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THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF PLAISTERERS
WORKING TOGETHER—THE LIVERY: THE CITY
CORPORATION: THE MAYORALTY
Article 36
THE REVD DR ALAN MCCORMACK
(RECTOR, ST VEDAST ALIAS FOSTER)
& HIS MANY CHURCHES!!
We are lucky to have in the City of London and close to our wonderful
Hall, some beautiful churches which are not well known to all Plaisterers.
They are under the stewardship of Alan Mc Cormack who is the engaging
Rector at St Vedast - alias Foster. His warm welcome will be
remembered by members of the Livery who have attended our
Christmas Carol Services in recent years at St Vedast. I have been to see
Alan to find out more about his life and background and the Churches
within his benefice.
Alan hails from Northern Ireland where he went to school and grew up.
He was ordained in 1996 at the time of the referendum on the ‘Good
Friday Agreement’ which, to his delight, was approved by a majority of
both protestants and roman catholics. Alan attended Jesus College,
Oxford and read Theology with a special focus on Hebrew. He then read
for a DPhil in Classical Hebrew poetics at Oxford. Alan’s first ministry,
where he served title, was in East Belfast. He then became Dean and
Chaplain of Trinity College, Dublin for nine years.
It was from there that Alan was recruited for his present position in London by Bishop Richard Chartres, the
current Bishop of London. Alan quickly settled into London life and has made many friends. He enjoys music,
cooking and martial arts ( so do not cross him!). His friendly manner and his obvious interest in people, coupled
with his quick wit, makes him very interesting company.
Alan lives next door to St Vedast alias Foster where he is the Rector. St Vedast is a beautiful Wren church. It is
one of only a few city churches open seven days a week. There is a church hall and courtyard. The courtyard is
rather hidden and usually very peaceful (although not so on St Patrick’s Day!) The church hall is used by numerous
community groups and is popular for children's parties (www.vedast.org.uk). The church has links with a number
of Livery Companies including the Plaisterers. Indeed the site of our three original halls was near Wood Street
within the parish of St Vedast. St Vedast is linked to The Church of the Incarnation on Madison Avenue in New
York and there are regular exchanges and interaction to keep the two churches in contact sharing ideas and
people.
St Vedast’s sister church is St Botoloph’s without Bishopsgate. St Botolph’s
is a large active church serving the eastern side of the City. Alan is also the
Rector. Two major services are held weekly, on Wednesday and Thursday
lunch times and the church has an active musical tradition. The church is
set in a large garden with a hall and courts for tennis and netball. St
Botolph’s is of medieval origin. It survived the Great Fire but fell into disrepair, it was rebuilt in 1788-91. St Botolph was a seventh century East Anglian saint. The church underwent several restorations during the 19th and
20th centuries. The plain exterior is in contrast to what John Betjeman
called an “exalting” succession of features inside.
The interior has wooden galleries, a highly decorated plaster work ceiling and, at the east end, the only 18th century stained glass window in the City of London, a depiction of the ‘Agony in the Garden’. Some of the stained
glass is Victorian and some monuments were preserved from the old church.
Continued/….
THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF PLAISTERERS
WORKING TOGETHER—THE LIVERY: THE CITY
CORPORATION: THE MAYORALTY
I now turn to St Anne and St Agnes which is a church located at Gresham Street. The
first mention of a church on the site is in documents of 1137 which refers to St Agnes
near Alderychgate. The church was gutted by fire in 1548, rebuilt and then destroyed
in the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren in 1680 and
extensively restored in the 18th and 19th centuries. Unfortunately on 30th December
1940 it was again destroyed, this time by German bombing. It was rededicated in 1966
largely through donations by the Worldwide Lutheran Church. The building is now
called the Gresham Centre and has become the home of Voces Cantabiles Music, an
educational project of the vocal ensemble Voces 8. Past parishioners have included
John Milton, John Bunyan and John Wesley ( a relative of Susanne’s) who preached at
the church in 1758.
I finally mention All Hallows Church -on- the- Wall, London Wall. It is adjacent to the
former city wall at Broad Street. It was constructed in 1767 replacing an earlier church
built some time in the early 12th century on a bastion of the old Roman Wall. The earlier church became renowned for its hermits who lived in cells in the church. Like St
Botolph’s, All Hallows escaped destruction in the Great Fire due to its position under
the wall but subsequently fell into dereliction. In 1767 the architect, George Dance the
Younger, rebuilt the church after returning from Italy where he studied classical buildings. The new All Hallows took its inspiration from the classical world and was remarkably simple in form, with no aisles, its interior consists solely of a barrel vaulted nave
with a half dome apse at the far end, with decoration deriving from the Ancient Temple of Venus and Rome in the Italian capital. All Hallows was damaged in the Second
World War and restored in the 1960’s. It is the church of the Worshipful Company of
Carpenters. It is now the home of the urban youth charity XLP and City Gates Church, a
congregation with roots in the British New Church Movement.
In addition to his duties in the Churches that I have mentioned Alan is also involved in the development of a new
church in Tottenham Hale- here (the first new Church of England Church to be built in London for 40 years) he is
resourcing financially and pastorally the work of The Revd Andrew Williams as ‘Priest Missioner’. This is a project
to create Christian worship in a new development in a less affluent part of London. Alan finds his work there very
rewarding.
I hope this article has been of interest to Liverymen and I am ready to arrange an opportunity for any Plaisterer
who would like to visit any of the churches mentioned in this article. We are indeed fortunate to have some lovely
historical churches near our Hall and a Rector in Alan McCormack who cares for them and their parishioners.
Article by Assistant Richard Hanney