St Gabriel Fenchurch

St Gabriel Fenchurch (or Fen Church as recorded on the Ordnance Survey) was a parish church in the Langbourn Ward of the City of London,^[1] destroyed in the Great Fire of London and not rebuilt.

The church stood between Rood Lane and Mincing Lane, with the churchyard extending north beyond present day Fenchurch Street to Fen Court.^[2][3]

At the beginning of the 17th century, John Stow wrote in his description of Fenchurch Street: "In the midst of this street standeth a small parish church called St Gabriel Fen Church, corruptly Fan church".^[4] The dedication to St Gabriel is first recorded in 1517. Before that it had been known as St Mary's. Richard Newcourt wrote:

...this Church hath all along in the London Registry been recorded by the Name of S. Mary Fencherch, till the Year 1517. for then is the first time I find it there call'd by the Name of S. Gabriel Fencherch; and the next Year after All Saints Fencherch; whence, I conjecture, it may, probably, be dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to the Holy Angel Gabriel, and to All Saints.^[1]

The church was lengthened by nine feet in 1631. This and other improvements were done at a cost to the parish of £587 10s.^[1] Thomas Clark, a glazier, gave the church an east window, with the Royal Arms and the motto "Touch Not Mine Anointed".^[2]

Junto con la mayoría de las iglesias parroquiales de la ciudad, la de San Gabriel fue destruida por el Gran Incendio de 1666. En 1670 se aprobó una Ley de Reconstrucción y se creó un comité bajo la dirección de Sir Christopher Wren . ^{[ 5 ]} Este comité decidió reconstruir 51 iglesias, pero la de San Gabriel no estaba entre ellas. ^{[ 6 ]} En cambio, la parroquia se unió a la de Santa Margarita Pattens , ^{[ 1 ]} aunque su tenencia de tierras no se resolvió definitivamente hasta 13 años después, ^{[ 7 ]} y se siguieron haciendo legados caritativos utilizando el antiguo nombre. ^{[ 8 ]} El terreno donde se encontraba la iglesia se incorporó a la calzada, pero parte del cementerio sobrevivió en Fen Court. ^{[ 2 ] [ 9 ]}

Entre las tumbas notables de la iglesia se encontraba la de Benedict Spinola , el banquero genovés de la época isabelina. ^{[ 10 ]}