London No. 92

Allen (1839?) writes: "It is a rectory, the patronage of which appears to have been in the prior and canons of Canterbury as early as the year 1285 […] The church was rebuilt […] in the year 1410 […] The old church was destroyed by fire in 1666, after which the present structure was erected in its stead, and made parochial […] The architect was sir C[hristopher] Wren […] The font at the north-west angle of the building is a small octangular basin on a pillar of the same form, both of white marble, the former inscribed 'The gift of Abraham Jordan, in December, 1700'". Blatch (1995) notes that this church "is first mentioned about 1219 when it was referred to as 'St Michael of Paternosterchierch' […] In 1361, the church was called 'S. Michael in the Riole'". Blatch (ibid.) adds that St. Michael's suffered much damage in the 1939-45 War and was restored afterwards, but does not mention a font inhis entry [NB: we have no information on the earlier font(s) of this church, nor have we been able to ascertain whether or not the year-1700 font survived the World War II bombings]. [NB: a modern font, not matching the description in Allen [cf. supra] is illustrated in Flickr with the caption: "Church font. St Michael Paternoster Royal, College Street, City of London" [http://www.flickr.com/photos/mynameismisty/3042660845/in/set-72157609134856407/] [accessed 15 January 2010]]