Southwark Cathedral
Encyclopedia
Southwark Cathedral or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark
, London
, lies on the south bank of the River Thames
close to London Bridge
.
It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark
. It has been a place of Christian
worship for over 1,000 years, but a cathedral
only since 1905. The present building is mainly Gothic
, from 1220 to 1420, although the nave is a nineteenth-century reconstruction in a thirteenth-century style.
Remarkably the main railway viaduct connecting London Bridge station to Blackfriars
, Cannon Street
and Charing Cross
stations passes only 18 metres from the south-east corner of the cathedral, blocking the view from the south side. This was a compromise when the railway was extended along this viaduct in 1852; the alternative was to demolish the building completely to allow a more direct passage for the line. Borough Market
is immediately to its south and the Hall of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass
is on the riverside part of Montague Close on its north.
The earliest reference to the site was in the Domesday Book
survey of 1086, wherein the "minster" of Southwark seems to be under the control of Bishop Odo of Bayeux (William the Conqueror's half-brother). It is unlikely that this minster pre-dates the conversion of Wessex
in the mid-seventh century, or the foundation of the "burh" ca AD 886. There is no proof of any claims, as presently made by the Cathedral authorities, that a convent
was founded on the site in 606 nor of the claim that a monastery
was founded by St Swithun in the ninth century. The Old English minster was a collegiate church
servicing a south Thames area. In 1106, Henry I
's reign, the latter became an Augustinian Priory
: this was founded with the patronage of the Bishops of Winchester which relationship was re-inforced by the establishment of their London palace immediately neghbouring the Priory to the west in 1149; a remaining wall and rose window of the refectory of the Palace survives on nearby Clink Street. Norman stonework can still be seen, and Thomas Becket
preached here before departing to Canterbury
, days before his murder in 1170.
The Priory was dedicated to the Virgin Mother as 'St Mary' but had the additional soubriquet of 'Overie' ('over the water') to distinguish it from the many other churches in the City with the same name.
The main structure of the present church was built between 1220 and 1420, making it the first Gothic
church in London.
The church was rebuilt following a fire in 1212. In its thirteenth century state - much of the basic layout of which survives today - the church was cruciform in plan, with an aisled bay of six naves, a crossing tower, transepts, a five bay chancel, and a retrochoir or “Lady Chapel” , the form of which has also been interpreted as group of four chapels with separate gabled roofs, two opening from the choir, and two from each aisle. There was a parochial chapel attached to the south transept. The so-called “Bishop’s Chapel” was later added at the east end.
In the 1390s, it was again devastated by fire, and in around 1420, once again a Bishop of Winchester
Henry Beaufort, assisted with the rebuilding of the south transept and the completion of the tower.
The 15th century poet John Gower
was a resident in the Priory precinct and is entombed in the church, with a splendid memorial, with multichrome panels (picture below). There has also survived a recumbent knight effigy in timber (rather than brass or stone) and it is suggested by the church that this dates from the 13th Century
. If so then this is one of the oldest such memorials and some credence can be given to this by their being no heraldic emblems on it.
_by_claes_van_visscher.jpg)
Heresy trials occurred in the Galilee chapel in 1555, under Mary I of England
.
The Priory was dissolved in 1538 and the local church parishioners of St Margaret, Southwark acquired the building from the Crown shortly afterwards to provide a larger parish church for the growing population. It was rededicated to 'St Saviour'.
The church was that of the parish for the Bankside
area and as such it has strong connections with the great Elizabethan dramatists. William Shakespeare
's brother, Edmund
, was buried here in 1607. The grave is unmarked, but there is a commemorative stone in the paving of the choir which was placed there at a later date. The Cathedral instituted a festival to commemorate this cultural history in the 1920s which endured into the urban renewal of the district in the late 20th Century
. As such a large stained glass window dedicated to William, depicting scenes from all of his plays, at the base of which is a statue of the Bard reclining, holding a quill. The church was a popular resting place for dramatists - John Fletcher
and Philip Massinger
are also buried here. These and Edward Alleyne were officers and benefactors of the parish charities and St Saviour's Grammar School.
