Medieval period Although it is thought that a Roman or a Saxon building might have stood on the site, the first mentions of the
parish church of St Helen's date back to the mid-12th century. It is named for
Helena, mother of Constantine I, credited as the discoverer of the
True Cross in
Jerusalem in about AD 326–328; her name was often shortened to "Helen" in England. In 1210, the Dean and chapter of
St. Paul's gave William, son of William Goldsmith, permission to establish a priory of
Benedictine nuns; and a nunnery was built alongside the existing church. The new church was wider than the parish church, and longer too, so the parish church was lengthened to match. The masonry of the outer walls as it currently stands was in place by 1300. Next to the church, the priory had extensive monastic buildings; they were later acquired and used by the
Worshipful Company of Leathersellers until their demolition in 1799. The church is the only surviving building from a nunnery in the City of London.
The Reformation When the priory was
dissolved in 1538, the nunnery was incorporated in the parish church and the
screen separating it from the rest of the church was removed. This gave the church its unusual construction consisting of two naves. In the following years, the building was rearranged according the principles of the
Reformation, which put the emphasis on the preaching of the Word and on the full and active participation of the congregation. A
Jacobean pulpit was erected in 1615 in a central position on the south wall, accompanied by an ornamental
tester in 1640.
Box pews were installed and arranged around the pulpit. In the 17th century, extensive repairs were carried out, most notably resulting in the addition of two
Neoclassical wooden doorcases. By the end of the century, a bell turret was also erected. St Helen's was one of only a few City of London churches to survive the
Great Fire of London of 1666. A new
organ and organ loft were installed on the west end of the church in 1742, designed by
Thomas Griffin. In 1874 the parish was united with that of
St Martin Outwich when the latter's church was demolished, and the first incumbent of the new parish was
John Bathurst Deane.
Victorian restorations During the
Victorian era, two significant restorations were carried out. The first, in 1865, provided the two stone
tracery windows on the east end of the church and stained glass throughout the building. The second, more significant,
Victorian restoration was carried out from 1891 to 1893 by
John Loughborough Pearson under supervision of the rector, John Alfred Lumb Airey. This restoration was inspired by the
Oxford movement, which advocated moving the centre of importance in the church from
preaching to the
sacrament of the
Eucharist. This new arrangement resulted in a new floor with levels gradually ascending from the west to a new high
altar in the east, completed by an ornated
reredos and marble pavement, once again enclosed in a
chancel by a
neo-Gothic screen. The organ was expanded and moved to the south transept, where two additional altars were also placed in two side chapels, the Chapel of the Holy Ghost and the Chapel of our Lady. The church was reopened on St John the Baptist's Day in 1893 by the
Bishop of London,
Frederick Temple. As the church had been used as a burial ground for centuries, it is thought that over 1000 bodies had been interred in vaults under the floor by this period. The excavation of the floor at the start of the 1891 restoration caused some of the burials to emerge from the vaults: all work had to stop for one year until all human remains were translated to Ilford Cemetery, and a concrete slab was put in place between the floor and the remains of the vault.
20th century The church was left undamaged by
the Blitz during
World War II and it was designated a Grade I-
listed building on 4 January 1950. When
Dick Lucas became rector in 1961, St Helen's grew from a small congregation of a few individuals to a large thriving church within the
conservative evangelical tradition of the
Church of England, with a reputation for strong Bible teaching and preaching. As the
City of London had grown to become a major business and
financial centre, the church started providing an active midweek ministry to City workers. Next to the lunchtime midweek talks for workers, the three Sunday services are now attended by a diverse range of people including students, young workers, families and internationals. In
1992 and
1993, the church was badly damaged by two
IRA bombs that were set off nearby. A full restoration was carried out by architect
Quinlan Terry, an enthusiast of
Georgian architecture, and designed along
Reformation lines. The floor was evened out and returned to its original level, which allowed for the installation of underfloor heating, a sound reinforcement system and a baptistry in front of the pulpit. A new gallery was erected on the west end to provide additional seating and house the organ, now returned to its original position. All the windows were glazed in clear glass. The Victorian
screen was rotated by 90 degrees across the south transept, opening up the former chancel. A new door was opened in the south transept. All altars were removed, giving space to a restored Georgian
communion table. The principles of this restoration sought to arrange the building once again around the
preaching of the Word and strip it down of the
ritualistic elements added in Victorian times, following the needs of the large
Evangelical congregation. This new arrangement allowed the seating capacity to be increased from 500 to 1000, all in a large open space with a clear view on the
pulpit and
lectern.
Present day Following the decision of the
General Synod of the Church of England to authorise the
blessing of same-sex unions, St Helen's Church declared itself to be in impaired communion with the
Bishop of London Sarah Mullally and the
House of Bishops. It subsequently stated that episcopal oversight at St Helen's will henceforth be provided by Bishops from the
Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (GAFCON) and its affiliated denominations. On 24 July 2024, St Helen's held a "commissioning service" in which seven men from four dioceses who had been due to be ordained as deacons in the Church of England were instead "commissioned" to be church leaders. It had previously undertaken such a commissioning of one man in August 2023. This is not to be confused with the commissioning of "overseers" conducted under the auspices of the
Church of England Evangelical Council. The service was led by Bishop
Rod Thomas, the retired provincial episcopal visitor for conservative evangelical, and involved the
laying on of hands. They will "preside at informal church family meals, at which bread is broken and the death of the Lord Jesus is remembered": this led to accusations that this was an attempt to practice
lay presidency which is not recognised by the Church of England. The seven men were not identified and it is planned that they will be ordained at a later date "by Anglican bishops not in partnership with the unorthodox bishops of the Church of England". and also objections from other conservatives as to how such secrecy fits with public ministry. == Activities ==