I randomly stumbled into this church the other day, I didn’t even know it existed before. All hallows by the tower is an Early Medieval Anglican church and is the oldest church in London, being founded in AD 675, 300 years before the Tower of London.
The church survived the Great Fire of London in 1666, but was badly damaged during the Blitz in World War II. Following extensive reconstruction, it was rededicated in 1957. It survived the great fire of London solely due to the heroic efforts of Admiral Penn, He saved the church by ordering his sailors to blow up the surrounding buildings. Along with his friend Samuel Pepys he watched the fire of London burn from the tower of All Hallows.
Located next to the Tower of London, the church has cared for numerous beheaded bodies through out the years which, had been bought for temporary burial following their executions on Tower Hill, including those of Thomas More, Bishop John Fisher and Archbishop Laud.
It’s totally free to enter and below the church is a crypt you can walk around which, has been turned into a museum. It contains portions of a Roman pavement along with other artefacts that were discovered below the church in 1926/27. The exhibition also contains the church's registers dating back to the 16th century, with framed pictures of notable entries including the baptism of William Penn, the marriage of John Quincy Adams.
The altar in the crypt is of plain stone from the castle of Richard I at Athlit in The Holy Land.
You’ll also see a lot of ship references in the church along with Shackleton’s Crow’s Nest from the ship the Quest, which Sir Ernest Shackleton used for his third and last Antarctic voyage in 1921 and 1922. The ship was waved off from St Catherine’s Dock just around the corner.
