Remembered as a formidable scholar, St. Dunstan was one of the most venerated saints of Anglo-Saxon England. As the Archbishop of Canterbury, he founded the library at Canterbury Cathedral. It is estimated that the first St. Dunstan’s church, known as “in the West” to distinguish it from the St. Dunstan’s-in-the-East near Tower Street (built around 1100 A.D.), was built between 988 and 1070 A.D. By the quick action of the Dean of Westminster and forty scholars from Westminster School, the church narrowly escaped the flames from the Great Fire of London in 1666. St. Dunstan’s-in-the-West became a well-known landmark because, as early as 1671, it was the first public clock in London to have a minute hand. Every hour and quarter the clock strikes the two giant figures hit their clubs on the bell. The church was later rebuilt in 1831 and again in 1950, this time because of the damaging effects from World War II in 1944. In 1952, St. Dunstan’s became a Guild Church, and, since then, has dedicated its services to the working population around Fleet Street.
Vetted?
No