St Edmund, King and Martyr
church in City of London, UK
St Edmund, King and Martyr, is an Anglican church in Lombard Street, in the City of London, dedicated to St Edmund the Martyr (d. AD 869). From 2001 it housed the London Centre for Spirituality, renamed the London Centre for Spiritual Direction, but is still a consecrated church. Since 2019, Imprint Church organises regular worship inside of the building.
The church lies in the ward of Langbourn, and has a ward noticeboard outside.
History
In 1292, the church is first recorded as 'Saint Edmund towards Garcherche', and it reappears in 1348 as 'Saint Edmund in Lombardestrete'. John Stow, in his Survey of London 1598, revised during 1603, refers to it also as St Edmund Grass Church, because the grass market (a place where hay, grass and seeds were sold) came up to the church.
The medieval church was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. After the fire the parish was united with that of St Nicholas Acons, which was also destroyed and not rebuilt. The present church was constructed to the designs of Robert Hooke (signed off by Sir Christopher Wren) in 1670–1679, with a tower ornamented at the angles by flaming urns in allusion to the Great Fire. George Godwin described the tower as "more Chinese than Italian", while James Peller Malcolm called it "rather handsome, but of that species of architecture which is difficult to describe so as to be understood".
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “St Edmund, King and Martyr” as church in City of London, UK. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as church in City of London, UK. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3495311. VIAF identifies the subject as 123573797. The Library of Congress control number is no2010074295. Authority coordinates are 51.512, -0.086. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2001, 2019, 1292 and 1348.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “St Edmund, King and Martyr”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow St Edmund, King and Martyr primary sources, St Edmund, King and Martyr archive and Edmund research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “St Edmund, King and Martyr”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “St Edmund, King and Martyr” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.