From St.Magnus Church, my next destination was St.Dunstan in the East. I came to know of this place through Yaya & Lloyd's blog! Actually that's how I set out in this direction. I searched this place and came to know its so close to London Bridge, and zooming in got to know a station called Monument and came to know the Monument and standing atop Monument I saw St.Magnus The Martyr church and decide to check out all these places - errrrrmmm... A long sentence!
BBC's website claims that this is one of the city's hidden gardens! You won't believe how hidden this is. St.Magnus church was at almost at the banks of river Thames. From there, with the google maps in hand, that directed me to St.Dunstan, I started to walk. At one point the road curved. I was supposed to take the lane before the curve on the main road, on the opposite side of the road. The problem was, I couldn't find a damn lane!!! There wasn't any. There was one tall multi storied building, no lane! The main road was curving and I couldn't cross the road there. So went back a bit and crossed the road.
And walked slow and stopped at the point where Google told me to stop. Beside me was a multi storied building and not a park/church/ruin. Anyways, technically my destination should be behind the building. I entered the nearest lane and I spotted a building called Queen Elizabeth House. Walking upto it, I finally spotted my destination opp to that building, totally hidden in the midst of sky scraping buildings!
The Church was originally built in Saxon times and was restored by St.Dunstan in 950CE. Portions of the church was built in 1391. In 1466, the school attached to this church was one of the 5 recognized grammar schools in the city.
The building was severely damaged in 1666 fire, for which the Monument was built. The same Sir Christopher Wren who designed the Monument and restored St.Magnus church, restored this church as well. However unlike St.Magnus, this wasn't rebuilt from the scratch, it was just patched up.
Sadly in World War II, the bombing on London Bridge, which damaged St.Magnus church, damaged this church as well. This Church wasn't restored at this point. In 1888, the school attached to this church, was founded in Catford as The Boys Independent School of St.Dunstan's College! In 1967, the then British Government converted this place as a public garden and opened it to public in 1970.
The place is tiny. But its gorgeous. Those days when you want a bit of seclusion or peace, this place is perfect. When I went, there was a young couple sharing romantic nothings, a few elderly men reading or listening to music, a few office goers having lunch over a discussion. Its silent and peaceful. In simple words, its very Instagrammable! Check out Kelly's list of the most Instagrammable places in London which obviously includes St.Dunstan's in the East!
The overgrowth of creepers all over the tall ruins was a visual treat! The best part - this place is available to hire for events incl wedding as well as photoshoots or filmography! A simple, private wedding in the backdrop of this ruins, could be one of the best wedding ideas!
To get there:
Nearest Tube Stations: Cannon Street, Bank & Monument
P.S: Check out here to know what I wore for the trip
P.S: Check out here to know what I wore for the trip
Dedicated to Venkat
Beautiful post and photos
ReplyDeleteThis looks so stunning! Really gives me the urge to travel. Fab post! xx
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely place to sit and contemplate, really pretty.
ReplyDeleteLooks like such a lovely area. One day I'll have to Travel
ReplyDeleteGoogle is always handy, and I mean always. Churches always have a distinct character in them, the older - the better because aside from the history, they are sure to be a visual treat.
ReplyDeleteI love to travel, you got some gorgeous pictures!
ReplyDeleteLondon as a travel destination is still a dream for me for now, but definitely we will visit that historic place. There are so many little sites like this one that are not in the usual tourist routes that are also worth searching out. thanks.
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend and I were just talking about St. Dunstan last night because we went there before. It's great how you just followed the directions from Google and did not need any travel guide to walk you through! :)
ReplyDeleteLovely! And absolutely beautiful! I love old architecture and I'm glad they're able to maintain it. It would be great to see this for myself someday. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis would be a great venue for a wedding shoot. The rustic look plus the heritage on its walls would really come out nice in the pictures.
ReplyDeletethe place looks great! will be a good choice for some camwhoring session eg. ootd shots for IG and etc. i'll so love to visit UK one day!
ReplyDeleteI miss traveling. Not just you will see unknown and beautiful places but the history of that structure is amazing
ReplyDeletethis looks good. i sould visit this one time. :)
ReplyDeleteHow i wish to visit London soon. It is one of my to go places because of so many beautiful scenery like what is seen on this post. I really hope I could go there with my family soon.
ReplyDeleteLove how you really went to find it despite the all the difficulty you faced. It's definitely a must find place.
ReplyDeleteI love places with a story behind it! I too, enjoy going to lesser known places. Can that be our professional jobs?!
ReplyDeleteOne day. I will visit London! Just one day. Thanks for introducing this location to me!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI miss being in London. I remember this church fondly; I had a chance to visit it once when I was doing my studies in UK 😉
ReplyDeleteSo glad you found our post useful! Looks like you had an amazing day! Great shots too! Wow.
ReplyDeleteLloyd & Yaya :-)
Great ya..nice picture. Lot of information on your blog. www.sangeetasbuzz.com
ReplyDeleteYou are exploring UK to the max as I can see.. Great going
ReplyDeleteI've been in St. Dunstan's because of your post. Thanks for the virtual tour, it is really a great place to visit someday.
ReplyDelete