A fire broke out this morning at a Shoreditch church which is immortalised in a nursery rhyme.
Around 20 firefighters tackled a fire in the crypt of St Leonard’s Church in Shoreditch High Street, which is one of the churches referred to in nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons.
Four fire engines from Clerkenwell, Shoreditch, Kingsland, and Whitechapel spent 50 minutes dealing with the blaze after they received a call at 9.11am.
A spokesman from the London Fire Brigade said: “The fire, which caused a lot of smoke, was very minor and only a small part of a basement was damaged. No one was hurt.”
Rev Paul Turp, of St Leonard’s Church, said: “It was just a little fire in the crypt. Smouldering candle scorched some plastic chairs. We have a very sophisticated and sensitive alarm system so as soon as smoke got into the church we were aware. The Fire Brigade very competent and fast. They checked the building and all is fine.”
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