There has been a church on the site of All Hallows since the original one founded by the Abbey of Barking in 675 AD. Its proximity to Tower Hill meant it was sometimes used as a temporary burial site for those executed there: John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester and Sir Thomas More were buried at All Hallows prior to their burial in the Church of St Peter ad Vincula, within the Tower of London; as was Archbishop Laud, whose body was reburied at the Chapel of St John’s College, Oxford, following the Restoration. Lancelot Andrewes, later chaplain to Elizabeth I and Bishop of Winchester, was baptised in All Hallows.

The stone church survived the Great Fire of London in 1666 but was severely damaged during the Blitz in the Second World War. Only the church tower and some sections of the outer walls remained and were incorporated into the new building.

See also: Tower of London, Tower Hill Execution site