St Magnus the Martyr: Difference between revisions

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St Magnus lies on the original alignment of [[London Bridge]] between the City and [[Southwark]]. The ancient parish was united with that of [[St Margaret, New Fish Street]], in 1670 and with that of [[St Michael, Crooked Lane]], in 1831.<ref>''Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England I: Southern England'', Youngs, F.A.: London, 1979 {{ISBN|0-901050-67-9}}</ref> The three united parishes retained separate [[vestry|vestries]] and [[churchwarden]]s.<ref>For example, in 1824 St Magnus the Martyr had a Select Vestry of 32 persons, whilst St Margaret New Fish Street had a General Vestry. ''London Parishes: Containing the Situation, Antiquity, and Re-building of the Churches Within the Bills of Mortality'', Printed by Weed, B. for Jeffery, W.: London, 1824</ref> Parish clerks continue to be appointed for each of the three parishes.<ref>''The ancient office of Parish Clerk and the [[Worshipful Company of Parish Clerks|Parish Clerks Company]] of London'', Clark, O.: London, Journal of the Ecclesiastical Law Society Vol. 8, January 2006 {{ISSN|0956-618X}}</ref>

 

 

Its prominent location and beauty have prompted many mentions in literature.<ref>"Before the erection of Adelaide House, to approach the City from Southwark was to enjoy as fine a sight as any in London. In the foreground were the ships in the Pool ... while the morning light glinted upon the glorious tower of Wren's church of St Magnus the Martyr, the Customs House and the golden flames of the Monument." 'The Times', 8 November 1927</ref> In ''[[Oliver Twist]]'' [[Charles Dickens]] notes how, as Nancy heads for her secret meeting with Mr Brownlow and Rose Maylie on London Bridge, "the tower of old [[Southwark Cathedral|Saint Saviour's Church]], and the spire of Saint Magnus, so long the giant-warders of the ancient bridge, were visible in the gloom". The church's spiritual and architectural importance is celebrated in the poem ''[[The Waste Land]]'' by [[T. S. Eliot]], who wrote, "the walls of Magnus Martyr hold/Inexplicable splendour of Ionian white and gold". He added in a footnote that "the interior of St. Magnus Martyr is to my mind one of the finest among Wren's interiors".<ref>Where fishmen lounge at noon: where the walls<br />Of Magnus Martyr hold<br />Inexplicable splendour of Ionian white and gold.<br />''The Waste Land and other poems'', lines 263 to 265, Eliot, T.S.: Faber & Faber, London, 1940. For commentaries, see chapter 2 of ''Anglo-Catholic in Religion – T.S. Eliot and Christianity'' by Barry Spurr, 2010, {{ISBN|978-0-7188-3073-1}} and ''Liturgical Influences of Anglo-Catholicism on The Waste Land and Other Works by [[T. S. Eliot]]'' by A. Lee Fjordbotten, 1999 at [http://anglicanhistory.org/academic/fjordbotten1999 Liturgical Influences]. Spurr notes that St Magnus "was one of the leading shrines of the Anglo-Catholic movement and it is very notable that Eliot should not only refer to it, but, in the midst of a poem of almost unrelieved negativity, present it so positively (if somewhat uncomprehendingly) in terms of the exquisite beauty of its interior: its ‘Inexplicable splendour of Ionian white and gold’ (the liturgical colours, we should note, of Eastertide and resurrection, a concept otherwise denied repeatedly throughout The Waste Land)".</ref> One biographer of Eliot notes that at first he enjoyed St Magnus aesthetically for its "splendour"; later he appreciated its "utility" when he came there as a sinner.<ref>''Eliot's Early Years'', Gordon, L.: Oxford, 1978 {{ISBN|978-0-19-281252-0}}</ref>

[[File:St Magnus Kirk, Egilsay - geograph.org.uk - 1302639.jpg|thumb|left|upright|St Magnus Kirk, Egilsay]]

 

 

[[File:Domkirka statuer 37.jpg|thumb|right|upright|St Magnus of Orkney]]

