St. Dunstan in the East

Our third stop is not really a church anymore, but one of England's famous secret gardens. You will notice that we are surrounded by buildings and corporate areas, and the ruins are used as an escape. These are the ruins of St. Dunstan in the East, and an example of what happened to some churches that were damaged beyond repair after the war. St. Dunstan was the most important English saint until St. Thomas Becket. St. Dunstan is credited for reforming the Christian church in England in the 900s. He is also the patron saint of Charlottetown in Prince Edward Island. The church was built around 1100 during Anglo-Saxon times. The church was damaged during the Great Fire of London and was rebuilt in the Gothic style by Sir. Christopher Wren. At the time, many people were worried about Wren's new designed. They warned him that a great storm could destroy his steeples. Wren's reply was "not St. Dunstan's", and he was very right. On May 10, 1941, the Germans dropped a bomb on the church destroying most of it. Only Christopher Wren's steeple and the north and south wall remained. After the war, London set up a committee to assess the damages done by the bombs. St. Dunstan's was of course on this list, and things started off rather well for the church. The War Damage Commission agreed to pay the entire cost of the work to the tower and spire, to include demolition to parapet level and rebuilding, all internal floors and fixtures, and new bell frame. Unfortunately, it was quickly discovered that the use of metal ties in the 1817 had caused damage to the surviving walls and some of the damage could not be classified as war damage. An account from the church's Rector shows partly why the church decided to be remade into a garden, "The Diocesan Reorganization Committee said that they had no money" wrote the Rector, "and it looked very much like the parish's responsibility to find a large sum … and to find it at once; which, from our point of view, was absurd … the stones looked impassively on; and nothing happened". In the end, it was decided that St Dunstan would be combined with All Hollows by the Tower, and the ruins of St. Dunstan were turned into a garden. While you are looking around these gardens, try to picture what this church looked like before the bombing. This site is an excellent example of the type of horrors and damage that was inflicted on London and how much history was lost during World War II. Here we see the ruins of a church built in the 1100s that was destroyed by a fire, rebuilt in the 1600s, only to be destroyed again by a war. This site shows how war can destroy historical sites beyond repair. However, this site also shows the strength of the people of London and their ability to rise above the horrors of war, and turn a site of destruction into something beautiful.

This destination is the third stop on the London Blitz Cathedral Tour.