The clock is surmounted by a figure of St James and dated 1682. It was destroyed on 11th January 1941 during a bombing raid and was restored in 1988 mainly through the generosity of the Vinters’ Livery Company, one of the ten Livery Companies who regularly use the church.
Hythe is a Saxon word for landing place or jetty; the Thames near the church was London’s most important hythe since Saxon or even Roman times. Garlic a vital preservative and medicine in the Middle Ages was possibly traded on Garlick Hill, where the church stands.
The Church which dates back to Saxon times was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren. The foundation stone was laid in in 1676 and the re-opening took place in December 1682, the year on the clock.
