The original (probably pre-Norman) church on the site was dedicated to St Edmund the King and Martyr. In 1137 it was given to the Priory of St Bartholomew. From some point during the Crusades of that century the church was re-dedicated: to saint Edmund and the Holy Sepulchre, venerating the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Knights passed by on the way to the Holy Lands. This name became contracted linguistically and in the 21st century reference to the saint-king has been overwhelmingly dropped. The very early lessening of the first dedicaton helped to reserve that name for the small church which is east of St Paul's Cathedral named St Edmund, King and Martyr.