St. Paul's Church, Shadwell

St. Paul's Church, Shadwell
St Paul's Church, Shadwell
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Evangelical
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Architect(s)	John Walters
Administration
Diocese	London
Clergy
Rector	Phil Williams

Coordinates: 51°30′34″N 0°3′9″W / 51.50944°N 0.05250°W / 51.50944; -0.05250

St Paul's Church, Shadwell, is a Grade II* listed Church of England church, located between The Highway and Shadwell Basin, on the edge of Wapping, in the East End of London, England. The church has had varying fortunes over many centuries, and is now very active, having been supported recently by Holy Trinity Brompton Church.

The old parish church, traditionally known as the Church of Sea Captains, was built in 1656, and was principally financed by Thomas Neale. It is believed that 75 sea captains are buried at the Church.Matthew Mead was minister of the chapel from 1658 until 1662, when he was replaced after the Reformation for being too non-conformist. During the Great Plague of London it was one of five sites in the parish of Stepney used as plague pits. It was rebuilt in 1669 as the Parish Church of Shadwell, and in an Act of 1670 by Archbishop of Canterbury William Sancroft, St Paul's Shadwell became a separate parish from St Dunstan's, Stepney, where it had previously been a hamlet. The church was named after St Paul's Cathedral, and became the first parish created from St Dunstan's, Stepney since Whitechapel in 1338.John Wesley was a preacher at St Paul's. Captain James Cook worshipped there, as did Jacob Phillip, the father of Captain Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales. Cook's eldest son was baptised at St Paul's Church in 1763. Also baptised there were William Henry Perkin, the chemist who discovered the first aniline dye, and Jane Randolph, mother of Thomas Jefferson. The 1669 church was built in brick, and measured 87 feet (27 m) by 63 feet (19 m).