St Olave’s Church is a Church of England church located on the corner of Hart Street and Seething Lane.
The church is one of only a handful of medieval City churches that escaped the Great Fire of London in 1666.
The church is first recorded in the 13th century as ’St Olave-towards-the-Tower’, dedicated to the patron saint of Norway, King Olaf II. Olaf fought alongside the Anglo-Saxon King Ethelred the Unready against the Danes in the Battle of London Bridge in 1014. St Olave’s was methodologically built on the site of the battle. The Norwegian connection was reinforced during the Second World War when King Haakon VII worshipped there while in exile.
Saint Olave’s was rebuilt in the 13th century and then again in the 15th century. The present building dates from around 1450.
Saint Olave’s survived the Great Fire of London with the help of Sir William Penn, the father of the William Penn who founded Pennsylvania, and men from the nearby Naval yards. He had ordered the men to blow up the houses surrounding the church to create a fire break.
The church was a favourite of the diarist Samuel Pepys. Though gutted by German bombs in 1941, it was restored in 1954, with King Haakon VII of Norway returning to preside over the rededication ceremony.
John Betjeman described St Olave’s as "a country church in the world of Seething Lane."
