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Last Christmas, the queue to enter the City of London’s oldest surviving parish church for a concert of medieval carols was so long it nearly reached the nearby Fabric nightclub. But the kind of drum and bass that patrons of St Bartholomew the Great prefer is the tabor and vielle.
This year, the huge appeal of listening to early music within its 900-year-old walls convinced the church’s rector Marcus Walker to put on two medieval carol services in the same night. I squeezed into one of the last seats at the 9pm sitting and was transported back in time.
Hundreds of us sat in silence, mouths agape, as we listened to the rare, expressive beauty of music from over seven centuries ago reverberate around its candlelit Norman interior. A welcome moment of stillness and peace amid the clamour and commerce of Christmas, it also shows how music — both sacred and secular — is helping the City’s 40 or so historic places of worship keep their doors open as funding pressures mount.
Traditional carol services have always been popular, but forward-thinking rectors recognise that offering sublime music in a divine historical setting will keep the crowds coming back throughout the year. Most City churches have excellent acoustics and an intimate performance space where there is no stage separating audience and musicians. Many churches find they can attract new and wider audiences with lunchtime recitals, evening concerts and informal musical events, building deeper relationships with the wider City community and generating much-needed donations.
For time-pressed financial workers in the Square Mile, there is a further advantage. Not only are the venues likely to be a short step away from the office, but the vast majority of events are ticketless with a retiring collection — welcome flexibility for those who find they are tied to their desks. Yet the calibre of performance is extremely high.
The free lunchtime recitals at St Olave Hart Street are one of the City’s best-kept secrets, featuring a wide range of classical performers — often as a warm-up before they perform at the Wigmore Hall in London’s West End. In December, soprano Adaya Peled and pianist William Bracken delighted crowds with a selection ranging from Handel and Tavener to I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.
The Rev Phillip Dawson is St Olave’s first full-time rector in 40 years. He notes the research demonstrating the physiological, psychological and spiritual benefit of services where music features prominently. St Olave’s has introduced a monthly choral evensong, and he revived the tradition of wassailing this Christmas, taking the choir on a tour of pubs with a Samuel Pepys lookalike (Pepys’ tomb rests inside the church): “We started with 25 singers and ended up with 75 as people joined us from pub to pub,” says Dawson.
Tapping into the City’s more recent history has also paid off for St Bart’s, whose second busiest night was a double bill of Dickensian carols, interspersed with readings from A Christmas Carol with music the author would have heard. The church, which featured in Four Weddings and a Funeral, has a year of medieval music ahead. Rune will be its “ensemble in residence” for 2026, with a programme inspired by Bart’s heritage.
Other notable City church venues include St James Garlickhythe — known as Wren’s Lantern — which hosts the Thames Chamber Choir. Nearby, St Stephen Walbrook recently reopened after a £3.5mn restoration. Its programme of events matches the spectacle of its magnificent Wren dome. A stone’s throw from Cannon Street station, it’s twice monthly Rush Hour Jazz evenings draw in passing commuters — part of its “ministry of wellbeing”. It is one of several City churches to have started a community choir — no experience or weekly commitment required.
St Andrew’s in Holborn regularly hosts the Orchestra of the City whose performers include professionals drawn from across the financial world. St Bride’s on Fleet Street is the journalists’ church and has been offering a programme of (free) lunchtime recitals for over 30 years. To the north, the church of the Holy Sepulchre is known as the musician’s church, with a dedicated chapel and events.
Inspired? Sign up to some church mailing lists and form a band of musical enthusiasts in your workplace, as I have. Few of us are regular churchgoers, and some are from non-Christian backgrounds, but we always receive a warm welcome. This is your cue to take a pew, and ensure the venerable tradition of enjoying music in historic churches remains alive.