All Hallows by the Tower
Saxon-founded church from six seventy-five AD, where Pepys watched the Great Fire and William Penn was baptised.
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About this audio guide
This guide to All Hallows by the Tower in London opens on September 2, 1666, as diarist Samuel Pepys climbs the church tower to watch the Great Fire spread below and calls it the saddest sight of desolation he has ever seen. Nearby, naval officer Admiral William Penn is ordering houses pulled down to cut a firebreak around the church. You'll also hear about the Saxon arch surviving in the crypt and the later baptisms and marriages recorded in the church's registers. Look for the Roman tiles built into that arch, scavenged from an even older London.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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