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By: Andrew Chapman

Andrew Chapman — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 13:54:59 +0000

1 Dunstan (c.909-988) was a proper English (Saxon) saint. He was born in Baltonsborough, Somerset, near Glastonbury where he became abbot. He was later bishop of Worcester, then of London, and Archbishop of Canterbury (serving 7 kings!). Here’s his alleged selfie. #dunstanday https://t.co/5EaUdzZCcV

By: Andrew Chapman

Andrew Chapman — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 13:54:59 +0000

2 It’s thanks to Dunstan we have lucky horseshoes (the story goes he nailed one to the Devil’s hoof, as well as tricking Old Nick in other ways – see picture). A craftsman and scholar himself, he’s the patron of metalworkers, jewellers and locksmiths. #dunstanday https://t.co/ZjUh6Sk24y

By: Andrew Chapman

Andrew Chapman — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 13:54:59 +0000

3 We start in Stepney at St Dunstan & All Saints (Church of the High Seas) rebuilt by Dunstan himself (who may have lived nearby), and again in the 15th & 19th C. A Saxon rood cross survives. 17th C herbalist & hermit Roger Crab is buried here (see below). #dunstanday https://t.co/VdyoQ0mUAs

By: Andrew Chapman

Andrew Chapman — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 13:54:59 +0000

4 This is all that remains of Whitechapel Bell Foundry (which provided bells at St D’s in Stepney). A sad end for a business that started in the 16th century (but @savetheWbf offers hope). St D allegedly cast bells himself and became the patron of bellringers. #dunstanday https://t.co/W5OL2QeZA8

By: Andrew Chapman

Andrew Chapman — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 13:54:59 +0000

5 The City: all that remains of St Dunstan-in-the-East is this haunting garden. It dates from c.1000, expanded 1391 and patched up in the 1660s after the Great Fire, with a new Wren spire. It was rebuilt again in the 1810s before the 1941 Blitz finally did for it. #dunstanday https://t.co/6pXbltfYmG

By: Andrew Chapman

Andrew Chapman — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 13:54:59 +0000

6 A detour to Guildhall Art Gallery (@GuildhallArt) & its treasures, including a Roman amphitheatre only found in 1988. (Alas we were unable to look inside the Great Hall, where the figures of Gog & Magog can be found – but we’ll meet them again later anyway…) #dunstanday https://t.co/FNuB8nrXiM

By: Andrew Chapman

Andrew Chapman — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 13:54:59 +0000

7 Westward, to our 3rd church… St Dunstan-in-the-West. It dates from Norman times, rebuilt in the 1830s. Bible translator William Tyndale preached here and poet John Donne was rector. Walton’s Compleat Angler was published here. Predatory Pepys plagued maids here. #dunstanday https://t.co/Eq9e8XYpsx

By: Andrew Chapman

Andrew Chapman — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 13:54:59 +0000

8 St D-in-the-W ‘s treasures include this 1586 statue of Elizabeth I moved from the lost Ludgate; a crumbling statue of King Lud himself, with his two sons; up in the tower, the bells are struck hourly by these figures of giants Gog and Magog (or Gogmagog & Corineus) #dunstanday https://t.co/ILnoLpp6uU

By: Andrew Chapman

Andrew Chapman — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 13:54:59 +0000

9 Oddly all 3 churches had 17th C wood carvings by Grinling Gibbons; only one survives – the communion rail here. (Apologies to St Dunstan’s in Cranford Park (too far!) – where Tony Hancock’s ashes lie – & l all the many St Dunstan churches across southern England.) #dunstanday https://t.co/Meh9wbVDnF

By: Andrew Chapman

Andrew Chapman — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 13:54:59 +0000

10 If you’ve enjoyed #dunstanday, see #Pancras day, #10tweetadventure and #londonfogg, or subscribe to my history newsletter (@gethistories, link in bio). Next week I’ll use it to tell the story of Roger Crab! https://t.co/qBesmZBJBl