St Sepulchre-without-Newgate
St Sepulchre-without-Newgate is an Anglican church in the City of London. It is located on Holborn Viaduct, almost opposite the Old Bailey.
A church has stood on the site since at least 1137; as its name indicates, it was located just outside the old city wall by the (now-demolished) Newgate. It was first called St Edmund-King-and-Martyr but the name was changed during the Crusades, in reference to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
The church is today the largest parish church in the City. It was completely rebuilt in the 15th century but was gutted by the Great Fire of London in 1666, which left only the outer walls standing. Modified in the 18th century, the church underwent extensive restoration in 1878. It narrowly avoided destruction in the Second World War, although the 18th century watch-house in its churchyard (erected to deter grave-robbers) was completely destroyed and had to be rebuilt.
The interior of the church is a wide, roomy space with a coffered ceiling installed in 1834. The north aisle is dominated by a splendid organ built by Renatus Harris in 1670.
During the reign of Mary I in 1555, St Sepulchre's vicar, John Rogers, was burned as a heretic.
St Sepulchre is one of the "Cockney bells" of London, named in the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons as the "bells of Old Bailey". Traditionally, a single bell would be rung to mark the execution of a prisoner at the nearby gallows at Newgate. The clerk of St Sepulchre's was also responsible for ringing a handbell outside the condemned man's cell in Newgate Prison to inform him of his impending execution.
The church has been the official musicians' church for many years and is associated with many famous musicians. The conductor Sir Henry Wood, a former organist at St Sepulchre's, is buried there. He is commemorated by one of four windows; the other three commemorate the composer John Ireland, the singer Dame Nellie Melba and Walter Carroll.
Famous people associated with the church
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