The original church pre-dated the canonisation of St Magnus of Orkney by around a century and was also probably constructed before the cult of [[Olaf II of Norway|St Olaf]], which did not become established in London until the 1050s.<ref>''The Cult of S. Olave in the British Isles'', B. Dickens in Saga-Book XII of the Viking Society, 12 (1945) pp 53-80</ref> The dedication of the church to St Magnus (as for the four City churches dedicated to [[Botwulf of Thorney|St Botolph]]) at least partly reflected interest in particular saints' relics during the 11th century. There was a cultus to this earlier St Magnus before the Norman Conquest; several English monastic houses claimed to have relics of the saint<ref>These included Westminster, Peterborough and Salisbury and a relic list of Exeter Cathedral notes: "Hec sunt nomina sanctarum reliquaram que habentur in ecclesia sacte Marie et sancti Petri Exonie ecclesie, quarum maximam partem gloriossimus rex Aedelstanus eiusdem ecclesie primus fundator ibidem contulit.... De reliquiis sancti Magni episcopis et martiris."''Anglo-Saxon Exeter: A Tenth-century Cultural History'', Patrick W. Conner (1993).</ref> [[Edgar the Peaceful|King Edgar]] gave one to [[Westminster Abbey]]<ref>[[John Flete]]’s manuscript history of the Abbey, written in the 1440s, records: “rex Edgarus dedit lapides quibus sanctus Stephanus lapidatus fuit, et quaedam ossa cum sanguine ejusdem ; tibiam unam cum costis et aliis minutis ossibus sanctorum Innocentium ; item duas costas et terram infectam sanguine sancti Laurentii, tres costas sancti Hippolyti, dentes sanctorum Magni et Symphoriani, cum cruce sancti Felicis item reliquias sancti Georgii et Sebastiani cum aliis” [https://archive.org/details/historyofwestmin00flet/page/70/mode/1up?q=magni The history of Westminster Abbey]</ref> and the relic collection of Peterborough Abbey included the hand of St Magnus the Martyr as well as the famous arm of [[Oswald of Northumbria|St Oswald]].<ref>''The Chronicle of Hugh Candidus, a Monk of Peterborough'', ed. W.T. Mellows (1949). This relic may have been collected by Abbot Ælfsige of Peterborough, who accompanied Queen Emma into temporary exile in 1013. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records in that year that "the lady [Queen Emma of Normandy] went afterwards over sea to her brother Richard, accompanied by Elfsy [Ælfsige/Elsinus/Elsige] Abbot of Peterborough. The king sent Bishop Elfun with the ethelings, Edward and Alfred, over sea; that he might instruct them. Then went the king from the fleet, about midwinter, to the Isle of Wight; and there abode for the season; after which he went over sea to Richard, with whom he abode till the time when Sweyne died. Whilst the lady was with her brother beyond sea, Elfsy, Abbot of Peterborough, who was there with her, went to the abbey called Boneval, where St. Florentine's body lay; and there found a miserable place, a miserable abbot, and miserable monks: because they had been plundered. There he bought of the abbot, and of the monks, the body of St. Florentine, all but the head, for 500 pounds; which, on his return home, he offered to Christ and St. Peter.”</ref> The feast of St Magnus the Martyr, celebrated on 19 August, appears in most liturgical calendars from the Gelasian Sacramentary in the eighth century<ref>See propers for "XIV Kal. Septembres in natali sancti Magni" [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b60000317/f215.item.zoom Gelasian Sacramentary]. The [[Old English Martyrology]], compiled in the second half of the 9th century, records that "on the nineteenth day of the month [August] is the feast of the martyr St Magnus, whose mass can be found in the older massbooks" ''The Old English Martyrology: Edition, Translation and Commentary'', ed. Christine Rauer, 2013. It has been suggested - see ''Biblical Commentaries from the Canterbury School of Theodore and Hadrian'', ed. Bernhard Bischoff and Michael Lapidge (1994) - that the "older mass books" may refer more to those of Campanian origin, perhaps brought to England by [[Adrian of Canterbury]] that to the Gelasian Sacramentary.</ref> and the missal of [[Robert of Jumièges]] in the 11th century<ref>''The ‘Missal’ of Robert of Jumièges and manuscript illumination at Peterborough c. 1015–1035'', T. A. Heslop in ''Peterborough and the Soke'' (2019). See [https://archive.org/details/missalrobertjum00wilsgoog/page/n283/mode/2up Missal]</ref> to the 16th century.