By Elisa.rolle – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57562559
There’s something about this bombed-out church that confounds the senses. Sitting at one of the benches in its preserved garden in the heart of the city, you get a distinct feeling of being caught in time.
It was in 1941 during the height of the Blitz, that St Dunstan’s received a direct hit from a powerful German bomb which all but destroyed the building, leaving only the Tower and one wall standing.
For the next 25 years, the church stood in ruins, its future uncertain
But this hadn’t been the first time. Like many city churches the WW2 bombing was not the only trauma it suffered. Originally built 900 years ago, it was damaged in the Great Fire of London having to be completely rebuilt by the great architect Sir Christopher Wren. Then in the 1800’s, structural problems caused the church again to be rebuilt, only Wren’s tower was left intact.
By Dirk Ingo Franke – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34794820
Finally in 1967, the London Corporation decided to turn the ruins into a public garden. Trees and a lawn were planted and a low fountain placed where the nave would have stood. The Tower now houses the All Hallows Foundation and occasionally open-air service are held.
Sitting here in this secret garden amongst the overgrown remains, you are filled with a sense of inner calm. Despite the brutality of the blitz, the faceless offices buildings that grew in its wake, St Dunstan-in-the-East is a gentle reminder of what used to be.
St Dunstan’s in 1891
By Anonymous – 'Church bells' album of notable churches of the City of London (archive.org), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30189454