St Clement Danes
St Clement Danes is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. Although the first church on the site was reputedly founded in the 9th century by the Danes, the current building was completed in 1682 by Sir Christopher Wren. Wren's building was gutted by Luftwaffe bombing raids during the Blitz and not restored until 1958, when it was adapted to its current function as the central church of the Royal Air Force.
| St Clement Danes | |
|---|---|
| Location | City of Westminster, London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Anglo-Catholic and Ecumenical RAF |
| Website | stclementdanesraf |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Architect(s) | Christopher Wren |
| Style | Baroque |
| Years built | several, most recently 1682 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Diocese of London |
| Clergy | |
| Chaplain(s) | Reverend Mark Perry MStJ FRSA |
| Laity | |
| Director of music | Simon Over FRCO |
| Business manager | Katya Johnston |
The church is sometimes claimed to be the one featured in the nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons" and the bells do indeed play that tune every day at 9 am, noon, 3pm and 6pm—as reported in 1940 the church's playing of the tune was interrupted during World War II due to Nazi bombing. However, St Clement's Eastcheap, in the City of London, also claims to be the church from the rhyme. St Clement Danes is known as one of the two 'Island Churches', the other being St Mary-le-Strand.