Stow's Life

The monument of Mr John Stow: now standing in the Parish Church of St Andrew Undershaft. John Stow was an antiquarian and chronicler. His 1598 Description of London records with precision the streets and buildings of London at that time. He died in poverty in 1605 and is buried in the church, his monument being made of terracotta. "St Andrew Undershaft dates mostly from about 1530. It is so called because it used to be overshadowed by the great Cornhill Maypole. The maypole was destroyed in 1549, after the curate of St Katharine Cree had denounced it as a heathen idol. Inside are monuments to Hans Holbein, who lived in the parish and died of the plague in 1543, and John Stow, the first chronicler of London. His Survey of London came out in 1598. He died in poverty in 1605." - http://www.cityoflondonchurches.com/standrewundershaft.htm