Let’s go visit the wonderful church of St Dunstan-in-the-West!

St. Dunstan’s, which is dedicated to the 10^th century Archbishop of Canterbury Dunstan, differs in appearance and style from other Anglican churches, looking traditionally neo-Gothic on the outside, but is octagonal on the inside.

St Dunstan in the West London — © Wonders of London

Did you know that in addition to the now very famous St Dunstan in the East, which is now all the rage on social media and which everyone knows, but which everyone still cites as a Hidden Gem, there is also the church of St Dunstan-in-the-West?

We have to move to Fleet Street, a stone’s throw from the Royal Courts of Justice.

The original church was built between 988 and 1070 AD. and managed to survive the Great Fire of London in 1666, thanks to the Dean of Westminster who woke up forty scholars of Westminster School in the middle of the night, and together they managed to put out the flames with buckets of water.

But then, due to wear and tear, the building, the current one, was rebuilt in 1831.

The tower was then badly damaged by German bombers in 1944 and was rebuilt in 1950.

In the churchyard you can admire the 16th-century statue of Queen Elizabeth I, as well as statues of King Lud and his sons, just by the vestry door.

There is also a very famous clock. In fact it is said that it was the first public clock in London equipped with a minute hand!

If you’re curious you can watch the video of the wonderful church of St Dunstan-in-the-West in London on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and Linkedin!