Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Borneo orangutan
Malaysia • 12 days, 11 nights
Wild Borneo: Secrets of an Ancient Rainforest
from
Pastel de nata
Portugal • 8 days, 7 nights
Portugal: A Culinary Adventure from Porto to Lisbon
from
View all trips
Loading...
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
 Fenway Park at night
How Was Your First Trip With Your Significant Other?
Ivan the Terra Bus
The Bus, the Myth, the Legend: Ivan the Terra Bus
Pigeons were included in a series of 1891 illustrations entitled “Household Pets.”
What Makes a Pest a Pest?
Burros Alfa and Beto, seen here with Luis Soriano in 2008, have been helping the teacher deliver books for more than 20 years.
How One Man and His ‘Biblioburro’ Spreads Literacy in Rural Colombia

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United Kingdom England London St Olave Hart Street
AO Edited

St Olave Hart Street

A hidden treasure in London with a rich medieval history, and the resting place of many luminaries.

London, England

Added By
Mike Stuchbery
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Exterior of St Olave’s, taken from Seething Lane.   MrMStuchbery / Atlas Obscura User
Interior of St Olave’s showing the memorials to Tudor and Jacobean merchants.   MrMStuchbery / Atlas Obscura User
Gateway into St Olave’s churchyard, dubbed ‘St Ghastly Grim’ by Charles Dickens.   MrMStuchbery / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
A slightly creepy feeling as you enter.   Julius Spada / Atlas Obscura User
Church sign   Gavin / Atlas Obscura User
19th century memorial to Samuel Pepys.   MrMStuchbery / Atlas Obscura User
The bust of Peter Turner who was buried in the St Olave Hart St Church in 1614.   DAVID ILIFF/CC BY-SA 3.0
Memorial of Elizabeth Pepys, Samuel Pepys’ wife.   MrMStuchbery / Atlas Obscura User
Walking in the footsteps of Charles Dickens.   spadaadjusting / Atlas Obscura User
ST. Olave Haraldsson   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The St Olave Hart Street church is London in miniature—history as a kind of layer cake, boom piled on bust, war piled on plague. It is one of London's hidden treasures and well worth a visit.

While the records of this small city church only stretch back to the 13th century, legend has it that it was built on the site of the Battle of London Bridge as far back as 1014. If you descend into the crypt, a well can be found where, it is thought, King Olaf II of Norway (Later St Olaf) rallied his troops around to assist Ethelred the Unready in driving the Vikings out of London with the cry, "Forward Crossmen!"

As London became a centre of trade in the 15th and 16th centuries, the church flourished. Many merchants chose to be buried here, and their brightly coloured memorials are a highlight of any visit. As the church was next to the home of Queen Elizabeth I's spymaster, Francis Walsingham, many of her spies are said to have worshipped here and at least two are buried in the church.

Other luminaries buried at the church include William and Peter Turner, pioneering father and son botanists and herbalists, who did much to outline the medicinal properties of plants found in the English countryside.

St Olave's most significant historical links are with Samuel Pepys, perhaps the English language's finest diarist. Indeed, he described it in his diary as "our own church." He worked in the Navy Office nearby and would enter into a pew for Admiralty officials. Today, where the old doorway stood is a 19th century memorial to the man. Across the church, directly in line of sight to where Pepys sat is the memorial to Elizabeth, his wife. He had the memorial placed there, so he would always be able to gaze upon her.

The church survived the Great Fire, thanks to quick thinking by William Penn (father of the Founding Father), who tore down local houses to create firebreaks. The church wasn't so lucky during the Blitz and was gutted, but extensive restoration has brought the church back to its pre-war state.

In St Olave's lovely, enclosed churchyard is buried Mary Ramsay who died in 1665, the woman popularly believed to be responsible for bringing the Bubonic Plague to London. Also buried in the churchyard is the person upon whom the 'Mother Goose' of children's stories is based.

On Seething Lane, the churchyard can be entered through a rather macabre gateway, crowned with skulls and the morbid Latin phrase, 'Christus Vivere Mors mihi lucrum' — 'Christ lives, Death is my reward'. This was erected in 1658, shortly before the plague would ravage London again, and almost seems a sort of warning.

Charles Dickens was a great fan of this gateway, and called it (and the church) St Ghastly Grim. He is known to have caught a hansom cab here on rainy, foggy nights and gaze at the skulls.

Related Tags

Churches History Sacred Spaces

Know Before You Go

The church is open every day between 10 and 5pm. Nearest tube station is Tower Hill.

The dates and times of services can be found on the website. Access to the exterior is level and can be viewed at any time. There is a step to access both the church and the churchyard.

Community Contributors

Added By

MrMStuchbery

Edited By

uguu, jooniur, Meg, SEANETTA...

  • uguu
  • jooniur
  • Meg
  • SEANETTA
  • Gavin
  • spadaadjusting
  • Julius Spada

Published

November 1, 2016

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://hidden-london.com/the-guide/st-olave-hart-street/
  • http://medievallondon.ace.fordham.edu/collections/show/52
  • https://divertingjourneys.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/london-st-olaves-samuel-pepyss-church/
  • https://londonunveiled.com/2016/02/28/st-olave/
  • http://www.britainexpress.com/London/st-olave-hart-street.htm
St Olave Hart Street
3 Hart St
London, England
United Kingdom
51.510877, -0.079457
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Sir Ernest Shackleton's Crow's Nest

London, England

miles away

Tower Hill Execution Site

London, England

miles away

London Wall

London, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of London

London

England

Places 536
Stories 110

Nearby Places

Sir Ernest Shackleton's Crow's Nest

London, England

miles away

Tower Hill Execution Site

London, England

miles away

London Wall

London, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of London

London

England

Places 536
Stories 110

Related Stories and Lists

A History Buff's Guide to Medieval London

essential guide

By Meg Neal

Related Places

  • Sinagoga El Transito

    Toledo, Spain

    Sinagoga El Transito

    Once the grandest synagogue in medieval Spain, it now stands as a memorial of the 15th-century Jewish exile.

  • The Nave Roof of St Peter and St Paul

    Shepton Mallet, England

    St. Peter and St. Paul's Wagon-Roof

    Inside this magnificent 12th-century church is one of the finest carved wagon-roofs in all of England.

  • St. Mary’s Church. (2019)

    Fairfax Station, Virginia

    St. Mary's Church

    The most historic church in Fairfax County played a role in the creation of the American Red Cross.

  • Sun setting on a cloudy day.

    Lindon, Colorado

    Abbott Church

    A tiny nondenominational church harkens back to the days of the first homesteaders in the region.

  • Woodside Presbyterian Church.

    Troy, New York

    Woodside

    A man used his Civil War-era fortune to build this sanctuary in memory of his wife.

  • Gloria Dei Old Swedes Church.

    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    Gloria Dei Old Swedes' Episcopal Church

    The oldest active church in Pennsylvania is also the second oldest Swedish Church in the United States.

  • Church of Agioi Apostoloi.

    Kalamata, Greece

    Church of Agioi Apostoloi (Church of the Holy Apostles)

    The Greek War of Independence was declared at this medieval Byzantine sanctuary.

  • Edinburgh, Scotland

    Jougs Collar of Duddingston Kirk

    A medieval device used to punish and shame wrongdoers still hangs outside the village church.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.