Swedish Lutheran Church, Princess Square

It was said that the Scandinavians warmed their hands on the Great Fire of London in 1666. Importing timber to London for the rebuilding had certainly made the Scandinavians rich. Most of the imported timber from Scandinavia was landed at the riverside Parishes of Wapping, Shadwell, Ratcliffe and Limehouse. With the timber trade came merchants, seamen, shopkeepers and their families, who tended to settle near the river. However, the Parish of St George-in-the-East also had a large Scandinavian population and besides the Swedish Church there was also a Danish Church, built 1637, in Wellclose Square. 

The plainness of the Swedish Church was in keeping with the strict Lutheran religion. It was a small Church with galleries to make as much room as possible for the congregation. The Church was attended by members of the Swedish Embassy, Swedish sailors and their families and Swedes living in London. 

The Swedish mystic, Emanual Swedenborg, who had been living in London, died in 1772. It was his request that he should be buried in the Swedish Church vaults. His body lay in state at the home of Mr Birkhard, the clerk of the Church, in Ratcliffe Highway. The funeral service was conducted by Pastor Ferelias, Chaplain to the Swedish Embassy. Also buried in the Church was the Botanist, Doctor Daniel Solander, who had sailed in the Endeavour with Captain James Cook, between 1768-1771. 

With the changing patterns of trade in London, the timber trade moved south of the River in the second half of the 19th century to Surrey Docks. The Scandinavians moved with the timber trade. The Swedish Church lost its congregation and went into a state of disrepair. It was decided to demolish the Church. When the Swedish Government heard the news they ordered a warship to be sent to London to bring home the remains of Emanual Swedenborg in 1908. His remains were reburied in a tomb in the Cathedral at Upsala in Sweden. The Swedish Church was demolished in 1921 and the small square, renamed Swedenborg Square, made into a children’s playground. 

This area around Prince’s Square was badly damaged during the Blitz. In the 1960s, the London County Council decided to clear the area and build a housing estate. This act of wanton vandalism destroyed some of the architectural gems of Stepney. The 1960s St George’s Estate replaced the magnificent Georgian Houses in Prince’s and Wellclose Square. However, to commemorate the close links between the area and Sweden, parts of the Estate were named with this in mind: Swedenborg Gardens, Stockholm House and nearby Solander Gardens. 

In the St George’s Estate is the small baptismal font from the Swedish Church. It was dedicated on the 18th June 1960 to commemorate the site of the Church and the 250th anniversary of the Swedish congregation in London. 

Updated information November 2008:
A Swedish woman, named Elizabeth Stride (or Elisabeth Gustafsdotter, when she lived in Sweden), became a victim of Jack the Ripper. She would often visit the Swedish Church and got help from the Swedish Clerk Mr Sven Olsson. He gave her food and money because she was so poor. He knew her for more 17 years and was one of the first persons to identify Elisabeth in the mortuary at St Georges Church.Later he also took care of her funeral.