St James Dukes-place

"ST. JAMES, Duke's-place, the church of, is situated in that part of Duke's-place called the square, and nearly opposite the great Synagogue of the German Jews. Duke's-place is a district covered with lanes and alleys, on a site of part of the once splendid and wealthy priory of the Holy Trinity, founded in 1108, by Matilda, queen of Henry I. Being the richest in England, it was the first that was seized upon by Henry VIII., in 1531, at the period of the dissolution of the religious houses. . . The inhabitants of Duke's-place, wishing to have a parish church to themselves, within their own precinct, applied to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who procured the King's warrant, and prevailed upon the lord mayor, aldermen and common-council, to build them a church with the materials of the conventual church, which then remained upon the premises. This was accordingly done, and the church was consecrated and dedicated to St. James, in honour of the reigning king, James I., on the 2d of January 1622. Although the parish is in in the ward of Aldgate, it is a precinct within itself, under a minister, two constables, two headboroughs and fifteen jurymen. Duke's-place is now principally inhabited by Jews who settled therein in the time of Oliver Cromwell. The church having escaped the fire in 1666, still retains its original form, but the body was rebuilt in 1727. It ia a perpetual curacy, in the city and archdeaconry of London, and in the patronage of the lord mayor and commonalty of Lcodon, who instituted the preset incumbent, the Rev. Richard Povah, D.C.L., in 1823." [James Elmes. A Topographical Dictionary of London and its Environs (1831) - transcribed by Brian Randell]