Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
Between 1197 and the sixteenth century the site of Spital Square was occupied by the Priory of Saint Mary, Spittle, which included a hospice providing lodgings for travellers and an outdoor pulpit from which sermons were preached. By the end of the seventeenth century the population of the area had increased, with the influx of refugee Huguenot silk weavers to Spitalfields. In 1711 the "Act for the building of Fifty New Churches in the Cities of London and Westminster or the Suburbs thereof" was passed, to be paid for by a tax levied on coal entering the City of London. Under the Act, Nicholas Hawksmoor was asked to design a church to serve this large new community. Building began in 1715 but the building was not completed until 1729.
The decline of the area and increasing poverty meant that by 1958 the building had to be closed because it was in a state of poor repair and was becoming dangerous. The church community moved into a combined church and hall on nearby 22 Hanbury Street. A church hall was also situated on Buxton Street. From 1965 onwards restorations took place under the management of the Friends of Christ Church Spitalfields to repair what is described as one of Hawksmoor's masterpieces. The restoration has been highly praised. A company, Christ Church Spitalfields Venue (CCCV) was created by the Friends to administer the restored church as a venue for conferences, events and filming. Money raised goes towards continuing the restoration and maintaining the building.
The parish has been united with Saint Mary's, Spital Square (P93/MRY2), Saint Stephen's, Commercial Street (P93/STE) and All Saints, Buxton Street with Saint Olave's Stepney (P93/ALL1).
From 1965 the Spitalfields Crypt Trust ran a shelter for homeless alcoholic men based in the Crypt of Christ Church (which was still considered safe to use despite the poor repair of the church above). The Trust developed a programme of counselling and rehabilitation for residents, and provided drop-in services for others. For men who had completed the recovery programme two second stage houses were opened, Bridge House in Bow and Downham Lodge in Stoke Newington. In the late 1990s the Trust, prompted by the ongoing renovations of the church, decided to work on a custom built facility which would have more modern conditions than possible in the Crypt. In 2000 Acorn House was opened in Shoreditch and continues to work with the homeless and those addicted to alcohol and drugs.