Once Under the Maypole, Now Under the Gherkin

Isaac Allerton (my 10th GGF on my mother's side) was baptized in 1583  at the St. Andrews Undershaft Catholic Church in the City of London first financial district.  The name of the church caught my imagination especially after I saw the picture of the church in the shadow of bullet shaped modern skyscraper, the Gherkin.  The story didn't disappoint.  

Undershaft in St. Andrews Undershaft refers to a maypole that had been erected each Spring during the Middle Ages near the church.  The maypole was much taller than the church so it was literally "under the shaft" of the maypole.

 

The maypole is the centerpiece in a ceremonial folk dance that takes place around a tall pole decorated with flowers and greenery. The dancers weave ribbons into complex patterns around the pole.  The dance is symbolic and celebrates fertility. The pole or tree can be considered a masculine symbol, while the ribbons and flowers can be considered feminine symbols.

The dance is believed to have originated in London around 2,000 years ago during the Roman Empire's hegemony in England. Soldiers would dance around decorated trees to thank their goddess Flora for the arrival of spring. Historians believe the dance originated as part of Germanic pagan fertility rituals.

The maypole dancing tradition died out around 1517 after the Evil Mayday Riot, a xenophobic riot in which apprentices rioted against foreigners taking jobs away from English citizens.  The dancing stopped but the physical maypole itself remained until the Puritans in Parliament banned maypoles in the 1640s as pagan idols.

There has been a church on this site since the 1150s.   The church building that stands today survived a Victorian remodel, the Great London Fire, the German Blitz, and decommissioning by the Catholic Church.