ST. MARGARET, LOTHBURY
St. Margaret, Lothbury, was probably rebuilt about 1440; the building was destroyed by the Great Fire; the present church was designed by Wren and completed in 1690. It serves, besides its own original parish, for 6 other parishes—those of St. Christopher, St. Bartholomew by the Exchange, St. Olave Jewry, St. Martin Pomeroy, St. Mildred in the Poultry, and St. Mary Colechurch. The earliest date of an incumbent is 1181.
The patronage of the church was in the hands of: the Abbess and Convent of Barking, Essex, 1303. Henry VIII. who seized it, and so it continues in the Crown to the present time.
Houseling people in 1548 were 279.
The church measures 66 feet in length, 54 feet in breadth, and 36 feet in height. It contains a nave, chancel, and one aisle, separated by Corinthian columns. The south aisle, which is railed off, contains a side-altar at the east. The steeple consists of a three-storied tower and cornice, surmounted by a lantern and obelisk with finial and vane; its total height is 140 feet.
Chantries were founded here by: John le Boteler, sen., citizen, for himself and Matilda his wife, for which the King granted his licence, August 2, 1321; John Julyan, whose endowment fetched £7 : 4 : 0 in 1548, when John Badye was priest; John Iforde, whose endowment yielded £6 : 13 : 4 in 1548, when Patrick Faber was priest.
Reginald Coleman, son of Robert, who is supposed to be the first builder of Coleman Street, was buried here in 1483. Also John Benet, rector of the parish and a great benefactor; John Dimocke, who served Henry VIII. and Edward VI.; Nicholas Style, Alderman of London, who died in 1615.
On the demolition of St. Olave’s, a monument to Alderman John Boydell, the engraver (Lord Mayor in 1790), was removed to this church.
Anthony Bedingfield gave £100 to the parish; Mary Barnes, £100; Thomas Bremley, £5; Henry VIII., £3 : 6 : 8; John Hanson, £50 for the completion of the church. Many other names are recorded on the Table of Benefactors.
Throgmorton Street takes its name from Sir Nicholas Throckmorton who, tradition says, was poisoned by Dudley, Earl of Leicester, Queen Elizabeth’s favourite. Sir Nicholas Throckmorton was born in 1515 and died in 1570. There is nothing to warrant the statement that he was poisoned by Dudley, with whom he was on friendly terms. What was the name of the street before the life and death of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton? Stow simply says that in Throgmorton Street, Thomas Cromwell built a large house in the place of certain tenements. The house in 1541 became the property, and the second hall, of the Drapers Company. It could hardly have been named after a man at that time only twenty-six years of age.
There were, however, other Throckmortons; the name in the Dictionary of National Biography occupies nearly eight pages. Most of them lived a good deal in London; all of them occupied good positions; the street, formerly part of Lothbury, may have received its name from one or other of the family. The following imperfect genealogy of the family will illustrate this possibility:
Sir John Throgmorton (Under Treasurer of Chamberlain of Exchequer) Lived in London, where his will is dated (d. 1445).
+Alianora, heiress of Sir Guy de la Spirn of Coughton.
├── Sir Thomas (d. 1472).
│ └── Sir Robert, Privy Councillor Henry VII. (d. 1518).
│ └── Sir George
│ +Katherine, daughter of Lord Vaux.
│ ├── Thomas (d. 1614).
│ │ └── Thomas, Baronet, 1642.
│ ├── Clement.
│ │ └── Job (1545-1601), Puritan Controversialist.
│ ├── Sir Nicholas (1515-1570).
│ │ └── Etc.
│ └── Sir John (Master of Requests, lived in London, d. 1580).
│ └── Francis, Conspirator (b. 1554, executed Aug. 1584).
├── John.
└── Seven daughters.
We have here a choice of four generations of Throckmortons, all more or less intimately connected with London, any one of whom may have given his name to the street.
The courts leading out of Throgmorton Street on the north were, in 1750, Whalebone Court, Angel Court, Copt Hall Court, Warnford Court, and Austin Friars. On the south were formerly Bartholomew Lane, Bartholomew Court, Shorters Court, and Crown Court. All of these, except Whalebone and the Bartholomew Courts, still exist.
The present Throgmorton Street is lined by the usual business houses in a decorative style, with a general uniformity pervading all. The Drapers’ Hall occupies a great part of the northern side with its curving frontage and highly decorative frieze.