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Greyfriars, London

1225 establishments in England1538 disestablishments in EnglandChristian monasteries established in the 13th centuryFormer buildings and structures in the City of LondonFranciscan monasteries in England
Monasteries in London
Grey Friars plaque London
Grey Friars plaque London

In London, the Greyfriars was a Conventual Franciscan friary that existed from 1225 to 1538 on a site at the North-West of the City of London by Newgate in the parish of St Nicholas in the Shambles. It was the second Franciscan religious house to be founded in the country. The establishment included a conventual church that was one of the largest in London; a studium or regional university; and an extensive library of logical and theological texts. It was an important intellectual centre in the early fourteenth century, rivalled only by Oxford University in status. Members of the community at that time included William of Ockham, Walter Chatton and Adam Wodeham. It flourished in the fourteenth and fifteenth century but was dissolved in 1538 at the instigation of Henry VIII as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Christ's Hospital was founded in the old conventual buildings, and the church was rebuilt completely by Sir Christopher Wren as Christ Church Greyfriars after the original church was almost completely destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666. The building now standing on the site, designed by Arup Group Limited, is currently occupied by Merrill Lynch. It was named after the friars' practice of wearing grey habits.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Greyfriars, London (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Greyfriars, London
Warwick Lane, City of London

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Latitude Longitude
N 51.5162 ° E -0.0996 °
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Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Warwick Lane
EC4M 7BY City of London
England, United Kingdom
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Grey Friars plaque London
Grey Friars plaque London
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St Nicholas Shambles
St Nicholas Shambles

St Nicholas Shambles was a medieval church in the City of London, which stood on the corner of Butcher Hall Lane (now King Edward Street) and Newgate Street. It took its name from the Shambles, the butchers area in the west of Newgate Street. The church is first mentioned as St. Nicholas de Westrnacekaria. In 1253 Walter de Cantilupe, Bishop of Worcester granted indulgences to its parishioners.In 1546, Henry VIII gave the church, along with that of St Ewin (also known as St Audoen) and the dissolved Christ Church priory to the City corporation. A new parish was created for Christ Church, out of those of St Nicholas and St Ewin, and part of that of St Sepulchre. St Nicholas' was demolished in 1547.The site was extensively excavated in 1975–79 in preparation for construction of the GPO headquarters, (now the BT Centre). The excavations identified several phases of building. The original nave and chancel probably dated from the 11th century. They were extended in the late 12th century. Chapels were added to the east end in the 14th century, a north aisle was added to the nave in the first half of the 15th century, and, finally, the east end was rebuilt and a sacristy added on the north. The excavations included the grave yard. Among the finds was a woman who died in the later stages of childbirth.Surviving parish records, now held among the archives of St Bartholomew's Hospital, include an exceptionally detailed inventory of church books, plate, vestments and other possessions of 1457, and a series of churchwardens' accounts running from 1452 to 1526.