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the gateway to old london bridge

St Magnus the Martyr

FreeHidden gem
City of London · Monument
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A glorious Wren church by the river that once stood on the approach to old London Bridge, home to a stunning scale model of it.

Getting there. On Lower Thames Street by the river, a couple of minutes from Monument station.
Free historic church
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FREE
City of London · Monument
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The lowdown

For centuries everyone crossing the medieval London Bridge passed right beside St Magnus the Martyr, whose churchyard formed part of the bridge approach. Rebuilt by Wren after the Great Fire, it has a richly ornate, almost smoky interior of dark wood and gold that the poet T.S. Eliot singled out for its 'inexplicable splendour'.

Its treasure is a beautifully detailed scale model of old London Bridge, crowded with its houses and chapel, showing exactly how the famous crossing once looked. It is free to visit, a hushed and golden survivor wedged among the river-side offices of the modern City.

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The insider tip

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Seek out the large model of old London Bridge inside, the best way to picture the long-lost houses that once lined it. Look down by the entrance for fragments of the actual old bridge and a Roman wharf timber set into the churchyard.
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