A business associate of Shakespeare's family was a local butcher and inn-holder who was also a parochial, school and church officer with the Bard's colleagues; this was Robert Harvard whose son John Harvard
was baptised here. He is commemorated by the Harvard Chapel in the North Transept, paid for by Harvard University
alumni resident in England.
The connection with the bishops of Winchester continued after the Reformation. One, Lancelot Andrewes
, part-author of the Authorised Version, was buried in the small chapel at the east end that afterwards became known as the "Bishop's Chapel". After the destruction of the chapel in 1830, his tomb was moved to a new position, immediately behind the high altar.
It was from the tower of Southwark Priory that Czech Wenceslas Hollar
drew the "Long View of London" in 1638, a panorama which has become a definitive impression of 17th century London.
Between 1818 and 1830, the tower and choir were restored by George Gwilt Jun
, and the transepts, less sympathetically by Robert Wallace.. The Bishop’s Chapel and parochial chapel were removed, but plans for the demolition of the retrochoir were averted, and it was restored by Gwilt in 1832. In 1839, the nave was demolished to within seven feet of the ground, and rebuilt to a design by Henry Rose.
On the initiative of Anthony Thorold, Bishop of Rochester, the nave was once again rebuilt between 1890 and 1897 to the designs of Arthur Blomfield
.
Diocese of Southwark
was created.
There are memorials to Isabella Gilmore
, the victims of the Marchioness disaster
, and monuments to Nelson Mandela
and Desmond Tutu
. On 16 November 1996 the cathedral became a focus of controversy by hosting a twentieth-anniversary service for the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement
. Jeffrey John
, the Dean of St Albans and former bishop-elect of Reading, was Canon Theologian of Southwark. In 2001, Mandela opened a new northern 'cloister' on the site of the old monastic one, with a refectory, shop, conference centre, education centre and museum. In 2002, these Millennium buildings received an award for being one of the best new buildings of the year.
The cathedral is used by London South Bank University
for its annual honorary degree
ceremony and the graduation ceremonies of Regent's College
, and by King's College London
for its medical and dental degree ceremonies, an association stemming from the merger with Guy's and St Thomas' teaching hospitals. Indeed, St Thomas' started as an infirmary attached to the Priory of St Mary. The cathedral is also used to host The London Nautical School's
annual Christmas Carol Service.
There are two other cathedrals in Southwark — the Roman Catholic St George's Cathedral Southwark and the Greek Orthodox St Mary's at Camberwell New Road.
Parts of the Doctor Who
episode "The Lazarus Experiment
" take place at Southwark Cathedral but, although the exterior appears, the interior shots were filmed at Wells Cathedral
.
Southwark Cathedral does not have a choir school and so the boys and girls of the Cathedral Choir are drawn from schools throughout London and the surrounding areas. There are six Lay Clerks in the Cathedral Choir and up to six Choral Scholars. Three of the Lay Clerks are supported by endowments from The Ouseley Trust; the Vernon Ellis Foundation and the Friends of Cathedral Music
.
The Cathedral Choir performed the theme song to the television series Mr. Bean
.
. This Choir is intended to be the place both for boys and girls who leave the Cathedral Choirs and also other young singers who wish to maintain their sight-reading skills acquired as choristers and explore a wide range of repertoire under expert tuition. Several members have gone on to university as choral scholars. The upper age for membership of the choir is 25.
The choir sings Compline
on the 4th Sunday of each month at 6.30pm and performs a seasonal concert of music in each of the terms. In addition the choir sings for livery companies in the City of London and for other organisations. A highlight of their career has been singing as part of Her Majesty The Queen's Christmas Broadcast recorded at Southwark Cathedral in 2006.
The Choir is named after the Tudor composer, John Merbecke (1510–1585), who composed one of the most popular settings of the Book of Common Prayer
Communion Service. Merbecke with three other companions was tried for heresy in 1543 in the Retrochoir at Southwark, which was used for this purpose at the time. He was found guilty and condemned to be burned at the stake. His sentence was commuted however by Bishop Stephen Gardiner
the then Bishop of Winchester, who decided that as a mere musician Merbecke 'knew no better' and so was released to continue his music making.