<ref>See the [https://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMINBig.ASP?size=big&IllID=30502 Westminster Psalter (c.1200)], the [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc2.ark:/13960/t1kh0kp3z&view=1up&seq=346&q1=310 Sarum Missal], [https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Missale_Ad_Usum_Ecclesie_Westmonasterien/jAMNAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1 Westminster Use], [https://archive.org/details/herefordbreviary01cath/page/n23/mode/2up?q=magni Hereford breviary], [https://archive.org/details/missalofstaugust00cath/page/105/mode/1up?q=magno+martyre+ The missal of St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury], [https://archive.org/details/ancientkalendar45oxfouoft/page/52/mode/2up?q=magni University of Oxford], [https://usuarium.elte.hu/calendarlabel/859/view Database for the Study of Latin Liturgical History] and [http://www.cokldb.org/cgi-bin/saint_detail.pl?saint_id=439 Corpus Kalendarium]</ref> The original dedication of the church may therefore, as noted by [[Richard Thomson (antiquarian)|Richard Thomson]] in his ''Chronicles of London Bridge'' of 1827,<ref>"I do not find the Patron Saint of this edifice is at all mentioned by Alban Butler; nor are all writers perfectly agreed as to who he actually was; seeing that there were two saints named Magnus, whose festival day was kept on the 19th of August. One of these was Bishop of Anagnia in Italy, and was martyred in the persecution raised by the Emperors Decius and Valerian, about the middle of the third century after the Birth of Christ. The other St Magnus was the person to whom Newcourt supposed this Church was dedicated, though he erroneously calls his feast August the 18th. He is named, by way of distinction, St Magnus the Martyr of Caesarea, in Cappadocia, because he suffered at that City, under Alexander the Governor, in the time of the Emperor Aurelian, AD 276.... An extended history of these famous men you will find in that wonderful work the ''Acta Sanctorum'', which I have before quoted ... though there is a much longer account of the Swedish St Magnus, the Abbot, whose festival is September the 6th, and whom I pray you never to mistake for the Martyr of London Bridge."</ref> have been to St [[Magnus of Anagni]] (Sancti Magni martiris et episcopi Tranensis),<ref>See: [https://archive.org/details/actasanctorum37unse/page/n738/mode/1up Acta Sanctorum]. The feasts of St [[Magnus of Cuneo]], a soldier of the Theban Legion, and the seventh century bishop St [[Magnus of Avignon]] also fall on 19 August, but the latter was a confessor rather than a martyr and the former does not generally appear in martyrologies. Bede's Martyrology notes for 19 August "XIV. Kal. Natale S. Magni, seu S. Andreæ, cum sociis suis duobus millibus quingentis nonaginta septem. Præfigunt A. T. L. In Alexandria: ast A. et T. sic distinguunt. In Alexandria natale S. Magni et S. Andreæ martyrum. Eodem die natale S. Mariani cum duobus millibus quingentis nonaginta septem. Deinde addunt: Romæ natale S. Magni martyris." [https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/giles-the-complete-works-of-venerable-bede-vol-4-historical-tracts-english-and-latin Bede]. Sabine Baring-Gould's [[The Lives of the Saints (Baring-Gould)|'Lives of the Saints']] concluded that: "It can hardly be doubted that S. Magnus, Bishop and Martyr, has been manufactured by the blunders of martyrologists. [[Andrew Stratelates|S. Andrew the Tribune]] is commemorated in ... Latin [as] "Magnus Martyr". In the early Latin lists, on 19 August, was accordingly inscribed "Andreas Tribunus, Magnus Martyr". This was read as if there were two Saints, Andrew the Tribune, and Magnus the Martyr". [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/The_Lives_of_the_Saints_Volume_9.pdf Lives of the Saints]. See also ''The martiloge in Englysshe after the vse of the chirche of Salisbury and as it is redde in Syon with addicyons'', ed. F. Proctor and E.S. Dewick, printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1526.</ref> a putative third-century bishop who was martyred in the reign of the Emperor [[Decius]] and whose relics were translated from Fondi to Veroli and then to Anangni in the 9th century.<ref>See [https://archive.org/details/actasanctorum37unse/page/n745/mode/1up Translatio], [[Abbey of San Magno, Fondi]], [[Anagni Cathedral]], [[Santi Michele e Magno, Rome]] and [https://www.frisiacoasttrail.com/post/2019/09/23/Magnus-Choice-The-Origins-of-the-Frisian-Freedom Frisian Freedom]. Vatican Codex S. Pietro F.13 includes a Sacramentary and Kalendar used at Anagni Cathedral, with the feast of St Magnus rubricated and the addition of a feast of the ''Inventio corporis sancti Magni'' on 20 April. [https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Arch.Cap.S.Pietro.F.13 S.Pietro.F.13]</ref> It is possible that the dedication might also have been influenced by [[Cnut the Great#Journey to Rome|Cnut]]'s journey to Rome in 1027 or by the translation to Canterbury in 1023 of the remains of [[Ælfheah of Canterbury|Alphage]], Bishop and Martyr, from St Paul's Cathedral, where a cult had rapidly developed at his tomb.<ref>''The cult of St Thomas in the liturgy and iconography of Christ Church, Canterbury'', M-P Gelin in ''The Cult of St Thomas Becket in the Plantagenet World, C.1170-c.1220'' (2016)</ref>

