A church has existed on this site since at least 1282. In 1710 the parishioners collected subscriptions and local craftsmen turned their hands and feet to church building. The present church, was built in completed in 1715, to a design by John James, a leading architect of the times and an associate of Sir Christopher Wren. However, there was not sufficient money to complete the church, and the tower was not finished until 1747, when Lancelot Dowbiggin, a City joiner and sur