St Mary At Hill Church

About

http://www.stmary-at-hill.org/

Story

St Mary-at-Hill Church for Billingsgate

St Mary-at-Hill has served in the Parish of Billingsgate for nearly a thousand years. An ‘ancient church’ on this site is mentioned in a legal document dated 1177, so we can conjecture with some certainty that a church dedicated to St Mary the Virgin has stood here since at least the end of the 11th Century. Billingsgate Quay was an important Anglo-Saxon harbour in the 10th and 11th centuries. The route north into the old city would have led past the church. The steep rise of the way up from the river gave it the name of St Mary at or on the Hill. The original church was no doubt smaller than the present building which has been extended, altered and renovated throughout its history. The Churchwardens’ accounts from the C15th inform us that by then it had side chapels dedicated to St Stephen, St Katherine, St Ann and St Christopher.

Mission

There has been a church here in Billingsgate for at least 1000 years, and today St Mary's continues this ministry, serving a thriving community in the busy heart of the City of London.