Editing St Matthias Old Church (section)

==History==
In 1627 the East India Company (EIC) purchased a house in Poplar High Street to be used as a hospital for disabled seamen. In 1618 a corrupt jeweller, Hugh Greete, had been sent back from India for stealing stones. He died in prison in 1619, and directed that a school or hospital be founded from his estate. The Company had set up a shipyard in [[Blackwall, London|Blackwall]] in 1614, so neighbouring Poplar was the obvious choice for location. In 1633 the inhabitants of Poplar and Blackwall – largely employees of the EIC – requested that a chapel be built there as [[St Dunstan's, Stepney]] was too far away for them. When [[Gilbert Dethick]], the [[Lord of the Manor]] of Poplar, died in 1639 he left a further £100 towards the building of the chapel, on the condition that work started within three years of his death.

The beginning of the work coincided with the outbreak of the [[English Civil War]]. [[William Laud]], the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] was executed in 1645 after being prominently involved in debates about church architecture and internal décor. With a further bequest from Sir John Gayer, a director of the EIC, and money direct from the Company, work got properly underway in 1652. The first payment was made to John Tanner, Master of the [[Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers|Bricklayers' Company]] in 1654, who became the principal builder.  

The burial ground was allotted to the chapel in 1657.<ref name="Fuller"/>