Pictured below amongst the jumble of modern office blocks is the St Alban Tower which stands on an island in the middle of Wood Street, close to the Guildhall.

St Alban’s Tower, Wood Street

Dedicated to the Christian martyr, Saint Alban this isolated spire is all that remains of a church created by Sir Christopher Wren in the 1680s as a replacement for an earlier design by Inigo Jones.

Inigo Jones and Christopher Wren, two great architects associated with St Alban’s, Wood Street

There have been several churches in honour of St Alban on this ancient thoroughfare. The earliest reference dates back to 1085, although it is believed the association goes back a lot further.

Contemporary image of Wren’s Wood Street church

Sadly, Wren’s design was badly bombed during WWII causing severe damage to much of the church.

The ruins of St Alban’s, Wood Street in 1952

The blitzed ruins were eventually pulled down in 1955, but the relatively undamaged tower was maintained. In the 1980s the surviving section was converted into residential space and is now off limits to the public.

The tower today, now a private residence

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