All Hallows Barking

All Hallows Barking by the Tower stands as the oldest church in the City of London, founded in 675 AD by the Saxon Abbey of Barking. Its location near the Tower of London has given it a dark and storied past—it became the temporary resting place for the heads and bodies of those executed at the Tower, including Sir Thomas More, Archbishop Laud, and Bishop John Fisher. The church contains a Saxon arch from 675 AD and Roman tiles from the 2nd century, layers of history that have created one of London’s most paranormally active sites.

The church’s crypt, containing Roman tessellated pavement and Saxon artifacts, is a hotspot for supernatural activity. Visitors report seeing the apparitions of Roman soldiers marching through the undercroft, visible from the waist up as they walk along the original Roman ground level, now buried beneath centuries of accumulated earth. The sounds of Latin prayers and Roman military commands have been heard echoing in the crypt. Some witnesses describe encountering a ghostly Roman child, believed to have been buried in the original Roman cemetery that occupied this site.

The church’s connection to Tower executions has left a profound spiritual imprint. Staff and visitors report seeing headless figures wandering through the church, believed to be execution victims. The spirit of a monk has been observed in the sanctuary, and the ghost of a woman in Tudor dress appears near the font where Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth I) was baptized. During World War II, All Hallows was severely damaged by bombing but miraculously the medieval crypt survived. Witnesses claim the church is protected by benevolent spirits who warned a verger to leave the building moments before a direct hit during the Blitz. Paranormal investigators have recorded numerous EVPs, electromagnetic anomalies, and unexplained shadows in this ancient holy site that bridges Roman, Saxon, medieval, and modern London.