Description
The church was first called St Andrew's juxta Baynard's Castle after a tower erected on the banks of the Thames by the Baynard family, who came to England with William the Conqueror. Baynard's Castle was later owned by the Crown and occasionally used as a Royal residence. St Andrew's later became known as St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe due to the proximity of the Royal Wardrobe, which had moved from the Tower in the mid C14th to a site now Wardrobe Place north of the church. Baynard's Castle, the Wardrobe and St Andrew's were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, the church rebuilt in 1685-94 by Wren. The steep terraced churchyard that lies between the church front and Queen Victoria Street was laid out as a garden in 1901 when the front wall with urns and ornamental wrought iron gates were erected, presented in memory of church warden Professor Banister Fletcher.
Practical Information
| Site location | Queen Victoria Street/St Andrews Hill |
|---|---|
| Postcode | EC4V 5DE |
| What3Words | ///expert.sticky.keep |
| Type of Site | Public Gardens |
| Borough | City of London |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted. Church: Mon-Fri 10am-4pm |
| Events | Events in church |
| Public Transport | Tube: Blackfriars (District, Circle). Rail: Blackfriars |
| Research Updated | 1 June 2010 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe was first called St Andrew's juxta Baynard's Castle after a tower erected during the reign of William I on the banks of the Thames by the Baynard family who came to England with William the Conqueror. In 1213 Baynard's Castle was in the possession of the Fitzwalter family together with land and houses around it and St Andrew's was probably founded at that time, the first reference to a rector being to a John de Castillo in 1261. Baynard's Castle was later owned by the Crown and occasionally used as a Royal residence, including by the Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III; a scene in Shakespeare's play 'Richard III' takes place here. St Andrew's later became known as St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe due to the proximity of the Royal Wardrobe, which had moved from the Tower in the mid C14th to a site now Wardrobe Place (q.v.) north of the church. Baynard's Castle, the Wardrobe and St Andrew's were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, the church rebuilt in 1685-94 by Wren. The parish then amalgamated with St Anne Blackfriars which was not rebuilt and whose site then became a burial ground, which survives at Church Entry and Ireland Yard (q.v.). St Andrew's was later badly damaged in 1940 when most of the internal furnishings were destroyed, after which it was restored in 1959-61.
Much of the churchyard to the south was lost when Queen Victoria Street was laid out in 1871, and the steep terraced garden that lies between the church front and Queen Victoria Street was laid out in 1901 when the front wall with urns and ornamental wrought iron gates were erected, presented by his family in memory of Professor Banister Fletcher, a past church warden. A crucifix by Walter Tapper is located in this sloping garden. At the north side of the church is a paved area with seats and tubs, all that remains of the churchyard to the north. An engraving of c.1839 shows the church with railings to the south.
Among those buried here with fine memorials in the church is Rev W. Goode (d.1816) who was a curate of the parish from 1786 and vicar from 1795. He established a soup kitchen in Blackfriars in 1799, which was the origin of the 'Association for the relief of the poor in the City of London' and in 1809 he formed a Sunday School, probably the first to be opened in the City.
Much of the churchyard to the south was lost when Queen Victoria Street was laid out in 1871, and the steep terraced garden that lies between the church front and Queen Victoria Street was laid out in 1901 when the front wall with urns and ornamental wrought iron gates were erected, presented by his family in memory of Professor Banister Fletcher, a past church warden. A crucifix by Walter Tapper is located in this sloping garden. At the north side of the church is a paved area with seats and tubs, all that remains of the churchyard to the north. An engraving of c.1839 shows the church with railings to the south.
Among those buried here with fine memorials in the church is Rev W. Goode (d.1816) who was a curate of the parish from 1786 and vicar from 1795. He established a soup kitchen in Blackfriars in 1799, which was the origin of the 'Association for the relief of the poor in the City of London' and in 1809 he formed a Sunday School, probably the first to be opened in the City.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ318810 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.0228 |
| Site Ownership | Diocese of London |
| Site Management | City of London Corporation Open Spaces Dept |
| Dates | C13th, 1685-93, 1859-61 |
| Listed Structures | LBI: St Andrew's Church |
| 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 | St Paul's Cathedral |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - St Paul's Heights Policy Area |
| Other LA Designation | Strategic Viewing Corridor |
Gallery
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Nearby parks and gardens
Wardrobe Place is so-called after the King's Great Wardrobe, which housed the Crown's storage of clothing and arms. It was moved from the Tower of London to Lombard Street in 1311 and then in the 1360s to a house here that Edward III purchased from Sir John Beauchamp. The Wardrobe was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and the buildings in Wardrobe Place today date from the C18th and C19th. It is reached through an archway from Carter Lane, a paved courtyard laid out with a few trees and seats.
The parish of St Ann Blackfriars was established after the dissolution of the C13th Friary of the Dominicans or Black Friars, so called for the colour of their clothes. The Priory church, initially used as the parish church from 1544, was demolished in 1550 and subsequent complaints by local inhabitants deprived of a place of worship led to the building of St Ann Blackfriars in 1597. It was built on the site known as Ireland Yard, once part of the Provincial's Hall of the Priory. Part of the site of the nave of the Friary church became the burial ground of St Ann, the site now known as Church Entry. St Ann's burnt down in the Great Fire of 1666 and was not rebuilt, the parish amalgamating with that of St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe and the church site became a burial ground. The two churchyards closed in 1849 and were later laid out as public gardens by Madeline Agar, MPGA landscape gardener, in 1907. They are largely paved, both raised and containing a number of tombstones.
The Society of Apothecaries, originally a member of the Grocers' Society, gained its own charter in 1617. In 1632 it purchased Cobham House, once the guesthouse of the Dominican Priory of Black Friars. The external appearance of the Hall today is much like that of the late C18th, surrounding a central paved courtyard. The Society established a pharmaceutical laboratory on the ground floor of its Hall in 1671, the first large-scale drug manufacturing operation. In 1673 it founded the Chelsea Physic Garden, which it managed until 1899. The property was expanded in the 1780s as these operations developed; new west and south ranges were added to the courtyard, now entered through an archway. A retail pharmacy on the north side had a separate entrance on the street in 1823 but in 1922 the Society sold its pharmaceutical business. The colonnade in the courtyard was enclosed in 1929 and in 1967 it was repaved for the 350th anniversary of the Society's Charter.
