Southwark Cathedral

Landmark in
Southwark Cathedral image
Address
London Bridge, SE1 9DA
Telephone
020 7367 6700
Category
Landmarks
Nearest Station
London Bridge
0.11 miles

The Southwark Cathedral of today is an architectural marvel, a place of worship and a living historical monument.

There has been a place of worship on the site of Southwark Cathedral for more than 1,000 years. A fire destroyed the original building in 1206 and the earliest surviving parts of the Cathedral date from this time. Southwark is London’s oldest Gothic building and is considered an architectural treasure.

The building itself stands below road level and is surrounded by warehouses and a rail viaduct near London Bridge. In the seventeenth century the church's parishioners bought the building from King James I and restored it to former splendor.

By the mid nineteenth century the building had once again fallen into disrepair and was being considered for demolition; the nave was eventually demolished, but the choir and retrochoir was restored.

In the late nineteenth century the church was selected to become a cathedral of a new London diocese and the building was extended and refurbished extensively. The title of Cathedral was bestowed upon Southwark in 1905. Further rennovations and extensions have taken place since, with the last major work undertaken in 2000, at which time new meeting and conference rooms, a library and Education Centre, a shop and a cafe were added north of the existing cathedral.

During its lifetime, Southwark Cathedral has had many famous visitors, with John Harvard, founder of Harvard University, having also been baptized here. Poet John Gower and Bishop Lancelot Andrews are both entombed at Southwark.

Admission to Southwark Cathedral is free of charge, although donations to its upkeep are always most welcome. The Cathedral is easily accessed via London Bridge underground station.

Southwark Cathedral Picture Gallery

Southwark Cathedral Picture

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