A GRADE 1 listed church within the City of London, under which Dick Whittington is reputed to be buried, is being offered on the market leasehold by the diocese.
St Michael Paternoster Royal, near Cannon Street Station, is described within the marketing brochure as a “former Wren church”. It is being offered on a 125-year lease, “price on application”. When asked, the agent, Kinney Green, said that it had to envision with its client, the London Diocesan Fund.
The church was inbuilt 1694 to designs of Sir Christopher Wren after an earlier church was destroyed within the Great Fire of London in 1666. The former Lord Mayor of London Richard Whittington is assumed to have been buried in the sooner constructing, which, the agent says, he “founded and built” in 1397. A mummified cat was found beneath the bottom in 1949.
The tower was added in Wren’s lifetime, in 1713, but was possibly added by Nicholas Hawksmoor. The church was renovated by William Butterfield within the nineteenth century, but was hit by a V1 flying bomb on 23 July 1944. Only the partitions and the tower were left standing.
The constructing ceased to be a parish church in 1964, and work on its restoration began in 1966 to designs by Elidir Davies. The recent design incorporated office space, and the constructing was let to the Mission to Seafarers on its completion in 1968.
A press release issued by the diocese of London on Wednesday said: “A licence from the Bishop of London allowed its chapel to proceed to be utilized by the Mission to Seafarers for services, and by livery corporations.
“In 2017, the Mission to Seafarers gave notice on their lease, reduced their use of the constructing from 2019 and fully moved out in 2021. The London Diocesan Fund (LDF) then began a period of use-seeking, which has culminated within the marketing of the constructing, following approval given by the relevant diocesan governance bodies.
“Like many church buildings, it now requires significant further investment for any future use, whereas the funds released from the sale will enable investment in present day churches, parishes and projects across the diocese.”
The agent’s description states: “The property is not any longer used for worship and could be used for quite a lot of business uses under Class E of the Town & Country Planning Act, subject to consent from the Diocese of London and the Church Commissioners.”
Among the attributes listed:
• First time available on the market
• Off-street parking
• Former mixed use (business & worship) constructing
• Benefits from three floors of open plan offices
• City core location
• Entrance onto College Hill and in addition College Street
• Suitable for quite a lot of uses (STC)
• Includes former residential duplex unit.
