Hide

St Helen Bishopsgate

hide
Hide

"ST. HELEN'S, the church of, is situated nearly in the middle of Great St. Helen's. It derives its name from its being dedicated to St. Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, and escaped the great fire in 1666. It was repaired, and the new tower built in 1669, and contains many curious monuments, among which is that of Francis Bancroft, who founded the alms houses called after his name. The patronage of this church appears to have been very anciently in lay hands, for in the reign of Henry II., Ranulph and his son, Robert, granted it to the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, by whom it was afterwards granted to William Fitzwilliam, who, in 1212, founded the priory of St. Helen, and conferred the advowson of the church on the prioress and nuns, in whom it continued till the suppression of their convent in 1589, when it devolved to the crown. . . . This church is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry of London, and its present vicar is the Rev. James Blenkarne, who was in-stituted by A. MacdougaL Esq., its patron, in 1822." [J. Elmes. A Topographical Dictionary of London and its Environs (1831) - transcribed by Brian Randell]

Hide

This parish - no. 17 in the above map - is located in Bishopsgate Ward.
The church, which dates from before the Great Fire, was badly damaged by a terrorist bomb in 1992.

Hide
topup

Archives & Libraries

London Metropolitan Archive holdings for St Helen Bishopsgate.

topup

Church History

About the Buildings - from the St Helen's Bishopsgate website.

St Helen Bishopsgate, City of London and its monuments - a detailed account, by Bob Speel.

St Helen's Bishopsgate - from the Medieval London website.

topup

Church Records

Online Parish Register Images and Indexes for St Helen Bishopsgate parish are provided by, or at various subscription sites via, the LDS FamilySearch wiki.

Non-Church of England denominations identified in St Helen Bishopsgate include: Jewish and Presbyterian [LDS FamilySearch Wiki].

Bannerman, W. Bruce. The registers of St. Helen's Bishopsgate, London 1575 to 1837, London (1904) 524 pp. [Full text]
topup

Description & Travel

Wikipedia page on St Helen Bishopsgate.

You can see pictures of St Helen Bishopsgate which are provided by:

topup

Gazetteers

topup

History

Summary history of St Helen Bishopsgate parish, from the Worshipful Company of Parish Clerks.

topup

Land & Property

Public Houses, Inns & Taverns of the parish of St Helen Bishopsgate - provides "information from census records, trade directories, etc."

topup

Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference TQ332813 (Lat/Lon: 51.514802, -0.082188), St Helen Bishopsgate which are provided by:

topup

Names, Personal

Surnames from the 1881 census in the St Helen Bishopsgate district.

topup

Taxation

Sources for listings of taxpayer names for St Helen Bishopsgate parish, listed on the LDS FamilySearch wiki.

London Lay Subsidy Default Roll, St. Helen's, Bishopsgate, naming William Shakespeare as a householder in 1597 - from the Shakespeare Documented website.