As you wander around the City of London, you will be amazed at the number of green spaces there are amongst all the office blocks. Many of these are where churches once stood.
One of them, which you might miss, is a sunken garden on Gresham Street – it is privately owned but open to the public. This is the site of the former church of St John Zachary. The first mention of there being a church here was in 1181.
History of St John Zachary Church
There are varying theories about the name. According to the records of St Paulʼs Cathedral the canons granted the church to a monk called Zachary and so his name was included in the churchʼs name to distinguish it from another church – St John the Baptist, Walbrook.
The other theory is that the name is short for St John, son of Zachary, referring to St John the Baptist and his father Zachary (Zechariah). Disaster struck when the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 but unlike some others it was not rebuilt – not surprising as there was an abundance of churches within a very short distance – including St Anne and St Agnes, just across the road, with which the parish was merged.
For some time the church stood as a ruin – it would seem until the 19th century after which it was built over. However, the churchyard remained in use until the 1850s and then was retained as an open space.
Role of the Goldsmiths’ Company
By then the site had been acquired by one of the powerful City livery companies – the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths. In 1339 they had acquired land just across the road and built their first hall there. They are still there in the impressive looking building opposite which resembles a stately home.
Another disaster struck the site during World War II when it was bombed. However, the destruction of the buildings on the site revealed the vaults of the church and in 1941 the firewatchers in the area laid out a garden in this sunken area where the vaults had been.
In 1950 the garden was awarded the prize by the Worshipful Company of Gardeners for the Best Garden on a Blitzed Site. Although the site has been redesigned a few times since, it has remained as a garden.
What we see today is the result of a collaboration in the 1990ʼs between the Goldsmiths and various other livery companies – the project being headed up by the Gardeners.
Unique Features of the Sunken Garden
The garden is principally lawn with planting in beds around the walls. The Goldsmithsʼ ownership of the site is marked not only by a plaque but also several magnificent gold leopardsʼ heads – the symbol of the Goldsmiths and also the London elements of the hallmark put on all gold, silver, platinum and palladium items tested at the Assay Office (part of Goldsmiths Hall opposite).
Spot them on pillars, on the metal arch at one of the entrances and even hidden on a mirror.
The Lightmongers supplied the lighting– which isn’t obvious during the day, the apprentices of the Blacksmiths made the decorated iron arch and the Constructors donated the fountain which is the central feature of the garden.
One final imposing feature is the 2 metre high Portland stone sculpture in the corner – called The Three Printers. Made in 1957, it is the only public monument to the newspaper industry– a reminder of how newspapers used to be produced and sold – now changed forever by technology.
The three figures are the editor in the centre, the printer or typesetter on the left and the newspaper boy on the right. A nice touch is the way the sculptor, Wilfred Dudeney signs it – the typesetter holds a stick with Dudeney in reverse on it –ready to be used for printing.
The statue originally stood in New Street Square just off Fleet Street (the Goldsmiths are the freeholders) but was moved here when the site was redeveloped in 2009.
Explore green spaces in London
The city is certainly not just stone, concrete and glass. This sunken garden is also a lovely spot to linger on a warm day.
Why not come and join us on our Secret Spaces in the City walk to discover this and some of the other wonderful green spaces in the City of London?