.
Apart from routine maintenance, the instrument remained untouched until 1952, when Henry Willis & Sons
undertook a major rebuild, during which the wind pressures were increased. The balanced Swell pedal and the hitch-down Solo pedal were replaced by Willis's Infinite Speed and Gradation pedals. The Choir organ - which had been housed in front of the Swell - was relocated to the north side and a new console was installed adjacent to it (the original console was on the south side). The Choir organ's Flauto Traverso was replaced by a Nazard, and a Tierce was provided on a new slider. A number of new couplers were also provided and the Violon unit (32'-16'-8') was extended by 12 pipes to create a Viola 4'.
Some years after the rebuild it was thought that the Willis changes, though undoubtedly well-intentioned, detracted too much from the original concept, so the decision was taken to restore the instrument to the Lewis specifications. The Durham-based firm of Harrison and Harrison was engaged and the work was carried out in two stages. Firstly, in 1986, the electrics were renewed and although the Willis console was retained, it was given a solid state action with eight memory levels for the combination pistons and four for the Crescendo pedal. Also, the Willis swell pedals were replaced by balanced pedals. In 1991, the main work was undertaken, including the re-voicing of the stops on Lewis's original wind pressures. A Lewis Flauto Traverso rank was obtained for the Choir organ, to replace the one discarded by Willis, and the Nazard and Tierce were removed - meaning that the Great organ's Octave Quint is now the instrument's only mutation register. The two prepared for drawstops on the Pedal were also disposed of. Thus, the stop list is now as Lewis left it, except for the Viola 4' which was retained because it was a gift in memoriam.
A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, lies on the south bank of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
close to London Bridge
London Bridge
London Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London...
.
It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark
Anglican Diocese of Southwark
The Diocese of Southwark is one of the 44 dioceses of the Church of England, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Diocese forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. It was formed on May 1, 1905 from part of the Diocese of Rochester...
. It has been a place of Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
worship for over 1,000 years, but a cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
only since 1905. The present building is mainly Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
, from 1220 to 1420, although the nave is a nineteenth-century reconstruction in a thirteenth-century style.
Remarkably the main railway viaduct connecting London Bridge station to Blackfriars
Blackfriars station
Blackfriars station, also known as London Blackfriars, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex in the City of London, England. Its platforms will eventually span the River Thames a short distance downstream from Blackfriars Bridge. The current entrance is located on the...
, Cannon Street
Cannon Street station
Cannon Street station, also known as London Cannon Street, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex in the City of London, England. It is built on the site of the medieval Steelyard, the trading base in England of the Hanseatic League...
and Charing Cross
Charing Cross railway station
Charing Cross railway station, also known as London Charing Cross, is a central London railway terminus in the City of Westminster, England. It is one of 18 stations managed by Network Rail, and trains serving it are operated by Southeastern...
stations passes only 18 metres from the south-east corner of the cathedral, blocking the view from the south side. This was a compromise when the railway was extended along this viaduct in 1852; the alternative was to demolish the building completely to allow a more direct passage for the line. Borough Market
Borough Market
Borough Market is a wholesale and retail food market in Southwark, London, England. It is one of the largest food markets in London, and sells a large variety of foods from all over the world.-Information and History:...
is immediately to its south and the Hall of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass
Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass
The Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Guild of Glaziers, or makers of Glass, the Company's forerunner, existed as early as 1328. It received a Royal Charter of incorporation in 1638...
is on the riverside part of Montague Close on its north.
Saxon and medieval
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
survey of 1086, wherein the "minster" of Southwark seems to be under the control of Bishop Odo of Bayeux (William the Conqueror's half-brother). It is unlikely that this minster pre-dates the conversion of Wessex
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
in the mid-seventh century, or the foundation of the "burh" ca AD 886. There is no proof of any claims, as presently made by the Cathedral authorities, that a convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
was founded on the site in 606 nor of the claim that a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
was founded by St Swithun in the ninth century. The Old English minster was a collegiate church
Collegiate church
In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons; a non-monastic, or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost...
servicing a south Thames area. In 1106, Henry I
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
's reign, the latter became an Augustinian Priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
: this was founded with the patronage of the Bishops of Winchester which relationship was re-inforced by the establishment of their London palace immediately neghbouring the Priory to the west in 1149; a remaining wall and rose window of the refectory of the Palace survives on nearby Clink Street. Norman stonework can still be seen, and Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
preached here before departing to Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
, days before his murder in 1170.