 

 

==History==

[[File:Plaque at St Magnus-the-Martyr.jpg|thumb|left|Approach to [[Old London Bridge]]]]

 

 

[[File:Murder of Thomas Becket.jpg|thumb|right|Martyrdom of St [[Thomas Becket]] in [[Canterbury Cathedral]]]]

Shortly before his death in 1711, [[Charles Duncombe (Lord Mayor of the City of London)|Duncombe]] commissioned an [[organ (music)|organ]] for the church, the first to have a [[swell box|swell-box]], by Abraham Jordan (father and son).<ref>''Great Goldsmith: The Life of Sir Charles Duncombe'', Duncombe, P., p. 212-213: Chippendale NSW Australia, 2000, {{ISBN|0-646-37845-7}} and "The Historical Organ in the Church of St Magnus the Martyr, London Bridge", ''The Musical Times'', Vol. 53, No. 831 (1 May 1912), pp. 306–309.</ref> The ''Spectator'' announced that "Whereas Mr Abraham Jordan, senior and junior, have, with their own hands, joinery excepted, made and erected a very large organ in St Magnus' Church, at the foot of London Bridge, consisting of four sets of keys, one of which is adapted to the art of emitting sounds by swelling notes, which never was in any organ before; this instrument will be publicly opened on Sunday next [14 February 1712], the performance by Mr John Robinson. The above-said Abraham Jordan gives notice to all masters and performers, that he will attend every day next week at the said Church, to accommodate all those gentlemen who shall have a curiosity to hear it".<ref>''The Spectator'', 8 February 1712, quoted in ''Chronicles of London Bridge'' by an Antiquary [i.e. Richard Thomson 1794–1865], p. 457-8: Smith, Elder and Co., London, 1827</ref>

 

 

The hymn tune "St Magnus", usually sung at [[Ascension of Jesus|Ascensiontide]] to the text "The head that once was crowned with thorns", was written by [[Jeremiah Clarke]] in 1701 and named for the church.<ref>See [http://www.hymnary.org/tune/st_magnus_clarke?tab=about Hymnary.org] and [http://www2.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/St_Magnus Choral Wiki]. [[Sydney Nicholson]] composed ''Missa Sancti Magni, A Simple Communion Service in F'' based on this hymn tune in 1937 and [[Gerre Hancock]] did the same with ''Missa resurrectionis'' in 1976.</ref>

