St. Bride’s maybe one of the oldest churches in London, with worship dating back to the 7th century. It is believed that as the patron saint is Bridget of Ireland, it may have been founded by Celtic monks.

The current church is at least the seventh building to stand on this site and was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. It was one of his largest and most expensive works taking seven years to complete. It was reopened on 19 December, 1675. The distinctive spire was added in 1701-03. At a height of 69m, it is the second highest of Wren’s churches. Only St. Paul’s Cathedral is higher.

The interior of the church was gutted on the night of 29th December, 1940 during the Blitz. Over 1500 fires were started leading to firestorm, dubbed the ‘Second Great Fire of London’. The church was restored between 1955-57 by Godfrey Allen mainly at the expense of newspaper proprietors and journalists.