The Priory was dedicated to the Virgin Mother as 'St Mary' but had the additional soubriquet of 'Overie' ('over the water') to distinguish it from the many other churches in the City with the same name.
The main structure of the present church was built between 1220 and 1420, making it the first Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
church in London.
The church was rebuilt following a fire in 1212. In its thirteenth century state - much of the basic layout of which survives today - the church was cruciform in plan, with an aisled bay of six naves, a crossing tower, transepts, a five bay chancel, and a retrochoir or “Lady Chapel” , the form of which has also been interpreted as group of four chapels with separate gabled roofs, two opening from the choir, and two from each aisle. There was a parochial chapel attached to the south transept. The so-called “Bishop’s Chapel” was later added at the east end.
In the 1390s, it was again devastated by fire, and in around 1420, once again a Bishop of Winchester
Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...
Henry Beaufort, assisted with the rebuilding of the south transept and the completion of the tower.
The 15th century poet John Gower
John Gower
John Gower was an English poet, a contemporary of William Langland and a personal friend of Geoffrey Chaucer. He is remembered primarily for three major works, the Mirroir de l'Omme, Vox Clamantis, and Confessio Amantis, three long poems written in French, Latin, and English respectively, which...
was a resident in the Priory precinct and is entombed in the church, with a splendid memorial, with multichrome panels (picture below). There has also survived a recumbent knight effigy in timber (rather than brass or stone) and it is suggested by the church that this dates from the 13th Century
13th century
As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 through 1300 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian/Common Era...
. If so then this is one of the oldest such memorials and some credence can be given to this by their being no heraldic emblems on it.
Sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
.
The Priory was dissolved in 1538 and the local church parishioners of St Margaret, Southwark acquired the building from the Crown shortly afterwards to provide a larger parish church for the growing population. It was rededicated to 'St Saviour'.
The church was that of the parish for the Bankside
Bankside
Bankside is a district of London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the River Thames, east of Charing Cross, running from a little west of Blackfriars Bridge to just a short distance before London Bridge at St Mary Overie Dock to...
area and as such it has strong connections with the great Elizabethan dramatists. William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's brother, Edmund
Edmund Shakespeare
Edmund Shakespeare was a 16th and 17th century English actor.-Life:He was the son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden and thus the younger brother of the playwright William Shakespeare. He followed William to London to become an actor. While an actor, he had an affair with an unknown woman around...
, was buried here in 1607. The grave is unmarked, but there is a commemorative stone in the paving of the choir which was placed there at a later date. The Cathedral instituted a festival to commemorate this cultural history in the 1920s which endured into the urban renewal of the district in the late 20th Century
20th century
Many people define the 20th century as running from January 1, 1901 to December 31, 2000, others would rather define it as beginning on January 1, 1900....
. As such a large stained glass window dedicated to William, depicting scenes from all of his plays, at the base of which is a statue of the Bard reclining, holding a quill. The church was a popular resting place for dramatists - John Fletcher
John Fletcher (playwright)
John Fletcher was a Jacobean playwright. Following William Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivalled Shakespeare's...
and Philip Massinger
Philip Massinger
Philip Massinger was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including A New Way to Pay Old Debts, The City Madam and The Roman Actor, are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and social themes.-Early life:The son of Arthur Massinger or Messenger, he was baptized at St....
are also buried here. These and Edward Alleyne were officers and benefactors of the parish charities and St Saviour's Grammar School.
