Database: St. Mary le Strand

In 1710, Queen Anne urged Parliament to pass an act allowing for the construction of fifty new churches in London. The act was passed, but building fifty churches is easier said than done; only twelve of what were called Queen Anne's churches were ever built. The first Queen Anna church was St. Mary le Strand, on the former site of the largest maypole in London. A rise in Puritanism in the 1660s meant that many of the city's maypoles were torn down by religious extremists due to their "heathen" origins; this maypole fell over from a high wind in 1672.

In its original plans, St. Mary's featured a 250-foot column to honour Queen Anne. A statue of the Queen was to sit atop the column, but I think the actual Queen should have sat on top of the 250-foot column. That I'd go and see. No matter, though; the design was approved and materials were acquired, but the plan was quietly cancelled following Anne's death in August of 1714.