[[File:Legal Quays 1746.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Environs of St Magnus the Martyr in the mid-18th century]]

 

 

After the House of Commons had resolved upon the alteration of London Bridge, the Rev Robert Gibson<ref>Son of [[Edmund Gibson]], Bishop of London, and Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral 1761-91</ref> (Rector 1747-91) applied to the House for relief; stating that 48l. 6s. 2d. per annum, part of his salary of 170l. per annum, was assessed upon houses on London Bridge; which he should utterly lose by their removal unless a clause in the bill about to be passed should provide a remedy.<ref>''Londinium redivivum; or an ancient history and modern description of London'', [[James Peller Malcolm|Malcolm, James Peller]], p.389: London, 1803</ref> Accordingly, Sections 18 and 19 of 1756 Act provided that the relevant amounts of tithe and poor rate should be a charge on the Bridge House Estates.<ref>''The Statutes at Large from the 26th to the 30th Year of King George II'', Pickering, Danby: Cambridge, 1766</ref>

 

As part of the bridge improvements, overseen by the architect [[Robert Taylor (architect)|Sir Robert Taylor]], a new pedestrian walkway was built along the eastern side of the bridge. With the other buildings gone St Magnus blocked the new walkway.<ref>An engraving of St Magnus by [[Benjamin Cole (instrument maker)|Benjamin Cole]] immediately before the changes to the west end of the church can be found in ''The History and Survey of London from its Foundation to the Present Time'', [[William Maitland (historian)|Maitland, William]]: Osborne, Shipton & Hodges, London, 1756 (originally published in weekly numbers beginning on 29 December 1753, finishing in 1756, this was the great rival to the 1754 edition of Stow’s ''Survey'').</ref> As a consequence it was necessary in 1762 to 1763 to remove the [[vestry]] rooms at the West end of the church and open up the side arches of the tower so that people could pass underneath the tower.<ref>This can be seen in a colour aquatint by William Daniell,

 

[[File:Flickr - Duncan~ - St Magnus the Martyr.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Pathway under the tower showing the entrance to the church]]

[[File:London bridge.jpg|thumb|right|London Bridge in 2005]]

 

 

[[File:New Fresh Wharf c1970 - geograph.org.uk - 340141.jpg|thumb|left|upright|New Fresh Wharf c1970]]

[[File:The Monument, London - view 4.jpg|thumb|right|upright|St Magnus the Martyr viewed from top of [[Monument to the Great Fire of London|The Monument]]]]

 

 

 

===Late 19th century and early 20th century===

[[File:Londonbridge1900.jpg|thumb|left|London Bridge and St Magnus the Martyr circa 1900]]

 

 

In 1890 it was reported that the Bishop of London was to hold an inquiry as to the desirability of uniting the benefices of [[St George Botolph Lane]] and St Magnus. The expectation was a fusion of the two livings, the demolition of St George’s and the pensioning of "William Gladstone’s favourite Canon", [[Malcolm MacColl]]. Although services ceased there, St George’s was not demolished until 1904. The parish was then merged with St Mary at Hill rather than St Magnus.<ref>''The Quebec Saturday Budget'', 2 August 1890</ref>

 

 

In November 1898 a memorial service was held at St Magnus for [[Knill Baronets|Sir Stuart Knill]] (1824–1898), head of the firm of John Knill and Co, wharfingers, and formerly Lord Mayor and Master of the Plumbers' Company.<ref>See "Election of an Alderman" in ''The Times'', 19 September 1885, p. 5 and "The Late Sir Suart Knill" in ''The Times'', 23 November 1898, p. 12</ref> This was the first such service for a Roman Catholic taken in an Anglican church.<ref>''The New Zealand Tablet'', Volume XXVI, Issue 4, 26 January 1899, p. 24.</ref> Sir Stuart's son, [[Knill Baronets|Sir John Knill]] (1856–1934), also served as Alderman for the [[Bridge (ward)|Ward of Bridge Within]], Lord Mayor and Master of the Plumbers' Company.

