Tower Ceiling, Southwark Cathedral - a photo on Flickriver

Southwark Cathedral is unique among English Anglican cathedrals in being separated by little more than a mile and the River Thames from it's neighbouring diocesan church, St Paul's. This odd arrangement derives from Southwark being a young diocese, since despite being one of London's oldest churches, it has only had cathedral status since 1905. Surprisingly the new Southwark diocese wasn't even carved out of the London one, since everything south of the Thames had traditionally been part of the Diocese of Winchester.

The site goes back to Roman times, with remains of a villa beneath the present building. A church has probably existed here since the 10th century (first recorded in the Domesday book in 1086) though the present cruciform building is mostly the result of 13th century rebuilding. The church was then known as St Mary Overie ('over the river') and served a college of priests.

Following the Reformation it was stripped of it's collegiate function and redesignated as the parish church of St Saviour. For a while the parishoners rented the building from the Crown until they were able to buy it for their own use in 1614. Certain chapels ceased to be used and the building suffered a long decline, culminating in the early 19th century when neighbouring London Bridge was being rebuilt, and road enlargement encroached on the churchyard. There were calls to demolish the church but luckily preservationists won the day, though two projecting chapels were lost at this time.

Though the east end was repaired the neglect had taken it's toll on the nave and in 1832 it's roof was removed, leaving it open to the elements for seven years until it was tragically demolished and replaced with a cheap and nasty brick substitute. Happily this was itself replaced in 1890 by the present nave by Sir Arthur Blomfield, a very successful attempt to replicate the surviving medieval choir which restored harmony and dignity to the building in preparation for it's rise to cathedral rank in 1905.

Today the church is a haven of peace in one of the most unsympathetic settings of any English cathedral, hemmed in by roads, car parks and a railway viaduct that passes through the former churchyard! Somewhat choked by all this development, the exterior looks mostly Victorian, thanks to the new nave and general refacing of the older parts, except for the 15th century central tower. The interior however is a delight, and transports the visitor back to the 1200s, despite the newness of the nave and it's aisles, which blend beautifully with the medieval choir and transepts. The focal point of the interior is the high altar screen of c1520, adorned with niches containing statues (all Victorian replacements).

There are many tombs and monuments in the cathedral spanning all periods and styles, and several have been recoloured (thanks to a slightly over enthusiastic campaign in the 1960s). The most notable tombs include that of the poet John Gower (14th century) in the north aisle, and 16th century Anglican divine, Bishop Lancelot Andrewes in the choir.There is a modern monument to Shakespeare bearing his effigy (he is believed to have worshiped here,being close to the Globe and Rose theatres, his brother Edmund is buried nearby). Further medieval and later monuments are in the choir aisles, and a rich collection of Baroque wall tablets adorn the transepts.

The furnishings are generally Victorian, whilst the stained glass is mostly later, the most prominent being Ninian Comper's 1950s east window of Christ in glory and Henry Holiday's superb Pre-Raphaelite west window on the theme of Creation. Most of the Victorian glass was lost to wartime bombing, in it's place we have some fine modern windows in the south choir aisle by Lawrence Lee and Alan Younger, and the Shakespeare window by Christopher Webb.

At the west end is a display of medieval wooden roof bosses from the old nave (more have been reintegrated into the tower ceiling, which has a modern design by George Pace). To the north a large suite of rooms has recently been constructed to serve the cathedral's administrative functions.

cathedral.southwark.anglican.org/

Taken in: UK / England / The City / Dowgate (show map)

Taken on: January 25, 2024

Tags:

Southwark

Cathedral

architecture

medieval

Gothic

interior

ceiling

decoration

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Sets appears in: • Southwark Cathedral

Groups appears in: • Fine Art & Architecture of Christian Holy Places of World.

Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ70, f/4.3, 1/8 sec, 10.9mm, ISO 640 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Panasonic DMC-TZ70
Aperture:	f/4.3
Exposure Time:	0.125 sec (1/8)
Focal Length:	10.9mm
ISO:	640
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	High gain up
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Ver.1.0
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