ST ALFEGE Church recently celebrated the thousandth anniversary of the martyrdom of its patron saint, Alfege. The current church is the third to occupy the site since Alfege's murder at the hands of Vikings a millennium ago. The church was built early in the 18th century, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and funded by the Commission for Building Fifty New Churches.

On the north and south sides of the church are entrances into the crypt (above). It was used for the interment of bodies in family vaults between the 1750 and 1859.

The St Alfege Church crypt is the final resting place for famous names from Greenwich history such as General Wolfe and John Julius Angerstein. Bodies including that of Thomas Tallis are buried below the crypt, from the church's previous incarnation.

The church has in the past opened the crypt as part of Open House weekend so look out for opportunities to visit this year.

The current church will have its 300th anniversary in 2018, and restoring the crypt to make it more accessible is one of the aims of the St Alfege Restoration project.