The 8 Oldest Churches in London

London’s oldest parish church, St Bartholomew-the-Great was founded in 1123 as a priory. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the reign of Henry VIII, the building was used variously as a stable and factory, before reverting once again to use as a church in the 19th century. The surviving Norman chancel and apse represent some of the best Norman architecture found in Greater London today, with the Romanesque interior providing quite a contrast to the mishmash of the building’s exterior, born of various restorations. The church may look familiar to movie fans, as it has served as a backdrop to Four Weddings and a Funeral, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Shakespeare in Love, among other films. The nearest underground station to St Bartholomew-the-Great is Barbican.

Built by the Knights Templar in 1185, the Temple Church is one of only four Norman round churches still operating in England, with its round nave modelled on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Though the church went through substantial restoration in the 1840s, and was previously refurbished under Sir Christopher Wren following the Great Fire of London (despite not sustaining damage from the fire), the church today remains an excellent example of Gothic-Romanesque architecture. The nearest tube stations to the Temple Church are Temple and Blackfriars.

Southwark Cathedral is fascinating not least for its architectural diversity, which includes elements of Early English, Decorated, Perpendicular Gothic and Victorian Gothic revival styles, along with remnants of the original Norman monastery founded in 1106. It was a parish church following the Dissolution of the Monasteries and became a cathedral in 1905. Inside, look out for a statue of William Shakespeare (whose brother, Edmund, was buried at the church) alongside a tablet dedicated to Sam Wanamaker, founder of the present Globe theatre nearby. The nearest underground station to Southwark Cathedral is London Bridge.

Undoubtedly one of London’s most loved and photographed landmarks, Westminster Abbey was founded in 960, but construction of today’s Gothic building began in 1245 under Henry III, who pulled down part of an existing 11th-century abbey founded by King Edward the Confessor in 1065. Since the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066, all coronations of English and British monarchs have been held at Westminster Abbey, and it has been the site of 16 royal weddings. Famous names to have been buried in Westminster Abbey include Queen Elizabeth I, Geoffrey Chaucer, Alfred Tennyson and Neville Chamberlain. The nearest tube stations to Westminster Abbey are Westminster and St James’s Park.