St Dunstan-in-the-East London

Copiously furnished with wooden seats, the inside of this demolished church currently has cleared and cobbled ways, a lawn and concealing trees, oleanders and palms where once the worshipers gathered. It is really a detached and verdant sanctuary, the feeling of serenity increased by the splash of the superb roundabout wellspring. The church was built in around 110, and another south path included in 1391. Seriously harmed during the Great Fire of London in 1666, the church was restored and a steeple and tower added by Sir Christopher Wren in 1695-1701. The church was damaged by the Blitz of 1941, and in spite of the fact that Wren's additions endure, the gutted building was not recreated. In 1967 the City of London chose to transform the shell into an open garden in 1971. Replanting and support works occurred in 2015, and despite the fact that the climbers will take a couple of years to swathe the internal dividers again, other plants, specifically, the vine Vitis colgnetiae, a sprinkle of red in the autumn months give the space a Gothic touch.

St Dunstan-in-the-East London,

Idol Lane and St Dunstan’s Hill,

EC3R 5DD

Daily: 08:00 - 19:00 (closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day)

Admission: Free