Geograph - photograph every grid square

There has been a church on this site since the tenth century, but the present building dates from the thirteenth. It drew worshippers from virtually the whole of East London, right up until the fifteenth century when two chapels of ease were built, St. Mary Matfelon at Whitechapel and St. Mary and Holy Trinity at Bow. This greatly facilitated the parishioners, especially from Bow where winter flooding often prevented them reaching any place of worship. Both of these new churches suffered damage in WW2, the former resulting in demolition, the latter being repaired and stands today.