A medieval church built in the 1180s in London and destroyed twice has existed in Missouri for more than 50 years. That church is now undergoing a $6 million renovation with the hope that it will ensure the church’s survival for generations to come.
The earliest traces of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury go back to the 12th century. William Shakespeare lived a block away, and two of his actors were churchwardens. English poet John Milton was married there.
As the city grew, the parish church thrived until it was destroyed during the Great Fire of London in 1666. Christopher Wren, the architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral, was charged with designing and rebuilding St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury along with some 50 other parish churches.
St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury thrived for a couple of centuries but was again destroyed, this time by the Germans during World War II.
Since 1969, that church has stood at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. The stones of the church were shipped to the United States and rebuilt in the middle of the country to serve as a commemoration of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s visit to the small town.
After emerging victorious from the war, Churchill was ousted as prime minister in the next election. He was looking to regain prominence, and at the urging of President Harry Truman, Churchill accepted an invitation to speak at the college.
That 1946 speech became one of his most famous: “The Sinews of Peace.” More commonly known as the “Iron Curtain” speech, Churchill foretold the Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union.
Churchill’s visit prompted leaders of the college to cement its relationship to Churchill and rebuild the church in Fulton two decades later.
“A Westminster College president had just seen a Life Magazine article about some of the ruined churches from Christopher Wren,” explained Tim Riley, the Sandra L. and Monroe E. Trout director and chief curator at America’s National Churchill Museum at Westminster College. “The postwar economy in London was such that they couldn’t afford to rebuild them, and they couldn’t afford to take them down.”
College leaders persuaded the City of London and the Diocese of London to let go of the historic stones. Churchill gave his blessing, too.
“He was 88 years old, and he wrote us a letter saying: ‘This is a novel concept,’” Riley said.
When the church was rebuilt in Fulton, the Sunday Times in London called it “the world’s largest jigsaw puzzle.” That jigsaw puzzle now needs repairs.
“The church has seen its share of needs as far as water intrusion. There’s a crack here and there and so forth,” Riley said. “We've taken very good care of it over the years, but as things happen, especially with a 50-year-old church going on almost 650 years, it needed a nip and tuck here and there.”
The total cost for the restoration is about $6 million. The U.S. Economic Development Administration awarded the museum nearly $2 million, an amount matched by the college. Donors and the proceeds from bond investment also contributed to the project.
“[We want] to make sure that this world architectural treasure is preserved, certainly for the decades to come,” Riley said.
To hear more about this unique history and the parallels of Churchill’s 1946 speech to Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or by clicking the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Avery Rogers is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