A business associate of Shakespeare's family was a local butcher and inn-holder who was also a parochial, school and church officer with the Bard's colleagues; this was Robert Harvard whose son John Harvard
John Harvard (clergyman)
John Harvard was an English minister in America whose deathbed bequest to the Massachusetts Bay Colony's fledgling New College was so gratefully received that the school was renamed Harvard College in his honor.-Biography:Harvard was born and raised in Southwark, England, the fourth of nine...
was baptised here. He is commemorated by the Harvard Chapel in the North Transept, paid for by Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
alumni resident in England.
The connection with the bishops of Winchester continued after the Reformation. One, Lancelot Andrewes
Lancelot Andrewes
Lancelot Andrewes was an English bishop and scholar, who held high positions in the Church of England during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. During the latter's reign, Andrewes served successively as Bishop of Chichester, Ely and Winchester and oversaw the translation of the...
, part-author of the Authorised Version, was buried in the small chapel at the east end that afterwards became known as the "Bishop's Chapel". After the destruction of the chapel in 1830, his tomb was moved to a new position, immediately behind the high altar.
It was from the tower of Southwark Priory that Czech Wenceslas Hollar
Wenceslas Hollar
Václav Hollar , known in England as Wenceslaus or Wenceslas and in Germany as Wenzel Hollar , was a Bohemian etcher, who lived in England for much of his life...
drew the "Long View of London" in 1638, a panorama which has become a definitive impression of 17th century London.
Nineteenth century
By the early 19th century the fabric of the church had fallen into disrepair, All the medieval furnishings were gone, and the interior was as Francis Bumpus later described it, "pewed and galleried to a fearful extent".Between 1818 and 1830, the tower and choir were restored by George Gwilt Jun
George Gwilt the younger
-Biography:Gwilt, born in Southwark 8 May 1775, was elder son of George Gwilt the elder. He was articled to his father, and succeeded him in business as an architect...
, and the transepts, less sympathetically by Robert Wallace.. The Bishop’s Chapel and parochial chapel were removed, but plans for the demolition of the retrochoir were averted, and it was restored by Gwilt in 1832. In 1839, the nave was demolished to within seven feet of the ground, and rebuilt to a design by Henry Rose.
On the initiative of Anthony Thorold, Bishop of Rochester, the nave was once again rebuilt between 1890 and 1897 to the designs of Arthur Blomfield
Arthur Blomfield
Sir Arthur William Blomfield was an English architect.-Background:The fourth son of Charles James Blomfield, an Anglican Bishop of London helpfully began a programme of new church construction in the capital. Born in Fulham Palace, Arthur Blomfield was educated at Rugby and Trinity College,...
.
Since 1900
The collegiate parish church of 'St Saviour' was designated as a cathedral in 1905 when the Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
Diocese of Southwark
Anglican Diocese of Southwark
The Diocese of Southwark is one of the 44 dioceses of the Church of England, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Diocese forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. It was formed on May 1, 1905 from part of the Diocese of Rochester...
was created.
There are memorials to Isabella Gilmore
Isabella Gilmore
Isabella Gilmore was an English churchwoman who oversaw the revival of the Deaconess Order in the Anglican Communion. Isabella served actively in the poorest parishes in South London for almost two decades and she is remembered with a commemoration in the Calendar of saints in some parts of the...
, the victims of the Marchioness disaster
Marchioness disaster
The Marchioness disaster occurred on the River Thames in London in the early hours of 20 August 1989. The pleasure boat Marchioness sank after being run down by the dredger Bowbelle, near Cannon Street Railway Bridge. There were 131 people on the Marchioness. Some were members of the crew, some...
, and monuments to Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
and Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
. On 16 November 1996 the cathedral became a focus of controversy by hosting a twentieth-anniversary service for the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement
Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement
The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement describes itself as "a UK-based international Charity who are praying for an inclusive church".The Gay Christian Movement was founded in 1976 with the Revd Richard Kirker as its first General Secretary...
. Jeffrey John
Jeffrey John
Jeffrey Philip Hywel John SCP is a Church of England priest and the current Dean of St Albans. He made headlines in 2003 when he was the first person to have openly been in a same-sex relationship to be nominated as a Church of England bishop...
