There has been a church on this site since AD 606. However archaeological discoveries show evidence of pagan worship here well before that. The cathedral stands at the oldest crossing point of the Thames at what was, for many centuries, the only entrance to the City of London across the river. In 1106 the building became an Augustine priory dedicated to St Mary and later known as St Mary Overy (over the river)......see the image of a nearby plaque concerning this legend. The cathedral was under the care of the bishops of Winchester who lived in the palace nearby .....see further image of its remains. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536 the church became the property of King Henry VIII and was re-named St Saviour's, though the old name remained in popular usage for many years.
A group of merchants from the congregation bought the church from King James I in 1611. By this time the large church served a very colourful area of merchants, courtiers, actors, foreign craftsmen, and the ladies from the Bankside brothels. Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries various repairs and alterations were made to the building and by the 1820s the state of the it became a real cause for concern. It was suggested that St Saviour's be demolished and a smaller church be built on another site. After much argument the decision was made to restore the building, and it was largely due this that major parts of today's Cathedral are still standing.
By the mid 19th century, living and working condition in south London were intolerable. It was proposed that a new diocese should be created and a new nave was designed in 1895 in a thirteenth-century style. Then St Saviour's church became Southwark Cathedral in 1905. The diocese stretches from the Thames to Gatwick Airport. It has a population of two and a half million people, served by over 300 parishes.
Southwark Cathedral is the oldest cathedral church building in London. The present building is mainly Gothic, from 1220 to 1420, apart from the nave. It has 12 bells dating from 1735 and a thirteenth bell that was added in 2005.
Regretfully we were only allowed a peep inside by the entrance, as a long service was in progress. However we could see how huge and exceptionally beautiful it is, full of statues and paintings. Also inside is the Marchioness Memorial to the 51 people who lost their lives when a River Thames pleasure boat sank near the Cathedral in 1989.