St Matthew's, Bethnal Green

St Matthew's Church in Bethnal Green stands as a survivor of multiple disasters, yet it maintains its role as the mother church of the area. Originally designed by the noted City of London architect George Dance the Elder, the church was finished in 1746. Its architectural lineage is quite particular, as it was built only after earlier, more ambitious plans by the famous architect Nicholas Hawksmoor were abandoned due to a lack of funds and local resistance. The building you see today has been shaped by a series of dramatic setbacks, including a fire in the nineteenth century that froze the firemen in their gear, and total destruction by bombing during the Second World War.