From the ruins, a garden
St Dunstan-in-the-East
The church that still partially stands on this site was originally built in 1100, with additions a couple of centuries later and a significant series of repairs in 1631. The Great Fire of London of 1666 severely damaged it, but it was subsequently patched up in 1668 and 1671. A steeple was added about 30 years later, with a design by Sir Christopher Wren (who worked on St Paul’s and Westminster Abbey).
By the early 19th century, the weight of the nave roof had begun to push the walls outward, and further inspection revealed that the best course of action was to take the entire building down and reconstruct. The project (with a design from David Laing) ran from 1817 to 1821, when the church was reopened to the public.
The church stood thus until 1941, when it was severely damaged in the Blitz, with much of the walls destroyed, though Wren’s tower and steeple survived. In the years that followed the war, a decision was made not to rebuild it, but it wasn’t until 1967 that the City of London Corporation took over and transformed the ruins into a public garden, which opened in 1971.
Gold Colored Fox 