The Journalists' Church

Keith here. There are so many beautiful churches in London, and most visitors to London are familiar with Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s, to name two of the most awe-inspiring.

But one of my favorite churches in this city is St. Bride’s, located on Fleet Street. Fleet Street was literally for centuries the home of London’s newspapers, which fled to cheaper and more spacious facilities out in the Docklands back in the 1980s. These days, the only traces of the Golden Age of English newspapers are the wonderful former homes of the Daily Mail and the Express, and -- just off the street -- St. Bride’s, known as “The Journalists’ Church.”

There’s been some sort of church on the site of St. Bride’s for nearly 1,400 years, the first one built over ruins of the Roman city of Londinium. History hasn’t always been kind to the church, which has been destroyed and rebuilt twice -- first by Sir Christopher Wren, architect of St. Paul’s, after the Great Fire of 1666, and the second time after taking a direct hit in the Blitz on Dec. 29, 1940. The classic many-tiered look of about every wedding cake you’ve ever seen was borrowed from Wren’s soaring design for St. Bride’s, which was preserved in the 1957 rebuilding. Those Roman ruins were discovered during the excavation for the new foundation.

The church has always has a connection to the printing and journalism businesses, starting from about 1500 when a man named Wynkyn de Worde (I’m not making that up) set up London’s first movable type printing press in a shop next to the church. Churchmen were among the few literate people of the time, so the astute Wynkyn made the wise move of locating his business near his best customers.

The visitor to St. Bride’s will see lots of evidence of the news business connection, as many pews have memorial plaques to various journalists or publicists who worshipped there. (This may come as a shock to those who believe that no member of the “mainstream media” has ever darkened the door of a church.) Many of the church’s activities and ministries involve participation or sponsorship by media organizations.

Jayne and I attended a service tonight at the church which annually remembers those journalists and writers around the world who have been imprisoned or tortured just for doing what a journalist is supposed to do -- finding out the truth and telling the public.

The service is sponsored by the UK chapter of PEN, an international writers’ group devoted to the practice and promotion of freedom of expression. As a writer and someone who teaches college students about the First Amendment, it’s an issue close to my heart. Listening to a list of those imprisoned writers whose cases are being monitored by PEN is a sobering experience.

We left with a feeling of gratitude for the freedom of the press and freedom of expression that we enjoy along with the other rights we have as U. S. citizens. Not only do we have the right to select our leaders in fair and open elections, but we have the right to express either delight or dismay at the results. Whatever your politics, that’s something to be thankful for.