Church of St Mary Axe the location of the Baltic Exchange until it was destroyed by an IRA bomb in 1992; the Exchange is now located at No. 38 just to the north of its former address. On the site of the old Baltic Exchange now stands 30 St Mary Axe, a skyscraper known colloquially as the Gherkin because of its distinctive shape. The street of St Mary Axe was also the location of the sorcerer's shop in Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta "The Sorcerer", which documents the former pronunciation "Simmery Axe". The church that remains in the modern-day St Mary Axe is St Andrew Undershaft.
Church of St Mary Axe Church of St Mary Axe St Mary Axe was a mediaeval church in the City of London. Its full name was "St Mary, St Ursula and her 11,000 Virgins", and it was also sometimes referred to as "St Mary Pellipar". Its common name (also "St Mary" [or "Marie"] "at the Axe") derives from the sign of an axe over the east end of the church. The church's patrons were the Skinners' Company. According to John Stow in "A Survey of London" (1603), the name derived from "the signe of an Axe, over against the East end thereof". However, a document