A further attempt to implement the recommendations of the Phillimore Report in 1926<ref>Union Of Benefices And Disposal Of Churches (Metropolis) Measure, 1926</ref> was resisted by the [[David Lindsay, 27th Earl of Crawford|Earl of Crawford]] in a debate in the House of Lords on 15 July 1926<ref>[https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/1926-07-15/debates/81d4808f-2146-473e-bf71-84c55c48cd23/UnionOfBeneficesAndDisposalOfChurches(Metropolis)Measure1926 Hansard]</ref> who quoted "to your Lordships the list of these condemned churches. It will not take a moment. Even their fine resounding names are worthy of quotation.... St. Magnus the Martyr — many of your Lordships must know that wonderful church by the water's edge down below London Bridge".

 

 

===Between the wars: Fr Fynes and the Anglo-Catholic tradition===

[[File:Icon within St Magnus-the-Martyr - geograph.org.uk - 1257908.jpg|thumb|right|Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in St Magnus the Martyr]]

 

 

Fynes-Clinton was General Secretary of the Anglican and Eastern Orthodox Churches Union and its successor, the [[Anglican and Eastern Churches Association]], from 1906 to 1920 and served as Secretary to the Archbishop of Canterbury's Eastern Churches Committee from 1920 to around 1924. A Solemn Requiem was celebrated at St Magnus in September 1921 for the late [[Peter I of Serbia|King Peter of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]].

[[File:Monument and land to Howan on Egilsay - geograph.org.uk - 217412.jpg|thumb|left|Memorial to St Magnus on Egilsay]]

 

 

In July 1937 Fr Fynes-Clinton, with two members of his congregation, travelled to [[Kirkwall]] to be present at the 800th anniversary celebrations of [[St Magnus Cathedral|St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall]]. During their stay they visited [[Egilsay]] and were shown the spot where St Magnus had been slain. Later Fynes-Clinton was present at a service held at the roofless church of St Magnus on [[Egilsay]], where he suggested to his host Mr Fryer, the minister of the Cathedral, that the congregations of Kirkwall and London should unite to erect a permanent stone memorial on the traditional site where Earl Magnus had been murdered. In 1938 a cairn was built of local stone on [[Egilsay]]. It stands 12 feet high and is 6 feet broad at its base. The memorial was dedicated on 7 September 1938 and a bronze inscription on the monument reads "erected by the Rector and Congregation of St Magnus the Martyr by London Bridge and the Minister and Congregation of [[St Magnus Cathedral|St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall]] to commemorate the traditional spot where Earl Magnus was slain, AD circa 1116 and to commemorate the Octocentenary of [[St Magnus Cathedral]] 1937".<ref>See [http://www.orkneycommunities.co.uk/EGILSAY/index.asp?pageid=2404 Orkney Communities] and ''The Church of St Magnus the Martyr by London Bridge'', Anon. [Aggett, David T.]: privately printed (no date)</ref>

Some minor changes were made to the parish boundary in 1954, including the transfer to St Magnus of an area between Fish Street Hill and [[Pudding Lane]]. The site of [[St Leonard, Eastcheap|St Leonard Eastcheap]], a church that was not rebuilt after the [[Great Fire of London|Great Fire]], is therefore now in the parish of St Magnus despite being united to [[St Edmund, King and Martyr|St Edmund the King]].

 

 

 

[[File:Flickr - Duncan~ - St Magnus vs The Shard.jpg|thumb|right|St Magnus in 2012 with [[The Shard]] in the background]]

