Church of St Ethelburga, Bishopsgate

This structure is a rare survivor of the medieval City churches that were mostly destroyed during the Great Fire of London in 1666. It is dedicated to St Ethelburga (Æthelburh), a 7th-century abbess of Barking Abbey; she was the sister of Saint Erkenwald, a Bishop of London. Its foundation date is unknown, but it was first recorded in 1250 as the church of St Adelburga-the-Virgin. The dedication to "-the-Virgin" was dropped in Puritan times but was later restored. The church was rebuilt in the 15th century – possibly around 1411 – and a small square bell turret was added in 1775. A weathervane was added in 1671. In order to raise revenue for the church, whose parish covered just three acres…

The church's tiny interior comprises a nave and aisle divided by an arcade. Most of the original fittings were destroyed by the 1993 bombing although they were not as old as the church. Dating from the early 20th century, they were the work of Ninian Comper. One of the more notable surviving elements is the curious 19th-century font, which is inscribed with the palindromic inscription, written in Greek: <small>ΝΙΨΟΝ ΑΝΟΜΗΜΑΤΑ ΜΗ ΜΟΝΑΝ ΟΨΙΝ</small>, which translates as "Cleanse [your] transgressions, not only [your] face". The church was designated a Grade I listed building on 4 January 1950, and its reconstruction retains the listing.