St. Mary Spital, a priory and hospital founded by Sir Walter Brune, and Rosia, his lady, in the year 1197, who dedicated it to the honour of Jesus Christ and his Mother the Virgin Mary, by the name of Domus Dei & beatæ Mariæ extra Bishopsgate.
This hospital surrendered to Henry VIII. when its revenue was found to amount to 478l. a year; and besides the ornaments of the church and other goods belonging to the hospital, there were an hundred and eighty beds for the use of the poor.
A part of a large church yard belonging to this hospital, separated from the rest by a brick wall, was for a long time remaining, with a pulpit cross in it, somewhat like that which formerly stood in St. Paul’s church yard; and on the south side was a handsome house in which the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, Sheriffs, and other persons of distinction sat to hear the sermons preached in Easter holidays.
It was anciently the custom for some learned man, appointed by the Bishops, to preach a sermon at St. Paul’s Cross, relating to Christ’s passion, on Good Friday in the afternoon; and upon Easter Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, other sermons were preached in the forenoon at the Spital, on Christ’s resurrection: on Low Sunday in the forenoon a rehearsal was made of these four sermons at St. Paul’s Cross, in which they were either commended or censured; and, after all, the Priest made a sermon himself.
At these sermons the Lord Mayor and Aldermen were usually present, with their wives; and since the reformation these sermons are continued by the name of Spital Sermons at St. Bride’s in Fleet street, on Easter Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
The pulpit cross was broke down in the grand rebellion. Maitland.
St. Mary’s Staining, a small church, formerly seated on the north side of Oat lane, in the ward of Aldersgate within. The reason why it received the additional epithet of Staining, is very uncertain; some imagining it to be derived from the painter stainers, who might probably live near it; while others suppose that it was originally called Stany or Stony from its being built with stone, to distinguish it from those in the city built with wood, &c. This ancient edifice, however, being destroyed by the fire of London, and not rebuilt, the parish was united to St. Michael’s Wood street. Stowe.
St. Mary Whitechapel, was originally erected as a chapel of ease to the church of St. Dunstan, Stepney; and from its external appearance probably received the additional epithet of White. We read of this church in 1329, and the first chapel was probably of much greater antiquity.
The church was anciently denominated St. Mary Matsellon, a name which some have ridiculously supposed was derived from the women of the parish having killed a Frenchman, about the year 1428, for murdering and robbing his benefactress, a religious widow, who had generously brought him up almost from his infancy: but this church was known by this name above an hundred years before this bloody catastrophe. Mr. Strype, therefore, in his edition of Stowe’s Survey, with greater appearance of reason derives the name from the Hebrew or Syriac word Matsel which signifies a woman who has lately brought forth a son; alluding to Mary’s being delivered of our Saviour: however, this name has given way to the more ancient one of Whitechapel, which is even given to the long street by which the edifice is situated.
The old church being in a very ruinous condition in 1673, it was taken down and rebuilt in the present form. It is a coarse and very irregular building. The body, which is built with brick, and ornamented with stone rustic work at the corners, is ninety-three feet in length; sixty-three in breadth; and the height of the tower and turret eighty feet. The principal door is adorned with a kind of rustic pilasters, with cherubims heads by way of capitals, and a pediment above. The body has many windows, which are of various forms and different sizes, a sort of Venetian, oval and square. The square windows have ill-proportioned circular pediments, and the oval, or more properly elliptic windows (some of which stand upright, and others crosswise) are surrounded with thick festoons. The steeple, which is of stone, and appears to be a part of the old structure, rises above the principal door, and is crowned with a plain square battlement; in the center of which rises a small turret with its dome and fane. English Architecture.