Corporation of London

In 1250 the City of London had 100 parishes and 13 monasteries. By the time of the Great Fire in 1666 there were 96 parishes, served by 108 churches. All but 21 of these were destroyed by the fire. 51 were rebuilt under the direction of architect Sir Christopher Wren, including St Paul's Cathedral. Only 23 of these rebuilt churches survived bombing in World War Two.

The City Churches Commission was formed by Bishop of London David Hope in 1992, to consider the future of City churches. The resulting report suggested that 27 churches were redundant and should be converted for other use. The public outcry that followed led to the development of the Friends of the City Churches. In 2003 there were 41 churches in the City of London.