Church of All Hallows by the Tower is a Grade I listed building in the City of London local planning authority area, England. First listed on 4 January 1950. A Saxon and Medieval Church. 1 related planning application.
Church of All Hallows by the Tower
- WRENN ID
- winter-rafter-cedar
- 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
- Saxon and Medieval
- Address
- Church of All Hallows by the Tower, Tower Hill Ec3, City and County of the City of London, EC3R 7LQ
- OS grid reference
- TQ 333 806
- Coordinates
- 51.50938, -0.07933
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Church of All Hallows by the Tower is a significant Saxon and medieval building located on Great Tower Street, dating back to the 17th century with a brick tower constructed in 1658. The church was damaged during World War II, leading to the rebuilding of the arcades, the center of the east end, the roof, and the steeple, which were redesigned by architects Seeley and Paget. The old walls, primarily refaced, are constructed of squared rubble in the style of the 15th century.
The church features a two-storey north porch and vestry, built in the late 19th or early 20th century in an ornamental Gothic style. There is also a three-storey south-west wing made of brick and stone from the 20th century. The plain tower is made of red brick and has a wooden modillion cornice, topped by an elaborate copper-covered steeple that rises through a circular balustrade of Portland stone.
Beneath the south-east chapel is a crypt that contains some fittings from the old church, including a canopied stone monument to Sir John Cooke from 1477 and several medieval brasses. Additionally, there is a notable late 17th-century font cover, sword rests, and a stair balustrade. The crypt also holds remnants of a Roman house from the 2nd or 3rd century, featuring ragstone walls, half-timbered partitions, and a tessellated floor preserved below the tower. The church itself is an aisleless structure built using reused Roman materials, which were incorporated into the early medieval church. An arched doorway with Roman brick detailing, likely leading to a former porticus, can be found at the west end of the church.
Local climate
Church of All Hallows by the Tower 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.
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 1 application
- 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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