page_title: St Mary Woolnoth
section_title: Threatened demolition
hierarchical_section_title: St Mary Woolnoth / History / Threatened demolition
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Darstellung des Wappens der de:Diözese London der de:Church of England am Tor zur Kirche St Mary Woolnoth in der de:City of LondonEnglish: Representation of the coat of arms of the en:Diocese of London of the en:Church of England at en:St Mary Woolnoth church in the en:City of London
context_page_description: St Mary Woolnoth is an Anglican church in the City of London, located on the corner of Lombard Street and King William Street near Bank junction. The present building is one of the Queen Anne Churches, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor. The parish church continues to be actively used for services, with Holy Communion every Tuesday. St Mary Woolnoth lies in the ward of Langbourn.
context_section_description: The church underwent major changes in the late 19th century and the turn of the 20th century; it was proposed for demolition on several occasions but was saved each time. Its galleries were removed by William Butterfield in 1876, who thought they were unsafe, and a number of other significant (and not entirely successful) changes were made at the same time.
  Between 1897 and 1900 the City & South London Railway (C&SLR) built Bank Underground station beneath the church. The C&SLR were given permission to demolish it, but public outcry forced them to reconsider: the company undertook to use only the subsoil instead. The crypt was sold to the railway and the bones were removed for reburial at Ilford. The walls and internal columns of the church were then supported on steel girders while the lift shafts and staircase shaft for Bank station were built directly beneath the church floor. At this time, the bells were also rehung with new fittings. No cracks formed in the plasterwork, and no settlement of the structure occurred; the company later claimed that the edifice of the church was considerably stronger than before.
caption: Coat of arms of the Diocese of London at the gate of the church
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