Ancient and Modern in the City of London

St Andrew Undershaft escaped both the Great Fire and the Blitz. It was founded in 1147 and rebuilt in the 14th Century and then just pre-Reformation in 1532 in the Perpendicular style.

The name derives from the maypole that was set up opposite the church until 1517 when student riots caused the end of the tradition, although the pole survived until 147 when it was destroyed by a Puritan mob as pagan idol. Hans Holbein was a parishioner.

Behind St Andrew Undershaft is the "Gherkin" or 30 St Mary Axe on the site of the Baltic Exchange blown up by the IRA in 1992. It was designed by Norman Foster and erected in 2003.