, the Dean of St Albans and former bishop-elect of Reading, was Canon Theologian of Southwark. In 2001, Mandela opened a new northern 'cloister' on the site of the old monastic one, with a refectory, shop, conference centre, education centre and museum. In 2002, these Millennium buildings received an award for being one of the best new buildings of the year.
Other information
London South Bank University
London South Bank University is a university in south London. With over 25,000 students and 1,700 staff, it is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name...
for its annual honorary degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
ceremony and the graduation ceremonies of Regent's College
Regent's College
Regent's College is located in Regent's Park, London, England. It is one of the two largest groups of buildings in the park, along with the London Zoo, and was built on the site of South Villa, one of the original eight Regent's Park villas....
, and by King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
for its medical and dental degree ceremonies, an association stemming from the merger with Guy's and St Thomas' teaching hospitals. Indeed, St Thomas' started as an infirmary attached to the Priory of St Mary. The cathedral is also used to host The London Nautical School's
London Nautical School
The London Nautical School was founded in 1915, as a consequence of the official report into the loss of the Titanic. The primary aim of the school is "to educate and prepare pupils to meet the needs of society either at sea or in any other occupation where responsibility, attention to duty and...
annual Christmas Carol Service.
There are two other cathedrals in Southwark — the Roman Catholic St George's Cathedral Southwark and the Greek Orthodox St Mary's at Camberwell New Road.
Parts of the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
episode "The Lazarus Experiment
The Lazarus Experiment
"The Lazarus Experiment" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 5 May 2007 and is the sixth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It stars David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones as his companion, played...
" take place at Southwark Cathedral but, although the exterior appears, the interior shots were filmed at Wells Cathedral
Wells Cathedral
Wells Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, who lives at the adjacent Bishop's Palace....
.
Main Cathedral Choir
The Cathedral Choir is supported financially by the St Olave's & St Saviour's Schools Foundation, which stems from the two parochial schools set up in the 1560s which still hold their commemoration and annual services here as their 'foundation' church.Southwark Cathedral does not have a choir school and so the boys and girls of the Cathedral Choir are drawn from schools throughout London and the surrounding areas. There are six Lay Clerks in the Cathedral Choir and up to six Choral Scholars. Three of the Lay Clerks are supported by endowments from The Ouseley Trust; the Vernon Ellis Foundation and the Friends of Cathedral Music
Friends of Cathedral Music
The Friends of Cathedral Music is a charity which seeks to maintain and expand the work of choral foundations of cathedrals, collegiate churches, chapels, and other appropriate places of worship in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland...
.
The Cathedral Choir performed the theme song to the television series Mr. Bean
Mr. Bean
Mr. Bean is a British comedy television programme series of 14 half-hour episodes written by and starring Rowan Atkinson as the title character. Different episodes were also written by Robin Driscoll, Richard Curtis and one by Ben Elton. The pilot episode was broadcast on ITV on 1 January 1990,...
.
Merbecke Choir
In 2004 the Cathedral founded the Southwark Cathedral Merbecke ChoirSouthwark Cathedral Merbecke Choir
The Southwark Cathedral Merbecke Choir was established in late 2003 to provide a choir for ex-cathedral choristers to continue singing...
. This Choir is intended to be the place both for boys and girls who leave the Cathedral Choirs and also other young singers who wish to maintain their sight-reading skills acquired as choristers and explore a wide range of repertoire under expert tuition. Several members have gone on to university as choral scholars. The upper age for membership of the choir is 25.
The choir sings Compline
Compline
Compline is the final church service of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours. The English word Compline is derived from the Latin completorium, as Compline is the completion of the working day. The word was first used in this sense about the beginning of the 6th century by St...
on the 4th Sunday of each month at 6.30pm and performs a seasonal concert of music in each of the terms. In addition the choir sings for livery companies in the City of London and for other organisations. A highlight of their career has been singing as part of Her Majesty The Queen's Christmas Broadcast recorded at Southwark Cathedral in 2006.
