St George the Martyr Southwark
Coordinates: 51 ° 30 ′ 4.5 " N , 0 ° 5 ′ 33.3" W.
The Anglican Church of St George the Martyr is located in the historic Borough district in south London , in what is now the London Borough of Southwark on Borough High Street at the junction with Long Lane , Marshalsea Road and Tabard Street .
history
According to the first records of the church named after Saint George , the annals of Bermondsey Abbey , the church was donated by Thomas de Ardern and his son Thomas in 1122. The date corresponds to the siege of Acre , during which the English crusaders accepted Saint George as patron, the dedication of the church probably goes back to the participation of the Arderns in the crusade. The foundation includes tithe donations from their property in Horndon , Essex , and land of London Bridge returning five solidos. According to the records, this church is also the first and oldest church dedicated to Saint George in what is now London, following the acceptance of the Saint by Edward III. as patron of the Order of the Garter more than 200 years later. It is also the oldest reference to London Bridge areas.
On his return from the Battle of Azincourt in 1415, the Aldermen of London welcomed Henry V onto the steps of the church. As part of the celebrations, the "Song of Azincourt" (Agincourt Carol) was commissioned. It was only in this battle that the red George Cross was used as a standard for the first time . In the same year Saint George was named as the patron saint of England.
location
The west tower dominates the view along Borough High Street from both north and south, as the road curves at this point and meets Great Dover Street . Originally, a much narrower Church Street led south from the church to Kent Street (now called Tabard Street), which was the old route to Dover. Due to the large volume of traffic, Great Dover Street was parallel to Kent Street at the same time as the new Westminster Bridge and London Bridge were expanded in 1750. Tabard Street was subsequently continued across the churchyard to the north side of the church, so that the church came to an island location.
Rebuilding
It is believed that the current church is the third church at this location. Originally a Norman church of unknown appearance was found here . It was replaced at the end of the 14th century by a church with a bell tower, which appears for the first time in the plan by Anton van den Wyngaerde of the City of London, which includes a drawing of the church, which, however, is not quite in the right position. The church can also be found on William Hogarth's engraving of Southwark Fair in 1733, a year before it was destroyed. The church was rebuilt between 1734 and 1736 in the classic style of John Price's design, partly funded by £ 6,000 from the Commission for Building Fifty New Churches . The reconstruction was supported by the City Livery Companies and the Bridge House Estates, their coats of arms adorn the ceiling of the nave and the church windows.
The structure of the church made of red brick and Portland stone shows significant settlement damage to this day , in 2000 the main nave of the church was declared unsafe, which is why only the remaining parts of the church could be used. In September 2005, the Church of St. George the Martyr received funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund for repairs and renovations that included the full stabilization of the building and lowering the floor level in the crypt to create additional space. A large number of Georgian-era coffins were removed from the crypt for the work. Archaeological investigations of the ground under the church revealed other medieval and Roman structures. The destruction of some archaeological finds before the full excavation resulted in major controversy.
Between September 2005 and March 2007 the church was completely closed for renovation work. During this time, the services continued in the nearby chapel of Guy's Hospital . The new "crypt", actually a hall created by the stabilization work, resulted in a new important conference room for central London.
Services in St. Georges started again on Palm Sunday April 1, 2007. The parish priest in charge today is Rev Ray Andrews.
organ
The organ was built in 1958. In 1964, the Hill, Norman & Beard organ building company carried out a comprehensive re-intonation. In 2010 the instrument was technically revised by the organ builder BC Shepherd & Sons (Edgware). The organ has 26 registers on two manuals and a pedal . The actions are electro-pneumatic.
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Trivia
Charles Dickens ' father was imprisoned in Marshalsea Guilty Prison, the remaining wall of which can be found on the north side of the churchyard. Dickens himself lived in the immediate vicinity on Lant Street in a house that belonged to the Vestry Clerk of St. George. It was the darkest period of his life, when he had to work in the blacking factory as a teenager while his father was in custody. He later had various scenes from the novel Little Dorrit played in and around St. George's Church. A brief depiction of Little Dorrit can be found in the east window of the church.
Today the church is a recognized Church of the City of London Company of Parish Clerks and a Guild Church of the Guildable Manor . The annual Quit Rents ceremony in front of the Queen's Remembrancer has been held here since 2008 .
St George's Church is one of the few churches in London to have two reliefs of the coat of arms of the United Kingdom .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Heritage Lottery Fund ( Memento of the original from March 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Roman remains face obliteration at Southwark site . ( Memento of May 28, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) In: The Guardian
- ^ St George the Martyr church reopens , London SE1 community website, April 1, 2007.
- ↑ Information about the organ ( Memento of the original from October 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the site of the church, and disposition (English)
- ↑ Little Dorrit's Church - Sightseeing, Places of Worship. ( Memento of the original from April 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Virtual London.
