The Churchwardens were delighted to host a Thanksgiving reception for all those who have been involved in the restoration of the Piero Capponi Ledger Stone that returned to the church this summer. 

Capponi was born into a significant Florentine family. Exiled from Tuscany for plotting against the Medici, he came to London and worked for Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth I’s spymaster, who lived opposite the church. Capponi died of the plague in 1582 and is buried under the north chapel floor. The alabaster figure of Capponi is considered one of the finest sixteenth century monuments in the City.

The ledger stone was carved in Flanders. It is thought that the stonemason re-cycled an existing memorial from a local church, originally commemorating Augustine van Thielt, a merchant who lived in Bruges. The stone was inscribed after his death in 1515, with later inscriptions added commemorating his daughters and wife.

The stone was shipped to London and laid over Capponi’s burial place, remaining there for four centuries until the church was damaged by enemy bombing in 1941. During the salvage and restoration work the stone was moved to the churchyard and its link to Capponi was lost.

In 2012 the stone was recovered from the churchyard in several fragments. In 2025 it was cleaned and reassembled by specialist conservators Cliveden Conservation, led by Albert Traby, Senior Stone Conservator.

At the Thanksgiving Reception, Dr Jim Harris, Teaching Curator of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and Lay Minister of St Olave Hart Street, explored the restoration project through an artistic, historical and theological perspective, highlighting the unanswered questions that still remain about the stone and its repurposing and reminding us that the church continues to be a place which draws the lives of people from all over the world together today.

We are especially grateful to Jim and to Churchwarden Penny Ritchie-Calder for overseeing the project, to Albert and the team at Cliveden Conservation for their care and diligence restoring the stone and to the individuals and organisations who made grants and donations to enable the project to proceed, including: Friends of City Churches, Francis Coales Charitable Foundation, Benefact Trust, Monumental Brass Society, Mrs Baille, Oliver D Harris, many of whom were able to join us at the reception.

The ledger stone is placed on the north wall of the Parish Chapel in the church. Adjacent to it is a replica showing the reverse of the tomb and the inscription commemorating the life of Augustine van Thielt and his family.