imported>Doncurzio at 21:58, 24 April 2025

2025-04-24T21:58:49Z

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{{Infobox church
| name = All-Hallows-the-Less and Great
| fullname =
| image = Upper Thames Street site of All-Hallows-the-Less.JPG
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| caption = The site in 2008<br /><small>Parish Boundary</small>
| denomination = [[Anglican]]
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| location = [[Thames Street, London|Thames Street]], [[London]]
| country = [[England]]
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}}

'''All-Hallows-the-Less''' (also known as ''All-Hallows-upon-the-Cellar''<ref name=harben>{{Cite web |url=http://www.motco.com/Harben/107.htm |title=***Harben Dictionary Window*** |access-date=2008-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050213082208/http://www.motco.com/Harben/107.htm |archive-date=2005-02-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref>) was a church in the [[City of London]]. Of medieval origin, it was destroyed in the [[Great Fire of London]] in 1666 and not rebuilt.

==History==
The church stood on the south side of Thames Street in [[Dowgate]] ward, to the east of the [[All Hallows the Great]]. In some early records it is called "Allhallows on the Cellars", as it stood on vaults. The steeple and choir were built over an arched gateway, which formed the entrance to a house called [[Cold Harbour, City of London|Cold Harbour]].<ref name=ric>{{cite book|title=Repetorium Ecclesiasticum Parochiale Londinense|author-link=Richard Newcourt (historian)|last=Newcourt|first=Richard|location=London|pages=250–1|year=1708|volume=1}}</ref> The area was known as ''The Ropery''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Notes on Old City Churches|author= Pearce, C.W.|publisher=Winthrop Rogers|year=1909}}</ref>

The first mention of the church is from 1216,<ref>"The London Encyclopaedia" Hibbert,C;Weinreb,D;Keay,J: London, [[Pan Macmillan]], 1983 (rev 1993,2008) {{ISBN|978-1-4050-4924-5}}</ref> and in 1387 two adjacent houses were given to expand the church.<ref name=harben/> The choir, having fallen down, was rebuilt in 1594 at the cost of the parishioners. The church was renovated again in 1616; at this time [[dormer window]]s were installed on the south side, "the interior, being very dark and gloomy". Three galleries were added in 1633.<ref name=white>{{cite book |last1=White |first1=J.G. |title= The Churches and Chapels of Old London |url=https://archive.org/details/churcheschapelso00whit|year= 1901 }}</ref>

==Destruction==

[[File:Site of All Hallows the Less 1966.jpg|thumb|Photograph taken in the mid 60s of the remaining steps and commemorative plaque to All-Hallows-the-Less church.]]

The church was destroyed, along with most of the churches in the City, by the [[Great Fire of London|Great Fire]] of 1666. In 1670 [[Houses of Parliament|Parliament]] passed a [[Rebuilding of London Act 1670|Rebuilding Act]] and a committee was set up under the stewardship of Sir [[Christopher Wren]] to decide which churches would be rebuilt.<ref>{{cite book|title=Wren|author=Whinney, Margaret|location=London|publisher=Thames & Hudson|year=1971|isbn=0-500-20112-9|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/wren00whin}}</ref> All-Hallows-the-Less was not amongst those chosen; instead the parish was united with that of [[All-Hallows-the-Great]], and the site of the church retained as a burial ground.<ref name=ric/>

All-Hallows-the-Great itself was demolished in 1894<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pearce |first1=Charles William |title=Notes on old London city churches: their organs, organists, and musical associations |year=1909|publisher=Vincent Music Company |location=London|page=158 }}</ref> and the united parishes were in turn joined with that of [[St Michael Paternoster Royal]] under the [[Union of Benefices Act 1860]]. In 1896 many bodies were disinterred from the churchyard and reburied at [[Brookwood Cemetery]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Brookwood Necropolis Railway|author= Clarke, J.M.|publisher= Oasdale|location= Usk|year=2006 |isbn= 978-0-85361-655-9}}</ref> The last physical evidence of the existence of All-Hallows-the-Less, an old watch house, was destroyed during the [[Second World War]].<ref>Clark, William A. - Watch house of Allhallows the Less, Upper Thames Street-1930 photograph p5355937 cited in "City of London Parish Registers Guide 4" Hallows,A.(Ed) : London, Guildhall Library Research, 1974 {{ISBN|0-900422-30-0}}</ref>

The church is the setting for the London Institute in [[Cassandra Clare]]'s young adult book series, ''[[The Infernal Devices]]''.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Christianity}}

{{Churches in the City of London}}

{{Coord|51.5099|-0.0893|type:landmark_region:GB-LND|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:All Hallows The Less}}
[[Category:13th-century church buildings in England]]
[[Category:1666 disestablishments in England]]
[[Category:Churches destroyed in the Great Fire of London and not rebuilt]]
[[Category:Churches in the City of London]]
[[Category:Former buildings and structures in the City of London]]

All-Hallows-the-Less - Revision history

imported>Doncurzio at 21:58, 24 April 2025