The Choir is named after the Tudor composer, John Merbecke (1510–1585), who composed one of the most popular settings of the Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
Communion Service. Merbecke with three other companions was tried for heresy in 1543 in the Retrochoir at Southwark, which was used for this purpose at the time. He was found guilty and condemned to be burned at the stake. His sentence was commuted however by Bishop Stephen Gardiner
Stephen Gardiner
Stephen Gardiner was an English Roman Catholic bishop and politician during the English Reformation period who served as Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I of England.-Early life:...
the then Bishop of Winchester, who decided that as a mere musician Merbecke 'knew no better' and so was released to continue his music making.
Thursday Singers
The Thursday Singers are made up of people from the local community, residents and those in work in the shops and businesses around the Cathedral, who simply enjoy singing. There is no audition, just a love of choral music. The Thursday Singers sing for Festival Eucharists which fall on a weekday and also sing one service of Choral Evensong most terms. They also lead the singing at the Cathedral's Carol Sing-In before Christmas.Organ
The Cathedral's organ was built by Lewis & Co. of Ferndale Road, Brixton, south London, and completed in 1897. Thomas Christopher Lewis, the company's founder, was renowned for building instruments that had a bright, vibrant tone which, in part, was due to his use of low wind pressures. Consequently, he was somewhat out-of-step with the trend at the time, which was tending towards high wind pressures and rather thicker tone. The instrument's action was, and is, electro-pneumatic with slider chests, and the main case was designed by the noted Victorian architect Arthur BlomfieldArthur Blomfield
Sir Arthur William Blomfield was an English architect.-Background:The fourth son of Charles James Blomfield, an Anglican Bishop of London helpfully began a programme of new church construction in the capital. Born in Fulham Palace, Arthur Blomfield was educated at Rugby and Trinity College,...
.
Apart from routine maintenance, the instrument remained untouched until 1952, when Henry Willis & Sons
Henry Willis & Sons
thumb|250px|St Bees Priory organ, the last major instrument to be personally supervised by "Father" Henry Willis, 1899Henry Willis & Sons is a British firm of pipe organ builders founded in 1845 in Liverpool. Although most of their installations have been in the UK, examples can be found in other...
undertook a major rebuild, during which the wind pressures were increased. The balanced Swell pedal and the hitch-down Solo pedal were replaced by Willis's Infinite Speed and Gradation pedals. The Choir organ - which had been housed in front of the Swell - was relocated to the north side and a new console was installed adjacent to it (the original console was on the south side). The Choir organ's Flauto Traverso was replaced by a Nazard, and a Tierce was provided on a new slider. A number of new couplers were also provided and the Violon unit (32'-16'-8') was extended by 12 pipes to create a Viola 4'.
Some years after the rebuild it was thought that the Willis changes, though undoubtedly well-intentioned, detracted too much from the original concept, so the decision was taken to restore the instrument to the Lewis specifications. The Durham-based firm of Harrison and Harrison was engaged and the work was carried out in two stages. Firstly, in 1986, the electrics were renewed and although the Willis console was retained, it was given a solid state action with eight memory levels for the combination pistons and four for the Crescendo pedal. Also, the Willis swell pedals were replaced by balanced pedals. In 1991, the main work was undertaken, including the re-voicing of the stops on Lewis's original wind pressures. A Lewis Flauto Traverso rank was obtained for the Choir organ, to replace the one discarded by Willis, and the Nazard and Tierce were removed - meaning that the Great organ's Octave Quint is now the instrument's only mutation register. The two prepared for drawstops on the Pedal were also disposed of. Thus, the stop list is now as Lewis left it, except for the Viola 4' which was retained because it was a gift in memoriam.
A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.
List of organists
- 1897 Alfred Madeley Richardson
- 1908 Edgar Tom CookE. T. CookEdgar Thomas Cook CBE D.Mus. FRCO FRCM was an English organist and composer .Edgar Cook was born in Worcester. He was sent to the Royal Grammar School Worcester and began his career as a church organist in 1898. In 1904 he became assistant organist of Worcester Cathedral under Sir Ivor Atkins...
- 1953 Sidney Schofield CampbellSidney CampbellSidney Schofield Campbell, , was an English organist.-Education:He studied organ under Ernest Bullock and Harold Darke. In 1931 he was awarded the FRCO.-Career:He was*organist of St...
