Tucked away just off Fleet Street, there’s a church that might look like any other City chapel – but its spire helped give birth to a storied British tradition.
Inspired by that pale, four-tiered steeple, a local baker created what became the prototype for the tiered wedding cake. In a sweet twist, the church’s name is St Bride’s.
Designed by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire, the current church was completed by 1675 and its iconic spire added between 1701 and 1703.
At the time, its 226-foot height made it the tallest church in London after St Paul’s, and it still holds the title of the second-highest Wren spire today.
Back in the 18th century, wedding cakes were more often ‘bride pies’ rather than elaborate tiered creations. These could be sweet mince or savoury meat pies.
The tale of how that changed goes that William Rich, a young baker’s apprentice from nearby 3 Ludgate Hill, fell in love with his boss’s daughter, Susannah Prichard, and he set out to impress her by creating an extravagant cake for their wedding.
When he gazed up at St Bride’s spire, he was inspired to craft a multi-tiered wedding cake. Some versions of the story claim the cake was for his daughter’s wedding instead, but either way, the design became a template for the tiered cakes we know today.
St Bride’s has plenty more history up its sleeve. Long before that, it earned the nickname ‘The Printer’s Church’ by hosting London’s first printing press in its churchyard from around 1500. This deep-rooted connection cemented Fleet Street’s later fame as the heart of the British newspaper industry.
More recently, in March 2016, media titan Rupert Murdoch wed former supermodel Jerry Hall at St Bride’s. Though their marriage didn’t last, the historic pairing added another chapter to the church’s story.
Today, St Bride’s still stands – restored after Blitz damage during WWII and rebuilt thanks to the support of the press community. Its crypt reveals Roman pavements and medieval remains, making it a living time capsule beneath the tiered spire.
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