In the depths of the courtyard at the corner of Bolshaya Moskovskaya Street and Rogatitsa stands the Church of St. Clement. It resembles the temples of the last century of independent Novgorod, although it was built during the Moscow period. The architectural traditions of Novgorod are preserved in it, suggesting that it was constructed by a local guild.

The only element indicating the Moscow era is the low basement, characteristic of that time. It is also noted that the church is entirely made of brick, which is considered a sign of the Moscow state, although similar precedents could have arisen in Novgorod. For example, the Church of the Assumption on Pirogoshcha in pre-Mongol Kiev was built of brick, although limestone was mainly used there, as in Novgorod.

According to the Novgorod IV Chronicle, the Church of St. Clement was erected in 1519 at the behest of the Moscow merchant Vasily Tarakanov on the site of the destroyed church of the same name from the time of Novgorod's independence. On the opposite side of Rogatitsa lies a mysterious brick ruin known as the house of Marfa Posadnitsa, which remained after the Tarakanov family disappeared during the Oprichnina massacre of 1570. The old church, according to the chronicle, "fell" in 1517, and it is possible that it was simply renovated, preserving the main structures. The church at this location is first mentioned in the Novgorod Third Chronicle under the year 1153, but archaeological data indicate that the city did not extend that far north at that time.

Since the 14th century, the Church of Clement has existed at this site and suffered from fires. The current church is one of the most beautiful buildings on the Trading Side of Veliky Novgorod. In the 17th century, a bell tower with a pointed roof, similar to the belfries of the churches of Dmitry of Thessalonica and Theodore Stratilates, was added to it. Currently, St. Clement's Church is inactive and has housed a warehouse since 1930. During the war, it suffered significant damage but retained its main forms. In the 1950s, it was restored to its historical appearance, again housing a warehouse. The late bell tower was dismantled for bricks to restore Novgorod houses.

During those years, the question of Novgorod's future was acute: would it be a dead city or be reborn as a full-fledged center? The use of bricks from the church's bell tower played its role in its reconstruction.