Beneath the foundations of #StMaryLeStrand lie traces of #Roman#Saxon & #MedievalLondon when #StrandAldwych acted as a vital link between the city & the Royal / Monastic settlement of Westminster. In the later #MiddleAges & #Tudor times, the Strand was lined with lavish town houses of bishops & nobles, many of whom are remembered in the side road & alleys named after them.
#StMaryLeStrand is the 2nd #Church in #StrandAldwych to be called by this name, the 1st situated only metres away. Mentioned in records dated 1222 ‘St Mary & the Innocents’ was destroyed in 1549 to make way for #SomersetHouse, forcing parishioners to #StClementDanes Church a short distance East. The united parish of #StMaryLeStrand with #StClementDanes still stands to this day.
At the start of the 20th century, #StMaryLeStrand narrowly escaped destruction on 2 occasions. A major redevelopment scheme by the City Council proposed to demolish the Church to widen the Strand; then the #LondonBlitz of #WW2 destroyed many buildings in the #StrandAldwych area & although the Church suffered some damage from a nearby bomb explosion, it survived.