Plaque: King Cadwaladr
St Martin within Ludgate
King Cadwal built the first church here, just inside the Lud Gate, some 1300 years ago. His remains are said to be buried in the crypt.
The mediaeval church, completed in 1437, was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666.
Sir Christopher Wren designed the present church spire to act as a foil to the dome of St Paul's cathedral. Finished in 1684, it remains essentially as he built it.
Internally it is decorated with carvings by Grinling Gibbons and contains some unique furnishings. The organ was built by Bernard Schmidt in 1684.
{The rest of this board is practically illegible but seems to be about how welcome visitors are to the church.}
Site: Ludgate + King Cadwaladr (2 memorials)
EC4, Ludgate Hill, St. Martin-Within-Ludgate
This church bears a blue plaque, to the far left, and two pink boards on which the text is becoming difficult to read. That to the right is about the various guilds etc. that use the church but the one on the left carries some interesting information which we can consider a memorial to King Cadwaladr.
Immediately opposite the church is Pilgrim Street. A few yards down here, at a bend in the road you will find a large stone protecting the corner building from damage from vehicles negotiating the tight corner. Londonist reports a suggestion that this is a relict of the old Ludgate, which was conveniently nearby.
It seems that in 1893 the church's graveyard was developed and the human remains which were dug up were reinterred at Brookwood Cemetery, with a monument.
