All Hallows Staining tower suspended as City development rises around medieval relic

LONDON — The 700-year-old tower of All Hallows Staining in central London is being suspended about 45 feet above the ground as part of the Fifty Fenchurch Street redevelopment. The project, led by AXA IM Alts, will envelop the historic remnants while a new 36-story office tower is built around it. The tower sits above a large excavation site, with engineers removing more than 125,000 tonnes of earth to create a 60,000-square-foot footprint beneath. The development is slated to deliver about 650,000 square feet of office space, plus a public garden roof, underground livery facilities and ground-floor shops, with completion targeted for 2028. The plan has drawn objections from Historic Royal Palaces over concerns about blocked views of the Tower of London, a World Heritage site constituent.

All Hallows Staining dates to the medieval period, with the church founded in the 12th century and rebuilt in stone after earlier wooden structures. Before construction work began, archaeologists from the Museum of London excavated the graveyard surrounding the church and relocated more than 2,800 burials dating from the 12th century through the 19th century. Roman-era artefacts, including pottery shards, were also uncovered. Cambridge University's Murder Map project notes two notable killings near All Hallows in the early 14th century: in 1322 a woman was battered over the head for her clothes, and in 1336 a fishmonger was stabbed by his mistress, who fled the scene.

The tower’s survival is a notable facet of London’s layered history. All Hallows endured the Great Fire of London in 1666, which destroyed tens of thousands of homes and many churches. However, its foundations were believed weakened by the digging of graves, and in 1671 the church collapsed. It was rebuilt soon after, but by 1870 most of the church, save the tower, was demolished as part of a parish realignment with nearby St Olave Hart Street. The tower later stood adjacent to the Clothworkers’ Hall, before Second World War damage and postwar redevelopments reshaped the area.

During the Fifty Fenchurch Street project, the historic church and adjacent halls underwent further changes. The Clothworkers’ Hall and the St Olave Hart Street church hall were demolished as construction proceeded, and the tower was kept in its lifted position while work continued around it. The developers argue the arrangement preserves a key piece of London’s medieval fabric while bringing modern, energy-efficient office space to the Square Mile. The project includes an underground livery hall, street-level shops, and a public garden roof atop the new structure. Officials say the tower will remain elevated for about a year, after which the basement levels will be completed and the tower will be integrated with ground level to form part of a new public space.

A bottoming-out ceremony held recently marked a milestone in the construction timeline. Howard Dawber, deputy mayor of London for business and growth, attended and said the Fifty Fenchurch Street project illustrates the capital’s role as a global destination for investment and innovation. The plan, he noted, demonstrates London’s ability to balance preservation with modern development while advancing sustainability goals for the City.

In the broader context, All Hallows Staining today stands as the surviving fragment of a medieval parish in one of the world’s oldest financial centers. The site’s archaeological work—moving thousands of graves and recovering artefacts—offers a tangible link to London’s social history, from daily life in medieval neighborhoods to the violent crimes recorded in the Murder Map. The redevelopment aims to integrate the tower into a modern skyline while maintaining access to and visibility of a storied past. Officials emphasize that the project will provide a greener, more environmentally sustainable flagship for the City, aligning with broader urban renewal aims in a district long defined by its juxtaposition of ancient stones and new steel and glass.