Constructed in 1714 following the collapse of the original medieval church, St Alfege was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor as part of an act of parliament to build 50 new churches in London. It is one of twelve – known as the Queen Anne Churches – that were built, with six designed by Hawksmoor; the others being St George’s Church, Bloomsbury, Christ Church, Spitalfields, St George in the East, Wapping, St Mary Woolnoth and St Anne’s, Limehouse.
The tower of the church was not Hawksmoor – the medieval church tower was retained and clad over – and a new spire added in 1730 by John James.
The church has a crypt containing around 60 vaults; it is also the burial place of General James Wolfe.