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St. Michael Queenhithe was a church in the City of London located in what is now Upper Thames Street. First recorded in the 12th century, the church was destroyed during the Great Fire of London in 1666. Rebuilt by the office of Sir Christopher Wren,〔"The city churches of Sir Christopher Wren",Jeffery, P: London, Hambledon Press, 1996〕 it was demolished in 1876. ==History== London had seven churches named after the Archangel Michael in the Middle Ages, of which five were rebuilt after the Great Fire. Queenhithe is still the name of the ward which the church was located in, and a dock on the Thames near to the church. The earliest reference to the church is as ''St Michael Aedredeshuda'' in the 12th century (Aethelredhyth being an earlier name for Queenhithe). The church was also recorded as ''St Michael upon Thames, St Michael in Huda, St Michael de Hutha Regina'' and ''St Michael super Ripam Regine''. John Stow described it as “A convenient church but al the monuments therein are defaced.” During the Great Fire, Charles II and the future James II “came down from Whitehall by boat to Queenhithe and, from a high rooftop, saw dwellings, Company halls and churches blazing.” The flames soon engulfed St. Michael Queenhithe. The church was rebuilt, incorporating some of the old walls, between 1676 and 1686 at a cost of £4375.〔Vanished churches of the City of London Heulin,G: , Guildhall Library Publications, 1996〕 The parish was combined with that of Holy Trinity the Less, also destroyed in the Fire, but not rebuilt. Uniquely for a Wren church, a famous painter contributed to its decoration. According to Malcolm in London Redivivum, the church officers thanked Sir James Thornhill – father-in-law of Hogarth and painter of the grisailles on the ceiling of St Paul’s Cathedral for his “liberality in repairing and improving the painting which adorned the altar” in 1721. This was later destroyed. In 1779 a new organ was provided by George England and Hugh Russell. Due to the move of population from the City to the suburbs in the second half of the nineteenth century, the church became redundant and the last service held in December 1875. The church was demolished in 1876〔"The London Encyclopaedia" Hibbert,C;Weinreb,D;Keay,J: London, Pan Macmillan, 1983 (rev 1993,2008) ISBN 978-1-4050-4924-5〕 under the Union of Benefices Act 1860. The parish was combined with that of St James Garlickhythe, which also received much of the church fittings. The proceeds of the sale of St. Michael Queenhithe were used to build St Michael's Church, Camden Town. The site of St. Michael Queenhithe now partly lies under the northern carriageway of Upper Thames Street, where it is crossed by the footbridge in the photo above, whilst the churchyard to its north now lies under the western part of Fur Trade House,〔 Good review of the site, with lots of old maps at the end〕 completed in 1972. There is a plan to redevelop the area as a hotel. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「St Michael Queenhithe」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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