Pipe Organs of England - Pipedreams - American Public Media

PAGE 82SUNDAY, 20 MAYThe ChurchSt. Giles’ Church Cripplegate is one of the few remaining medievalchurches in the City of London and is at the heart of the modern Barbicandevelopment. The church escaped the Great Fire of London in 1666but was badly burnt in the Cripplegate Fire of 1897 and again during theSecond World War. There was a direct hit on the north door in the summerof 1940, and in the following December the church was showeredwith so many incendiary bombs that even the cement caught alight. Allthat remained was the shell, the arcade in the chancel, the outside wallsand the tower. John Milton, England’s greatest epic poet, worshippedregularly at St. Giles’ up to 1674 and may have played the organ here.Today the church is well-known to UK organists as the home of the RoyalCollege of Organists St. Giles’ Organ School, a leading organization inorgan tuition. Concerts, rehearsals, recording sessions, services, amateurmusic-making, organ practice and music examinations ensure that St.Giles’ is one of the busiest churches in London. The Barbican Arts Centre,located opposite, the City of London Girls’ School next door, the GuildhallSchool of Music and Drama across the lake, are among those whomake regular use of this medieval church, with its glorious acoustics.