England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
St Olave Hart Street

The Parish

The parish of St Olave Hart Street was one of the most easterly within the ancient walls of the city of London situated no more than 300 metres northwest of the Tower of London and covering a small area to the south & west of Fenchurch Street railway station. At the time of this transcript the area was still moderately inhabited with residents but today it is in the heart of the city's commercial area with few night-time inhabitants, the area being dominated by office blocks and the services that meet their needs. The parish was largely spared the ravishes of the Great Fire of London being largely to the east of the main part of the conflagration and would have been a warren of tiny courtyards and properties when these marriages were recorded. This area of the city has largely sub-surface drainage and with the Thames only a few hundred metres south most water readily makes its way there. St Olave Hart Street sits at just 10 metres above the sea with land only gently rising a further 5 metres within a mile or so. Despite occupying a relative tiny area compared to rural parishes nevertheless at the time of this transcript well over 1,000 parishioners would have crammed into its tiny acreage.

The Church

St Olave's church, the dedication is believed to have been bestowed by Scandinavian residents in the area when a church was first consecrated in the 13th century. As a Great Fire survivor the church does retain some traces of the medieval, the crypt remains along with some traces of walling to the west which Pevsner attributes a date of c1270. From that Early English Gothic church many changes have been wrought over the centuries as building and rebuilding have amended the basic structure. Much of the present building dates from a rebuilding of the 15th century, the aisles and tower are the principal components representing that period. Thanks to the dedicated work of men lead by William Penn, of Pennsylvania fame, a fire-break was created by blowing up surrounding properties which saved the church from the Great Fire. In 1941, however, the church was not so lucky when enemy action saw the church gutted. It took until 1954 for the church to rise from the ruin rebuilt and rededicated in the presence of King Haakon of Norway, a tribute to the original instigators of the church. St Olave stands at the junction of Hart Street and Seething Lane and, like most surviving city churches, is totally hemmed in on most sides by commercial properties making for something of a challenge for the photographer.