Soaring 20th and 21st century skyscrapers tower above medieval and baroque churches, clustered more densely than anywhere else in the British Isles. At every turn, history, architecture, art and tradition surround you.

While Greater London extends over 600 square miles, the City of London, or ‘Square Mile’ as it is dubbed, covers just over a mile in size. Settled by the Romans in the 1st century AD who gave it the name of Londinium, it is the oldest area of London. Throughout its influential history, the City has been a burgeoning centre for finance and business, and is home to both the Stock Exchange and the Bank of England.

The Diocese of London has 38 churches within the footprint of the City, each Grade I-listed for being of ‘exceptional interest’, as well as the remains and towers of a number of lost churches. Until the Great Fire of London of 1666 destroyed swathes of the city, there were in fact over 100 churches in the Square Mile. Narrow medieval alleyways led from one to the other, often no more than a short distance apart. Through those that remain today, you can trace the City’s turbulent history right up to the Blitz of World War II.

Visit us

The City Churches welcome visitors and worshippers alike – whether exploring their architectural heritage and magnificent interiors, or seeking a place for quiet reflection and prayer.

They invite you to discover their rich past and active present. The Square Mile Churches are full of life offering regular services, lunchtime and evening programmes of music, events and learning, plus much more.

Our Churches are places and communities where people matter, where there is time to reflect, to discover, to create, to enjoy and to grow.