Description
One Tree Park is on the site of the Upper Burying Ground of the parish of St Botolph by Billingsgate, with a plaque to this effect set into the paved courtyard. Old gate and stone piers, possibly dating from the C18th, remain at the corner of Monument Street. The medieval church of St Botolph Billingsgate stood south of Lower Thames Street to the east of the former churchyard; it was rebuilt in the late C16th but later destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and not rebuilt. Part of the site was used for the widening of Thames Street. The parish was joined to that of St George Botolph Lane, for which the churchyard become an additional burial ground.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | St Botolph's Graveyard; St Botolph Billingsgate |
|---|---|
| Site location | Monument Street/Botolph Lane |
| Postcode | EC3R 8BT |
| What3Words | ///ever.danger.bleak |
| Type of Site | Private Garden |
| Borough | City of London |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private, but visible |
| Public Transport | Tube: Monument (District, Circle) / Bank (Central, DLR, Northern, Waterloo & City) |
| Research Updated | 1 May 2010 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
This small paved area was once the Upper Burying Ground of the parish of St Botolph by Billingsgate, with a plaque to this effect set into the paved courtyard. The burial ground was established in 1392 and the old gate and stone piers at the corner of Monument Street possibly date from the C18th. St Botolph Billingsgate was destroyed in 1666 in the Great Fire of London and not subsequently rebuilt. It had stood south of Lower Thames Street to the east of the churchyard; first mentioned in C12th, the medieval church had been rebuilt in the late C16th. After the Great Fire part of the site was used for the widening of Thames Street and the parish was joined to that of St George Botolph Lane, a church rebuilt by Wren after the Fire but which was demolished in 1904. St Botolph was the Anglo-Saxon patron saint of travellers, and as a result churches with this dedication were usually located at city gates. Among those buried at St Botolph's was English composer Thomas Morley (1557/8 - 1602), who was a leading member of the English Madrigal School, an organist at St Paul's Cathedral and, along with another composer Robert Johnson, was composer of the only surviving contemporary settings of Shakespeare's verse. In 1873 the OS map shows the former burial ground as a playground for Billingsgate Ward School. It is now a private courtyard to a residential building, with one modern circular planter and minimal planting.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ330806 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.0141 |
| Site Ownership | private |
| Dates | medieval; C20th |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | City of London |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Lovat Lane |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Strategic Viewing Corridor; Monument Views and Setting |
Gallery
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Nearby parks and gardens
The church of St Mary at Hill is referred to in the late C12th and there was a churchyard on the north side by 1299. A number of former Lord Mayors of the C14th to C16th were buried here. The medieval church was partially destroyed in 1666 and rebuilt by Wren in 1670-74 re-using the medieval west end and heightening the north and south walls of the earlier building, much of which had survived. The churchyard was closed to burials in 1846 and it is simply laid out as a public garden, with paving stones, a central rectangular flower bed and a small tree; a lead rainwater butt (dated 1788) is used as a planter and two seats were provided by the MPGA. It is surrounded by a brick retaining wall.
A church dedicated to St Magnus the Martyr has been on the site from at least the C11th. An earlier building destroyed in the Great Fire was rebuilt by Wren in 1671-84, the stone tower completed some 30 years later, its projecting clock once the only clock visible to those crossing London Bridge. Among those buried here were various City dignitaries including Lord Mayors of London of the C14th-C17th. The church was substantially altered in the 1760s firstly following a fire and soon after this when the road onto Old London Bridge was widened. A pedestrian route was created by demolishing two of the church's west bays, when the lower storey of the tower became an external porch. In the churchyard is a fragment of timber, one of the oak baulks of which the early Roman embankment was built, and fragments of stone arches from Old London Bridge.
There has been a church here from ancient times, with a large churchyard in existence by the C12th. St Dunstan-in-the-East suffered damage in the Great Fire of 1666, after which the shell was repaired by Christopher Wren in 1695-1701, who added the tower and steeple. The church was rebuilt in 1817-21, but destroyed by enemy action in 1941 although the spire was reconstructed in 1953, and the tower later restored in 1970/1. The Corporation of London acquired the ruins in 1967, which with the former churchyard were incorporated into a well-designed garden, which opened to the public in 1971.
