St Andrew by the Wardrobe
St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe is an Anglican church located on Queen Victoria Street in the City of London, near Blackfriars station.
First mentioned around 1170, the church was almost certainly founded considerably earlier, but was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren in 1695 but was again destroyed by German bombing in the Second World War, with only the tower and walls surviving. It was rededicated in 1961.
St Andrew's is situated on a terrace overlooking the street, its plain red brick exterior contrasting with the stone buildings on each side. The interior is aisled, with arcaded bays supported by piers rather than the usual columns. The original interior fittings were mostly destroyed during the war, and many of the church's features come from other destroyed London churches - for instance, the weathervane on the tower comes from St Michael Bassishaw (demolished 1900).
The church's name comes from the Wardrobe, the stores department of the Crown, which housed arms and clothing among other personal items. It was transferred to a site near to the church in the mid-14th century but was destroyed in the Great Fire.
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