#digbysdiscoveries

A recent walk through Borough Market and a look at Southwark Cathedral ⛪️ It always makes me wonder how the people of the past would react to the architecture, sights and sounds of today? 🤷🏼‍♂️

At the same time I find it fascinating how little I know about it, despite having seen it almost daily for many years on my work commute. For example, I didn’t know it wasn’t technically a cathedral until 1905. I also didn’t know its full name, “The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie.”

The site itself has been a place of Christian worship for over 1,000 years with many ‘histories’ of its origin. I quite like the oldest suggestion of it being founded “long before the Norman Conquest by a maiden named Mary, on the profits of a ferry across the Thames she had inherited from her parents.” In real terms it was at the oldest crossing of the Thames which for many centuries served as the main point in and out of the City of London 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The architecture and style is a combination through the ages, possibly helped and hindered by numerous fires🔥 the dissolution under Henry VIII🤴and of course various individuals looking to make their mark in the world through various reformations and rebuilding projects. Wikipedia has some excellent references to the history and architectural features.

It’s most notable connections through out history for me were links with William the Conqueror’s half brother, Bishop Odo of Bayeux, the Bishops of Winchester, Shakespeare📖, John Harvard, Madeline Agar 👩‍🌾 and Neslon Mandela. In the more recent past the Cathedral survived the Blitz relatively unscathed, despite somewhere in the region of 1,600+ bombs 💣 being dropped in the Southwark area.

"I walked over the fields to Southwark..., and I spent half an hour in Mary Overy's Church, where are fine monuments of great antiquity, I believe, and has been a fine church." Samuel Pepys - 3 July 1663

The Cathedral remains a very active focal point in the Southwark community engaging with many local, national and global groups and is the home of the Lewis Organ, graduation ceremonies and choirs as well as Doorkins the cat 🐈 until 2020, which is a story in itself!

Sources: #wikipedia and Southwark Cathedral website

#london #history #southwark #freelearning