St. Bride Fleet Street (London)
St. Bride Fleet Street is one of the best known of the churches in the City of London.
It is situated on Bride Lane, a few paces from Fleet Street, among a warren of courtyards and passages.
Standing on a site used for worship since the Saxon period, St. Bride`s was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London by Christopher Wren between 1671 and 1678. It was gutted in the Second World War and rebuilt by Godfrey Allen in 1957.
The best known feature is the spire, with five octagonal stages. It is usually assumed to be modelled on a wedding cake, but in fact a Fleet Street baker modelled his own cake design on the spire.
In the crypt are the remains of foundations of Saxon and later dates. There is also an exhibition of London to the West of the River Fleet.
Although the newspaper industry has moved to Docklands, St. Bride`s remains its parish church.