The Phoenix of Fleet Street | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: The Phoenix of Fleet Street | Previous Challenge Entry
By Corinne Smelker
03/03/21
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From the moment Wynkyn de Worde stepped into the church’s courtyard he knew he’d found the right place. Conveniently located near Fleet Street, which in later years became famous for publishing, printing and journalism, the church had what he needed, space.

St. Bride’s church, named after Saint Brigid, also known as Bride, the Abbess of Kildare in Ireland, and a Celtic Christian saint, was well attended by monarchs, statesmen, judges, and other influential men who frequented the church for their political and religious needs. de Worde knew early on that in order to get his business started, he’d need the backing of all these powerful men.

Bright and early one summer morning in 1501 de Worde directed several local men as they moved his equipment into the sheltered courtyard. A crowd quickly formed as they watched de Worde bustle about, giving directions, shouting orders, and even getting down on the ground to wrestle obstinate pieces of this strange machine together.

At the end of a long, arduous day de Worde turned to the onlookers. “With God’s help and blessing I will change the world of print.” Most didn’t react, and the others who murmured were not sure what he meant. He motioned to several men who started to work on the huge machine and before their eyes, they produced a sheet of paper with elaborate swirls, and letters. Most of the bystanders had no idea what they were looking at but cheered nonetheless. The clergymen, however, were overjoyed. St. Bride’s church’s clergy enjoyed a high rate of literacy and education, and now they would have a printing press right on their doorstep.

In the coming months and years de Worde demonstrated exactly what he meant when he said he’d change the world of print. Unlike printers of his day, he moved printing away from its late-medieval beginnings and toward moveable print. He also printed children’s books, fiction and poetry, at a time when everyone else was only printing religious tomes. He likewise innovated the use of illustrations, moving away from woodcuts to print.

St. Bride’s Church’s proximity to Fleet Street meant it was only a matter of time before publishers and other printers set up shop. For centuries Fleet Street has been the epicenter of the print and journalistic world, and The British Association of Journalists, among others, are still located along Fleet Street.

de Worde died in 1534 but not before publishing over 600 books, many of them geared to the everyday person, not the clergy, the statesmen, the judges or the monarchy. He ensured that books, and therefore knowledge, was attainable to all, regardless of class, or station in life.

St. Bride was commemorated for her work with the poor as well as for her generosity to all. I wonder, when de Worde chose the church named after her to build his printing press, whether he was hoping in some small way to continue her legacy, and in doing so, honouring the Lord?

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