Visit-a-Church
Key Image St Katharine Cree
86 Leadenhall Street
EC3A 3DH London (City of London)
United Kingdom
Denomination: Anglican
Congregation: St Katharine Cree (Diocese of London, Archdeaconry of London, The City)
Geogr. Coordinates: 51.51341° N, 0.07907° W
Geo Location
Reference year: 1631
Building type: Basilica
Description: Three-aisled basilica in a rare combination of Gothic and classical architectural elements, medieval south-west tower; a unique example of the church architecture during the reign of Charles I; today Guild Church for the guilds from finance, trade and industry.
Name derivation: From St Catherine, name affix “Cree” as a corruption of “Christ”(church).
Font
  • Font (1631; with coat of arms of a member of the Fishmongers′ Company)
Organ
  • Built in 1686 by Father Smith, restored in 2003; used by Henry Purcell and G. F. Handel
Noteworthy
  • Vault bosses with the coats of arms of City Livery Companies
History:
1280:   Precursor church (lay church of the Augustine monastery)
About 1504:   Erection of the (still standing) church tower
1631:   Completion of the current church after three years of building (largely undamaged during the Great Fire of London and the World Wars)
1879:   Restoration
1962:   Completion of six-year reparation works
Important persons:
Organ builder:  Smith, Bernard, called “Father Smith” (1630–1708, organ builder, born in Germany as “Bernhardt Schmidt”, lived and worked in England from 1667)
Patron:  Catherine (?–307, martyr, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers)
Sources
Bradley, Simon, Nikolaus Pevsner: London: The City Churches, Yale University Press, New Haven/London 2002, pp. 94–95
Kenyon, Nicholas (Hg.): The City of London – Architectural Tradition & Innovation in the Square Mile, Thames & Hudson, London 2012, p. 294
Tucker, Tony: City of London Churches, Guidelines Books, Stoke-on-Trent 2013, pp. 56–57
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