Plaque: All Hallows tower and Lambe's Chapel
The Clothworkers' Company
The Tower of All Hallows Staining, dated c1320, is believed to be part of the second church on this site. The second church survived the Great Fire of 1666, although the adjacent Clothworkers' Hall was razed to the ground. In 1671 the church collapsed owing, it is thought, to weakening of the foundations caused by the large number of burials in the adjoining churchyard. Rebuilt in 1674, it was finally pulled down in 1870 on the amalgamation of the Parish of All Hallows with the Parish of St Olave, Hart Street. Between 1948 and 1954 the Tower formed the chancel of a pre-fabricated church, known as St Olave, Mark Lane, substituting for St Olave, Hart Street, which had been gutted during the Second World War.
The William Lambe Crypt
In 1543, after the dissolution of the monasteries, the Chapel of St James in the Wall was granted to William Lambe, Master of the Clothworkers' Company 1569 - 1570. He is renowned for bringing water to that part of London later crossed by Lamb's Conduit Street, WC1.
The chapel was beside London Wall in Monkwell Street, near Monkwell Square. Later called Lambe's Chapel, it was demolished and rebuilt c1825. It was demolished again in 1872, when its crypt of c1200 was brought here by The Clothworkers' Company and placed beneath All Hallows Staining tower. One of the monumental brasses from Lambe's Chapel survives in St Olave's, Hart Street.
The Tower and Crypt are maintained by the Clothworkers' Company.
This is visually just a modern information board but the information is more interesting than usual so we've collected it. For our photo we have snapped a detail from the tower.
Site: St Olave Parish Hall (2 memorials)
EC3, Mark Lane
The St Olave inscription is below the central ground floor window, behind the bike rack. The other memorial/information board is in front of the tower to the right.
