St. Katharine Cree fountain

St Katharine Cree dates from 1280 and is one of the oldest churches in London. Its present buildings date from 1628-31, predating the Civil War and the Great Fire, making it one of the oldest buildings in the City. Its south wall gateway from Leadenhall Street to the churchyard was built by, and commemorates, ‘William Avenon, Citizen and Goldsmith’ who died in 1631. In the pediment is a recumbent skeleton with its body wrapped in a shroud and its head resting on a rolled up mat.

The 13th century churchyard was reordered in 1965 and renamed the Fitch Garden, in acknowledgement of funding from local food business Fitch & Son. James Fitch had started the business in 1784 as a City cheesemongers shop. As part of this reordering, the 17th century gateway was moved from the south to north wall in the garden and filled in with a fountain. A memorial stone was created above the fountain dedicated to ‘those who work in this city and James Fitch 1762 – 1818’.

The lion’s head from which the water spouts is believed to be a reference to the annual Lion Sermon, still preached in the church every October, commemorating the miraculous escape of Sir John Gayer (1584 – 1649) from a lion whilst travelling in Syria in 1643. Sir John was a merchant of the city and Lord Mayor and created this annual institution as an act of thanksgiving.

The restoration project involved the fountain being cleaned and failed cement repairs removed and replaced with lime mortar, any organic growth was removed. The existing pipes have been jetted and flushed through, the sump cleaned and emptied, the pump replaced with a new pump and connections made.

This project has been funded by HOLT through a generous legacy gift from Christina Lowing, in memory of her father, Alfred Gravely.