City of London churches offer hidden historical treasures

Beneath the ancient stones of the City of London, several churches conceal crypt museums that offer visitors a unique perspective on the capital's long history. These underground spaces, often free to enter, provide a tangible connection to Roman, Saxon, and more recent eras, with their original surroundings adding to the experience.

St Bride's Church, Fleet Street

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St Bride's, a Christopher Wren design, houses an extensive crypt museum that chronicles the building's and the City's history. Visitors can see part of a Roman pavement preserved in situ, alongside a section of wall from a Saxon church, a rare find within the Square Mile. The museum also displays bell fragments, some melted and broken, from both the Great Fire of 1666 and the Blitz, serving as a reminder of the church's resilience.

Further exhibits include an original key from Wren's period, the coffin plate of writer Samuel Richardson, and an iron casket designed to deter grave robbers. Tombstones of long-term inhabitants are also on display in a side corridor. A medieval chapel from the pre-Fire church, now a memorial to Associated Newspapers staff lost in the world wars, is also preserved. While a charnel house was noted in the past, it was not open to the public on a recent visit. St Bride's Crypt Museum is accessible seven days a week during church hours and is free to enter.

All Hallows-by-the-Tower

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Located near the Tower of London, All Hallows-by-the-Tower presents another significant crypt museum. This church, largely untouched by Christopher Wren, features an Anglo-Saxon arch and a crypt that is also predominantly Saxon. Here, a Roman pavement is on display, complemented by a century-old model of Londinium, which itself is now a historical artefact. This model predates the discovery of the Roman amphitheatre beneath Guildhall and therefore does not include it.

The museum holds parish records of William Penn's marriage and John Quincy Adams's baptism, significant for American visitors. A plaque dedicated to Penn, damaged during the Blitz, is also exhibited. Other items include church plate, Anglo-Saxon stonework, and a relic from Ernest Shackleton's final Antarctic voyage. A stalactite of melted metal, formed from the church's lead roof during the Blitz, is another striking exhibit. All Hallows-by-the-Tower Crypt Museum is free to visit and open seven days a week during church hours.

St Martin-in-the-Fields, Charing Cross

St Martin-in-the-Fields, situated beside Trafalgar Square, contains a small, free museum in its western crypt chambers. Among its few but interesting exhibits are an 18th-century whipping post and a statue representing the first Pearly King. The crypt gallery is open seven days a week during church hours.

Other notable crypts

The basement of Nicholas Hawksmoor's St George's Bloomsbury church hosts the Museum of Comedy, which functions primarily as a stand-up venue but also displays artefacts such as Bill Bailey’s six-neck guitar. St John's Smith Square in Pimlico, now a concert hall, has a crypt housing an upmarket cafe. The crypt of St Mary-le-Bow on Cheapside, once home to a cafe, unfortunately closed in late 2025. St Mary Magdalene, Paddington, features an occasionally open polychrome crypt. Part of the medieval crypt of St Martin Outwich survives within Merchant Taylors’ Hall on Threadneedle Street. St Pancras New Church near Euston uses its crypt as a gallery space for changing exhibitions. St Paul's Cathedral also has a crypt that is accessible with a cathedral entrance ticket.