important historic structures in England. Its survival in something approaching its seventeenth-century form makes it a rare and genuine connection to the age of Wren, offering visitors an experience that is both architecturally and historically irreplaceable.
The history of the site predates Wren by several centuries. A church is thought to have stood here since the twelfth century, and the curious suffix "Pattens" in the name is believed to refer to a maker or seller of pattens — the wooden overshoes worn in medieval times to keep feet clear of muddy streets — who may have lived or worked nearby, or possibly donated land to the church. The original medieval building was entirely destroyed in the Great Fire of September 1666, one of the most catastrophic urban disasters in British history, which consumed an enormous swath of the City over four days. Wren's rebuilding programme began shortly thereafter, and St Margaret Pattens was constructed between 1684 and 1689. The church was relatively small and modestly budgeted compared to some of Wren's grander City commissions, but it is considered a fine example of his quieter, more restrained work.
Architecturally, the church is distinguished above all by its slender lead-covered spire, one of only two such wooden spires in the City of London to have survived from the Wren era. Rising to around 60 metres, the spire is an elegant and attenuated form that gives the building a distinctive silhouette against the surrounding glass and steel towers that now dominate Eastcheap and its environs. The exterior is of Portland stone, warm and pale in good light, with the plain, dignified character that marks so much of Wren's ecclesiastical work. Inside, the church retains a remarkable degree of its original furnishings, including carved wooden box pews, a canopied churchwardens' pew, and panelling of great quality. Two of the pews bear the carved monogram of Wren himself, and tradition holds that he used them while overseeing the work — a detail that, whether strictly verifiable or not, adds a layer of romantic historical immediacy to a visit. The interior is intimate and hushed, with clear glass windows admitting cool northern light.
Among the most fascinating objects inside the church is a pair of carved wooden panels bearing a stern inscription reminding churchgoers to behave with propriety, dating from the early eighteenth century and giving a vivid flavour of the moral atmosphere of the period. The church also contains a celebrated painting thought to depict the church's medieval predecessor, providing a rare visual record of what the pre-Fire building may have looked like. The overall atmosphere inside is one of extraordinary preservation and quiet gravitas — a space that genuinely feels as though time has moved more slowly here than in the frantic financial district pressing in on all sides.
The surrounding area, known as Eastcheap and the broader district of the City, is one of the densest concentrations of financial and commercial activity in the world, and the contrast between the church and its environment is one of the more striking juxtapositions that London offers. Monument to the Great Fire of London is only a short walk to the south, offering visitors the chance to climb the 311 steps to its viewing gallery and look back over the roofscape in which St Margaret Pattens sits. The church of St Mary at Hill, another Wren survivor, is also nearby, as is the dramatic Victorian market hall of Billingsgate (the original site, now repurposed for financial events). The Thames is only a few minutes' walk south, and the area around London Bridge offers further historic and contemporary attractions.
Getting to St Margaret Pattens is straightforward by public transport. Monument station on the District and Circle lines is the closest Underground stop, roughly two to three minutes' walk away, and Bank station serving the Central, Northern, Waterloo & City, and District and Circle lines is also within comfortable walking distance. The church sits at the corner of Eastcheap and Rood Lane and is generally open to visitors during weekday daytime hours, though as a working parish church hours can vary and it is worth checking in advance of a visit. Services are held on weekdays at lunchtime, and midweek visits offer a peaceful interlude away from the office-worker crowds on the street outside. Weekend visits may find the church locked, as is common with many City of London churches that serve predominantly weekday congregations.
One of the more unusual and little-known facts about St Margaret Pattens is that it serves as the Guild Church for Needlemakers and Pin Makers, reflecting its historic association with trades connected to the making of fine metal pins and points — a trade that had a clear etymological link to the pattens originally commemorated in the church's name. The church also has connections to the wider network of City of London churches maintained by the Diocese of London, many of which Wren built and which together form an extraordinary open-air museum of seventeenth-century ecclesiastical design scattered across the Square Mile. For anyone with even a passing interest in architecture, London history, or simply the experience of finding stillness in an unexpectedly hectic urban setting, St Margaret Pattens rewards a visit with disproportionate richness.