Notable People:

One of the sixteenth century rectors, John Larke (1504 to 1542) was a friend of Sir Thomas More, who arranged for him to become also the rector of Woodford, and subsequently of Chelsea. In March 1544, Larke, like More, was martyred at Tyburn for refusing to acknowledge the royal supremacy in spiritual matters – the only parish priest so to suffer under Henry VIII. On 19 April 1607, Henry Hudson (after whom the Hudson River and Hudson’s Bay are named), together with his crew, took Communion at St Ethelburga’s prior to putting to sea in search of the North-East passage to India. William Bedwell, rector from 1601 to 1632, was selected in 1604 to be one of the translators of the Authorised Version of the Bible. He was an Arabic scholar who compiled an Arabic Lexicon, although it was never published. At the turn of the 19th Century the rector John Rodwell, a friend of Charles Darvwin, published the first reliable versoin of the Qur'an in English (still in print).

In the late 19th century St Ethelburga’s was part of the “Oxford Movement” and became known for its Anglo-Catholic liturgy, prompting the criticism of “popish practices” from some quarters. In the 1930’s and 1940’s, it achieved notoriety as one of the few churches in which divorced people could remarry, in defiance of the Bishop’s strictures. In 1954, the church lost its parish to St Helen’s Bishopsgate and became a “guild church” until 1991, when it became a “chapel at ease” to St Helens.

April 1993 - destruction:

Unlike many churches in the City, St Ethelburga’s escaped damage in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and survived the Second World War virtually unscathed. But on Saturday 24 April 1993, a massive IRA lorry bomb exploded in Bishopsgate, devastating St Ethelburga’s and much of the surrounding area. At first St Ethelburga’s seemed beyond repair. However, investigations showed that amongst the rubble significant fragments of the stonework, carpentry and stained glass had survived to make reconstruction a possible option.

The church’s insurance did not cover acts of terrorism and the key questions were whether the necessary finance for restoration could be raised, and what would be the right use for the restored building. After reflection and debate, the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres,
decided that the best response to the terrorist bombing would be for the restored building to become a Centre for Reconciliation and Peace, focusing on the religious dimensions of conflict and on the role which faith communities can play in the resolution of conflict. A Charitable Trust was formed in 1997, with the Bishop as Chairman. Other founding Trustees were the late Cardinal Basil Hume, representatives of other Christian traditions, and Viscount Massereene, the Chairman of the Friends of St Ethelburga - a group of people who had campaigned tirelessly for the church to be restored. The St Ethelburga’s Trust now owns the building. An appeal was launched in 1998 which received the support of a very large number of organisations and individuals, in the City and beyond.

Rebuilding:

Purcell Miller Tritton, a firm specialising in churches and cathedrals, were selected as the architects. The brief was not to re-create everything exactly as it had been before the bomb, but create a building that told the story of its destruction and was suitable for its new use as a meeting place. On 12 November 2002, St Ethelburga’s was re-consecrated as a church by the Bishop of London. On the following day, the St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace was officially opened by HRH The Prince of Wales.

The west front of the church, facing Bishopsgate, looks much as it did before. The main tower, amazingly, was left 70% intact by the bomb, and has been completely restored. The cupola is completely new, but houses a small 18th century bell. The original weather vane (1671) has been restored and reinstated, along with the 300 year old bell now used for the clock, itself an exact replica of that destroyed by the bomb. Inside, the stone floor and the north wall are entirely new, the wall made of rudgewick haven brickwork. In the other walls, a lot of existing stone was reused for rubble walling. The columns along the aisle on the south side were left largelystanding by the blast, but the upper portions are partly new, The stone coins, and the stone mullion windows on both the east and the west are entirely new, made from Portland stone. Pleasant offices above the aisle house the staff of the Centre for Reconciliation and Peace. The roof, which collapsed after the bombing, is of new structural steel.

The east window is designed by Helen Whittaker, a student of The Prince's Foundation in Shoreditch. It incorporates fragments from the previous east window, dating from 1878 and designed by Kempe. The window depicts St Ethelburga, who has gathered up the fragments, and bears the text “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (from Psalm 122). The new altar and lectern are made from ancient timbers from the previous organ loft, by local craftsman Julian Humphries. The garden behind the church, designed by Silvia Crawford, opened in July 2004.