St Clement Danes

St Clement Danes
Location	City of Westminster, London
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Anglo-Catholic and Ecumenical RAF
Website	stclementdanesraf.org
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade I
Architect(s)	Christopher Wren
Style	Baroque
Years built	several, most recently 1682
Administration
Diocese	Diocese of London
Clergy
Chaplain(s)	Reverend Mark Perry MStJ FRSA[1][2][3]
Laity
Director of music	Simon Over FRCO
Business manager	Katya Johnston

St Clement Danes is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London. It is now situated near the 19th-century Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. Although the first church on the site was reputedly founded in the 9th century by the Danes, the current building replaced the medieval church building and was completed in 1682 by celebrated architect Sir Christopher Wren. Wren's building was gutted by Luftwaffe bombing raids during the Blitz and not restored until 1958, when it was adapted to its current function as the central church of the Royal Air Force.

The church might be the one featured in the nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons" and the bells do indeed play that tune every day at 9 am, noon, 3pm and 6pm—as reported in 1940 the church's playing of the tune was interrupted during World War II due to Nazi bombing.^[4] However, St Clement's Eastcheap, in the City of London, is also possibly the church from the rhyme. St Clement Danes is known as one of the two 'Island Churches' in The Strand (centred in the thoroughfare), the other being St Mary-le-Strand.

Bells of St Clement's

Bells playing Oranges and Lemons

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