Time Walk
A Side Street in an Archbishop's Shadow
A street named after a man who probably never set foot on it: an eighteenth-century Archbishop of Canterbury. Walking its short length from Cornwall Road to Exton Street, you pass the brick walls and iron gates of a churchyard on one side and a solid red-brick Edwardian building on the other.
The connection to the archbishop is said to run through Lambeth Palace, the archbishops' London residence nearby. That link is quiet and easy to miss amid the churchyard railings — which is where Name Origin picks up the thread.
Name Origin
An Archbishop Remembered in Brick
Secker Street is probably named after Thomas Secker, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1758 to 1768. According to Sheila Fairfield's The Streets of London: A Dictionary of the Names and Their Origins, the naming connects to the nearby Lambeth Palace, the archbishops' London seat. The sources used here do not explain why this particular street, rather than another nearby, carries his name.
History
From Churchyard Wall to Union Jack Club
The street's visible history is bound up with two neighbours: a churchyard and a clubhouse. On its east side stands the Christian Alliance Centre, an Edwardian building in red brick with Portland stone across the ground floor, designed by Walter Case and built in 1913 for the Union Jack Club.
Across from it, Secker Street overlooks St John's churchyard, enclosed by historic brick walls and iron gates.
In 2007, the building hosted a public exhibition for the Waterloo Conservation Area consultation, held from 2pm to 8pm on 27 February.
People
An Archbishop and an Architect
Two names attach to this street, a century and a half apart. Thomas Secker, Archbishop of Canterbury between 1758 and 1768, is thought to give the street its name through the archbishopric's long connection to Lambeth Palace nearby.
Walter Case belongs to a later chapter: he designed the Christian Alliance Centre on the street's east side.
Today
Churchyard and Clubhouse Still Face Each Other
Secker Street still runs its short course between Cornwall Road and Exton Street. The brick walls and iron gates of St John's churchyard remain on one side, and the Edwardian clubhouse built for the Union Jack Club on the other. A street named, probably, for an archbishop still sits quietly in the shadow of the palace that may explain it.
On the Map
Secker Street Then & Now
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it called Secker Street?
It is probably named after Thomas Secker, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1758 to 1768, through the archbishopric's connection to nearby Lambeth Palace, according to Sheila Fairfield's The Streets of London (1983).
What is Secker Street known for?
It is known for the Christian Alliance Centre, an Edwardian building of 1913 designed by Walter Case for the Union Jack Club, which overlooks St John's churchyard on the street's east side.
Where does Secker Street run?
It links Cornwall Road to Exton Street in Waterloo, overlooking a churchyard enclosed by historic brick walls and iron gates.