The nunnery was surrendered to the Crown in 1539, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries,[1] and the buildings, excluding the chapel, were used as an armory for the Tower of London, and later, as a workhouse.

Considerable changes were made to the building: all the ancient monuments were removed, a gallery, a new pulpit and pews were installed, and a steeple was built.

In 1849, a mummified head was found in the under-floor vaults, which was reputed to be that of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, who had been executed for treason by Queen Mary I in 1554.

The head was displayed in a glass case in the vestry,[7] but later went to St Botolph's Aldgate where it was interred in a vault and eventually buried in the churchyard in 1990.

[8] The church escaped the Great Fire of London[9] but fell into disrepair and was rebuilt in brick in 1706, retaining the north wall of the medieval building.