St Sepulchre without Newgate Churchyard

A church is recorded here in c1137 when it was given to the Priory of St Bartholomew; it was originally dedicated to St Edmund. The churchyard dates from c1240 and a cross is mentioned in the south churchyard in 1370. The church was rebuilt in the C15th by Sir Hugh Popham, who was Treasurer of the King's Household and Chancellor of Normandy. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries it remained in possession of the Crown until 1610. The church bell reputedly summoned prisoners at nearby Newgate Prison to the gallows after Robert Dowe had left an endowment to the parish in his will of 1605 on condition that a hand-bell which he also left should give '12 solemn tolls with double strokes, and then, after a proper pause, deliver a solemn exhortation' and that the 'great bell of the church should toll on the morning, and that, as the criminals passed the wall, the bellman or sexton should look over it and say 'All good people pray heartily unto God for these poor sinners, who are now going to their death', a practice which was discontinued after the place of execution moved from here. Much of the present building dates from 1670 when Wren rebuilt the earlier building largely destroyed in the Great Fire. However by 1790 it was in a state of decay following which substantial restoration work took place. From the north end of the church porch a passage ran to the burial ground on the north side.

Among those buried here was Captain John Smith, Governor of Virginia (d.1631) who went to America following participation in the war with Hungary where he reputedly overcame three Turks in single combat. He was taken prisoner by the Indians but escaped and 'subsequently had a considerable share in reducing New England', published a Map of Virginia in 1612 and other books related to his travels in America and Europe. The churchyard wall once extended into the street on the south, which made the passageway narrow so that in 1760 the churchyard was levelled and open to the public, although in 1802 it was once more enclosed. In 1791 a Watch-House was built on Giltspur Street to the north of the church to protect the churchyard from body snatchers and the wrought-iron gates to the north may be C18th. This building was destroyed by World War II bombing and a replica erected in 1962 designed by Seely and Paget. On the wall of the Watch House is a bust of Charles Lamb by W Reynolds-Stephens of 1935, which was formerly in Christ Church.

Part of the churchyard was lost when Holborn Viaduct was constructed in 1871 and the road widened. Bodies were re-interred in the City of London Cemetery (q.v.) What remains of the former churchyard area on the south and east sides of the church was laid out as a public garden with grass, mature trees and a number of seats, and it contains a tomb with carved and Coade stone ornament to Edward Chandler, d.1780. The church has historically been connected with the Royal Fusiliers City of London Regiment, and the churchyard incorporates a Garden of Remembrance dedicated to officers and other ranks who gave their lives in service of the regiment since 1685.

The churchyard is bounded by substantial railings to Holborn Viaduct over a dwarf wall. In the south east, set into the wall, are the remains of a drinking fountain originally installed in 1859 with a neo-Norman surround. This was taken down and sited in the current location when the churchyard was truncated by the building of Holborn Viaduct. It had been the gift of Samuel Gurney MP and was the first to be erected by the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association.