St James Garlickhythe, London

St James Garlickhythe is a historic Church of England parish church in the Vintry ward of the City of London, close to the River Thames. One of the City churches rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London, it is nicknamed "Wren's lantern" because of its profusion of tall windows, which flood its lofty interior with light. With its curious name, its long associations with the wine merchants and livery companies of the City, and its links with the great pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, St James Garlickhythe is one of the most characterful of the surviving City churches.

The church's unusual name comes from its medieval setting: "Garlickhythe" refers to the nearby landing place, or "hythe", on the Thames, near which garlic was sold in medieval times. The earliest surviving reference to the church appears as "ecclesiam Sancti Jacobi" in a twelfth-century will, and it has been known by various names over the centuries, including St James in the Vintry, St James-by-the-Thames and St James upon the River. The church is dedicated to St James the Great, the apostle whose great shrine is at Santiago de Compostela in Spain, and to this day St James Garlickhythe is a stop on the pilgrims' route to Santiago: visitors may have their pilgrim passport, or credencial, stamped here with the impression of a scallop shell, the emblem of St James.

The church stood in the Vintry, the quarter of the wine merchants, and the ships that brought garlic from France also brought wine, giving St James a long association with the wine trade. In 1326 the church was rebuilt at the expense of Richard de Rothing, a vintner and Sheriff of London, and it has long links with the City livery companies — it is the official church of several of them, including the Joiners' Company, whose origins lie in a religious guild founded at St James in 1375, and the Vintners'. In the fifteenth century the church became collegiate, served by seven chantry priests, and its medieval importance is reflected in its being the burial place of no fewer than six Lord Mayors of London.

The medieval church became a parish church at the Reformation, but it was destroyed, like so much of the City, in the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was rebuilt to the designs of the office of Sir Christopher Wren between 1676 and 1682, with the steeple added a little later. Wren gave it an unusually tall and light-filled interior, with great windows on two levels — the feature that earned it the nickname "Wren's lantern" — making it one of the most elegant of all his City churches. The church survived the Blitz of the Second World War, though it was damaged, and in 1991 it was struck by a falling crane; but it has been repaired and restored, and retains its fine Wren interior and furnishings.

Today St James Garlickhythe continues as an active Anglican church in the Diocese of London, serving its City parish and its livery companies, and welcoming pilgrims and visitors. With its light-filled interior, its historic associations and its place on the road to Santiago, it is one of the hidden gems of the City of London.

The church stands on Garlick Hill, just off Upper Thames Street, in the City of London, close to the River Thames and the Millennium Bridge. Nearby are the other great City churches, including Wren's St Mary-le-Bow and St Paul's Cathedral, the Mansion House and the heart of the financial City, the Vintners' Hall and the other livery company halls, the riverside walks, and, across the river, Tate Modern and the South Bank, all within easy reach.

From its medieval origins by the garlic landing on the Thames, through its rebuilding by the vintner Richard de Rothing in 1326, its collegiate priests and its six buried Lord Mayors, the destruction of the Great Fire and the rebuilding by Sir Christopher Wren in 1676–82, St James Garlickhythe gathers many centuries of the history of the City of London into one building. A Wren church known as "Wren's lantern" and a stop on the pilgrims' road to Santiago, it remains a living church at the heart of the City — one of the most delightful of London's churches.