The Ancient Parish of Holborn
Holborn was an Ancient Parish which was split between the City of London and the county of Middlesex, where it was part of the Holborn subdivision of the Ossulstone hundred division of the county. Holborn District Civil Parishes took over from the Ancient Parishes in 1855 and were in turn succeeded by the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn in 1900. Since 1965, the area has been part of the London Borough of Camden. Places inside the parish include Barnard’s Inn, Chancery Lane, Ely Place, Ely Rents, Gray’s Inn, Hatton Garden, Lincoln’s Inn, Staple Inn, Thavie’s Inn and St George the Martyr (which became a separate civil parish in 1723). Surrounding it are the Middlesex parishes of St Pancras, Clerkenwell, St Giles in the Fields, St George Bloomsbury, Lincoln’s Inn, The Liberty of Saffron Hill, the Rolls Liberty and the City of London.
St Andrew, Holborn Circus
St Andrew Holborn is likely to be the church of St Andrew mentioned in a 951 charter of King Edgar. John Thavie, a local armourer, left his estate towards the support of the fabric of the church in 1348 and it is still used for this purpose.
The church survived the Great Fire but it was in a poor condition and a new church was subsequently constructed by Wren - it is the largest of his parish churches. The medieval tower was preserved. Following gutting by German bombs in 1941, the church was rebuilt to Wren’s original designs. The church reopened in 1961 as a non-parochial Guild Church and the parish was joined with that of St Bride, Fleet Street.
Records of the parish including baptisms (1558-1889), banns (1754-1758 and 1862-1953), marriages (1559-1658 and 1754-1952) and burials (1556-1855) are at London Metropolitan Archives, Ref: P82/AND.
Gray’s Inn Chapel
The Chapel is older than the Inn and was first mentioned in 1315. There were very few baptisms, and those were mostly of foundlings. The chapel was rebuilt in the 1950s following war damage.
Records including baptisms (1695-date) and marriages (1695-1754) are kept at Gray’s Inn.
Holy Trinity, Gray’s Inn Road
The church of Holy Trinity was erected in 1837, the parish created from that of St Andrew, Holborn in 1839. The parish and benefice were united with St George the Martyr, Queen Square in 1931. Holy Trinity church was closed with the intention of demolishing the church and selling the site.
Records of the parish including baptisms (1839-1929), marriages (1839-1929) and burials (1839-1856) are at London Metropolitan Archives, Ref: P82/TRI2.
Lincoln’s Inn Chapel
A chapel is first mentioned in the records of Lincoln’s Inn in 1428. Burials ceased in the chapel in the mid-19th century. During the 18th and 19th centuries girls would sometimes leave their newborn babies here, who the Inn would ‘adopt’ and care for the baby until it was grown up. Such children were often given the name Lincoln.
Records including baptisms (1695-1806), marriages (1695-1753 and 1910-date) and burials (1695-1852) are retained at Lincoln’s Inn.
St Alban the Martyr, Brooke Street
The church of St Alban the Martyr was constructed in 1863. The church was mainly destroyed by firebombs during the Blitz but was rebuilt after the War. The parish was united with that of St Peter’s, Saffron Hill, in 1952.
Records of the parish including baptisms (c1863-date) and marriages (c1863-date) are with the incumbent and other records are at London Metropolitan Archives, Ref: P82/.
St Etheldreda's Roman Catholic church, Ely Place, Holborn
This Medieval church was the town chapel of the Bishops of Ely from about 1290-1570 and is one of only two buildings in London which date from the reign of Edward 1.
St George the Martyr, Queen Square
St George the Martyr Church was built as a proprietary chapel in 1705-1706. In 1723 the new parish of St George the Martyr separated from St Andrew, Holborn. St George the Martyr was united with the parish of Holy Trinity, Gray’s Inn Road in 1931 and with St Bartholomew, Gray’s Inn Road in 1959.
Records of the parish including baptisms (1710-1955), banns (1818-1844), marriages (1796-1950) and burials (1715-1855) are at London Metropolitan Archives, Ref: P82/GEO2.
St John the Evangelist, Red Lion Square
The parish started with a temporary church being erected in 1869. The church was destroyed by enemy bombing in 1941. In 1955 the benefice was united with that of St George, Bloomsbury.
Records of the parish including baptisms (1867-1952) and marriages (1878-1952) are at London Metropolitan Archives, Ref: P82/JNE.
St Peter, Saffron Hill
The church of St Peter, Saffron Hill, was constructed between 1830 and 1832. It was almost totally destroyed in 1941 and was subsequently demolished. In 1952 the parish was united with St Alban the Martyr, Brooke Street.
Records of the parish including baptisms (1829-1943), banns (1839-1852) and marriages (1858-1941) are at London Metropolitan Archives, Ref: P82/PET.