November 2, 2024

Rededication Ceremony

In connection with the 2024 Churchill Conference in London, a special ceremony took place at what was once the site of the Church of St. Mary Aldermanbury in the City of London. The gardens on which the church once stood were rededicated in the presence of representatives of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, where the restored church is now located, Randolph Churchill, President of the International Churchill Society, and Michael Mainelli, the Lord Mayor of London.

St. Mary Aldermanbury was designed by Sir Christopher Wren to replace an earlier church on the site destroyed by the Great Fire in 1666. The Wren church, however, was itself gutted by bombs during the Blitz in 1940 leaving only the outer walls standing. In the late 1960s, the remains of the church were transported to Westminster College, where Winston Churchill delivered his famous “Iron Curtain” speech in 1946. The beautifully restored church is now the home of America’s National Churchill Museum (ANCM).

The footprint of the Wren church remains at the junction of London’s Aldermanbury and Love Lane, planted with bushes and trees; a memorial plaque has been placed by Westminster College in the footprint. On the afternoon of Saturday, 26 October, a rededication ceremony took place in the gardens. The Lord Mayor spoke first and mentioned that he was on the Westminster College campus as a young boy in April 1964 to hear former President Harry S. Truman speak at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Churchill Memorial.

President Donald Lofe represented Westminster College, while Timothy S. Riley, the Sandra L. and Monroe E. Trout Director and Chief Curator of ANCM, spoke to the history of the historic site. Randolph Churchill thanked all those involved for their efforts, and the Rev. Paul Kennedy officiated at the rededication as well as at a beautiful Evensong Service that followed at St Vedast. The audience included members of the International Churchill Society and representatives from several Liveries as well as a delegation from Friends of City Churches.

2025 International Churchill Conference

Join us for the 42nd International Churchill Conference. Washington, DC | October 9-11, 2025

2025 International Churchill Conference

“This was a very special opportunity to bring together all of the friends of St. Mary Aldermanbury and recognize the original site as hallowed ground as well as the way it ties together the English-speaking peoples on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Timothy Riley.