Church of St Mary is a Grade I listed building in the City of London local planning authority area, England. First listed on 4 January 1950. A Early Modern Church. 8 related planning applications.
Church of St Mary
- WRENN ID
- crumbling-slate-crimson
- Grade
- I
- Local Planning Authority
- City of London
- Constituency
- Cities of London and Westminster MP: Rachel Blake (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 4 January 1950
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Early Modern
- Address
- Church of St Mary, Abchurch Lane Ec4, City and County of the City of London, EC4N 5AU
- OS grid reference
- TQ 327 809
- Coordinates
- 51.51168, -0.0883
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Church of St Mary, built between 1681 and 1687 by Sir Christopher Wren, features a nearly square body with a plaster vault that supports a large dome. The church has a north-west tower with a gallery to its south. Its plain exterior is made of red brick with Portland stone dressings, a moulded brick band, and a hipped, slated roof. Each front has a large, segmentally-arched window, with the north side obscured, flanked by round-arched openings and circular ones above. There is an arched and corniced door beneath the western window on the south side, and the west front has been altered. The plain tower consists of four stages with round-arched and circular openings, and the lowest stage is now rendered with an arched and corniced doorway. The dome is square and covered in lead, topped with a plain lantern and spire.
Inside, the dome is remarkable for its decorative paintings that extend into the splayed reveals of four elliptical dormers. The vault springs from enriched corbels and from a Corinthian column and pilaster that define the west gallery, which has an enclosed vestry beneath its northern half. Notable interior features include a fine original reredos by Grinling Gibbons from 1686, a pulpit with a tester, a font with a cover and rails, an organ case, gallery front, doorcases, wall pews, and two sword rests. There is also a stone doorway leading to an octagonal, domed lobby at the base of the tower. The church contains several wall monuments and is considered one of the least altered of Wren's churches.
Local climate
Church of St Mary sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 690 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 95% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 98% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 57% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- Sale history — 1 transaction since 2023
- Related listed building consents — 8 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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