In 1971 a Commission chaired by Lord Justice Buckley proposed changes to the City churches, including the creation of seven team ministries. St Magnus would have been part of a Fenchurch team along with All Hallows by the Tower, St Olave's Hart Street and St Margaret Pattens.<ref>''The Times'', 26 November 1971, p.4</ref> In 1994 the [[Sydney Templeman, Baron Templeman|Templeman]] Commission proposed a radical restructuring of the churches in the City Deanery. St Magnus was identified as one of the 12 churches that would remain as either a parish or an 'active' church.<ref>The Rt Hon. Lord Templeman, City Churches Commission, Diocese of London, Report to the Bishop. January 1994. See also [http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-457-1/dissemination/pdf/vol07/vol07_07/07_07_184_188.pdf Templeman Report]</ref> However, the proposals were dropped following a public outcry and the consecration of a new Bishop of London. Following the departure of Fr Michael Woodgate (Rector 1984 to 1995) the presentation to the living was suspended until 2010. The Ven [[Ken Gibbons]] was Priest-in-Charge from 1997 to 2003.

 

 

 

In addition to liturgical music of a high standard, St Magnus is the venue for a wide range of musical events. The Clemens non Papa Consort, founded in 2005, performs in collaboration with the production team Concert Bites as the church's resident ensemble.<ref>See [http://www.clemensnonpapaconsort.com Clemens non Papa Consort]</ref> The band ''Mishaped Pearls'' performed at the church on 17 December 2011.<ref>See [http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.341536569194264.96801.164140396933883&type=3 Mishaped Pearls & Josephine Lloyd and Band Concert]</ref> St Magnus featured in the television programme ''Jools Holland: London Calling'', first broadcast on BBC2 on 9 June 2012.<ref>See [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01jxzfq Jools Holland: London Calling]</ref> The Platinum Consort made a promotional film at St Magnus for the release of their debut album ''In the Dark'' on 2 July 2012.<ref>See [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmkCYEH7-Kc Platinum Consort]</ref>

The interior was made to look more European by the removal of the old box pews and the installation of new pews with cut-down ends. Two new columns were inserted in the nave to make the lines regular. The Wren-period pulpit by the joiner William Grey<ref>''The Visitor's Guide to the City of London Churches'', Tucker, T., p. 55: London, 2006</ref> was opened up and provided with a soundboard and crucifix. Travers also designed the statue of St Magnus of Orkney, which stands in the south aisle, and the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham.<ref>''Anglican Papalism'', Yelton, M., p. 226: Norwich, 2005 {{ISBN|1-85311-655-6}}</ref>

 

 

 

The church possesses a fine model of Old London Bridge. One of the tiny figures on the bridge appears out of place in the mediaeval setting, wearing a policeman's uniform. This is a representation of the model-maker, David T. Aggett, who is a Liveryman of the [[Worshipful Company of Plumbers]] and was formerly in the police service.<ref>''Official Commemorative Programme: The Lord Mayor's Show 2008'', p.49: London, 2008</ref>

The 10 bells were removed for safe keeping in 1940 and stored in the churchyard. They were taken to Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1951 whereupon it was discovered that four of them were cracked. After a long period of indecision, fuelled by lack of funds and interest, the bells were finally sold for scrap in 1976. The metal was used to cast many of the Bells of Congress that were then hung in the [[Old Post Office Pavilion|Old Post Office Tower]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]

 

 

[[File:2007 Flag of Orkney.svg|thumb|left|The [[Flag of Orkney]]]]

[[File:Fishmongers' Hall, London Bridge, 3 June 2012.JPG|thumb|right|[[Fishmongers' Hall]]]]

 

 

St Magnus is also the ward church for the [[Bridge (ward)|Ward of Bridge and Bridge Without]], which elects one of the city's [[aldermen]]. Between 1550 and 1978 there were separate aldermen for Bridge Within and Bridge Without, the former ward being north of the river and the latter representing the City's area of control in [[Southwark]]. The Bridge Ward Club was founded in 1930 to "promote social activities and discussion of topics of local and general interest and also to exchange ward and parochial information" and holds its annual carol service at St Magnus.<ref>''Bridge Ward Club'', club handbook (no date, c. 1990)</ref>

{{Commons category|St Magnus-the-Martyr}}

*{{Official website|http://www.stmagnusmartyr.org.uk}}

*[http://www.achurchnearyou.com/stmagnusmartyr A Church Near You]

*[http://www.london-city-churches.org.uk Friends of the City Churches]