- 1956 Harold DexterHarold DexterHarold Dester was a British organist, Professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama...
- 1968 Ernest Herbert Warrell
- 1976 Harry Wakefield Bramma
- 1989 Peter Michael Wright
Assistant organists
- F. Stanley Winter
- Charles Edgar Ford 1908 - 1917
- Francis W. Sutton 1917 - 1922
- J.C. Bradshaw 1922
- Ralph William DownesRalph DownesRalph William Downes CBE was an English organist, organ designer, teacher and music director, and was formerly Professor of Organ of the Royal College of Music....
1923 - 1925 - Philip Miles 1934 - 1935
- Ernest F.A. Suttle 1936
- Ernest Herbert Warrell 1937 - 1954
- William Allen Humpherson 1955 - 1956
- Denys Darlow 1957 -
- Arthur Newell 1962 -
- Christopher Jenkins 1971
- Nicholas Woods 1975 - 1978
- John ScottJohn Scott (organist)John Gavin Scott LVO is an English-born organist and choirmaster. He directed the Choir of St. Paul's Cathedral in London from 1990 to 2004. He now directs the Choir of Men and Boys of Saint Thomas Church on 53rd Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City...
1978 - 1985 - Andrew Lumsden 1985 - 1988
- Martin Wightman
- Stephen Layton
- Stephen Disley
Transport links
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| London Underground | London Bridge London Bridge station London Bridge railway station is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex in the London Borough of Southwark, occupying a large area on two levels immediately south-east of London Bridge and 1.6 miles east of Charing Cross. It is one of the oldest railway stations in the...   |
| National Rail | London Bridge London Bridge station London Bridge railway station is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex in the London Borough of Southwark, occupying a large area on two levels immediately south-east of London Bridge and 1.6 miles east of Charing Cross. It is one of the oldest railway stations in the... |
See also
See also the List of Organ Scholars at Southwark Cathedral.- List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom
- St Paul's CathedralSt Paul's CathedralSt Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
- the Anglican cathedral in the neighbouring Diocese of LondonDiocese of LondonThe Anglican Diocese of London forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England.Historically the diocese covered a large area north of the Thames and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the north and west. The present diocese covers and 17 London boroughs, covering most of Greater... - St George's Cathedral, SouthwarkSt George's Cathedral, SouthwarkSt George's Cathedral, Southwark, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the Archdiocese of Southwark, south London.The Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Roman Catholic Province of Southwark which covers the Archdiocese of Southwark and the Dioceses of Arundel and Brighton, Portsmouth, and Plymouth...
- the Roman Catholic cathedral in the Archdiocese of SouthwarkArchdiocese of SouthwarkThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic archdiocese in England. The Archepiscopal see is St. George's Cathedral, Southwark and is headed by the Archbishop of Southwark... - List of churches and cathedrals of London
- Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of EnglandArchitecture of the medieval cathedrals of EnglandThe medieval cathedrals of England, dating from between approximately 1040 and 1540, are a group of twenty-six buildings which together constitute a major aspect of the country’s artistic heritage and are among the most significant material symbols of Christianity. Though diversified in style, they...
- English Gothic architectureEnglish Gothic architectureEnglish Gothic is the name of the architectural style that flourished in England from about 1180 until about 1520.-Introduction:As with the Gothic architecture of other parts of Europe, English Gothic is defined by its pointed arches, vaulted roofs, buttresses, large windows, and spires...
- Church of EnglandChurch of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
External links
- Southwark Cathedral
- London SE1: Attractions & Museums: Southwark Cathedral
- Flickr images tagged Southwark Cathedral
- Mystery Worshipper Report at the Ship of Fools websiteShip of Fools (website)Ship of Fools is a UK-based Christian website. It was first launched as a magazine in 1977. The magazine folded in 1983 and was resurrected as a website on April Fool's Day, 1998. Subtitled "the magazine of Christian unrest", Ship of Fools pokes fun and asks critical questions about the Christian...