St John Zachary - Wikiwand

St John Zachary^[1] (meaning "St John, son of Zechariah", i.e. John the Baptist)^[2] was a church, first mentioned in official records in 1181,^[3] within the City of London, England, on the north side of Gresham Street, Aldersgate.^[4] Its vicar from 25 May 1424^[5] to an unknown date was William Byngham, the founder of England's first teacher training college.^[6] It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666^[7] and not rebuilt,^[8] with its parish being united with that of St Anne and St Agnes^[9] by section 55 of the Rebuilding of London Act 1670 (22 Cha. 2. c. 11)^[10] – an arrangement that lasted until the 20th century.^[11] Its site is now a garden,^[12] first made by the fire watchers in 1941.^[13] Partial records survive at IGI.^[14]

LocationLondon

CountryEngland

DenominationChurch of England

Founded10th century

Quick facts Location, Country ...

St John Zachary
Current photo of site
St John Zachary
Location	London
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
History
Founded	10th century
Architecture
Demolished	1666

Interment

The church was the guild church of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths,^[15] who were a powerful guild in the City of London with at least two mayors buried here, Sir Drugo Barentyn (died 1415)^[16] and Sir Nicholas Twyford (died 1390).^[15]

In film

The 2011 film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, directed by David Fincher, used the churchyard as a filming location.^[17]^[18]

Notes

[1]
More photos
[2]
Gordon Huelin in his definitive “Vanished churches of the City of London” (London, Guildhall Library Publishing 1996, ISBN 0900422424) puts forward an alternative explanation – a 12th-century deed, held at St Paul's Cathedral gave it to Zachary the monk, which name was incorporated into the church title to distinguish it from St John the Baptist, Walbrook.
[3]
"A Dictionary of London", Harben, H.A: Herbert Jenkins, London, 1922
[4]
“Notes on Old City Churches: their organs, organists and musical associations” Pearce, C.W.: London, Winthrop Rogers Ltd, 1909
[5]
Article to commemorate the 500th anniversary of his death William Byngham: A Medieval Protagonist of the Training of Teachers Armytage, W. H. G. in “History of Education Journal”, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Summer, 1951), pp. 107–110
[6]
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Brown-Catley Davenport, R.B (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2004) ISBN 019861411X
[7]
"The Churches of the City of London", Reynolds,H: London, Bodley Head, 1922
[8]
Although the name also lived on as a Ward Precinct within Aldersgate British History On-Line "Four Shillings In The Pound Aid 1693–1694: City of London, Aldersgate Ward (Within and Without), Aldersgate Ward Within, St John Zachary Precinct", Barnes, J; Earle, P; Keene, D; & Spence, C (1992)
[9]
"The London Encyclopaedia" Hibbert, C; Weinreb, D; Keay, J: London, Pan Macmillan, 1983 (rev 1993, 2008) ISBN 978-1405049245
[10]
Church of England, Parish of St. Anne and St. Agnes (London, England). – Miscellaneous papers, including churchwardens' papers, settlement examinatio, 1674. – M0003869CL cited in "City of London Parish Registers Guide 4" Hallows, A. (Ed) : London, Guildhall Library Research, 1954 ISBN 0900422300
[11]
"The records of two city parishes: a collection of documents illustrative of the history of SS. Anne and Agnes, Aldershot, and St. John Zachary, London, from the twelfth century", McMurray, W. (clerk of the united parishes):London, Hunter and Longhurst, 1925
[12]
Gardens of the City of London
[13]
"London: the City Churches” Pevsner, N; Bradley, S New Haven, Yale, 1998 ISBN 0300096550
[14]
Genealogical Website Archived 2007-09-06 at the Wayback Machine
[15]
Pollard, Albert Frederick (1899). "Twyford, Nicholas" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
[16]
Payne, James Bertrand "Armorial of Jersey" pp. 60-65
[17]
Where was the movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo filmed: | Filming locations, countries, coordinates, and map. Retrieved 25 July 2025 – via wherefilmed.org.
[18]
IT, SCEEN. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - filming locations". www.sceen-it.com. Retrieved 25 July 2025.

51°30′58″N 0°5′44″W

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