St. Dunstan in the West

St. Dunstan in the West

St. Dunstan in the West is a church on Fleet Street in the city of London. It is a setting in the Stoneheart Trilogy, and it is the place where George and Edie first meet with the Clocker.

History

The original church on the site was a medieval church founded between AD 988 and 1070. This church was taken down in the early 19th century to allow Fleet Street to be expanded. Plans for a new church were laid out by John Shaw, Sr.. Althouth Shaw was never able to see the end product of the church, his son helped to complete it. The church built by the Shaw family is the one that can be seen on Fleet Street today.

Appearance

St. Dunstan in the West is a large church on Fleet Street. It has a door known to spits as the "Impossible Door", due to its being halfway up the church. This is the door that the two Herculeses guard. The church is currently used by Russian Orthodoxes; the Clocker tells George this, and George and Edie see people praying in the church in the morning.

Role In Plot

Stoneheart

George and Edie are taken to the church by the Fusilier in order to provide the children with a safe place to rest. They are granted access inside the Impossible Door by the Herculeses, two spits guarding the door. Once inside, George and Edie fall asleep. George later wakes up and meets the Clocker, who was hiding in the church.

The Clocker listens to George as the boy tells about his experiences, and then the cursed man speaks to George about what he has to do next in his journey by revealing that the "Winding Stairs" the children heard about refer to the Monument to the Great Fire of London. George returns to sleep after this, and when he wakes up again, the Clocker is gone. He and Edie leave the church in the morning.