Cathedral Street

The Cathedral Church of St Saviour stands on the west side of Borough High Street—though it extends eastward onto Cathedral Street itself. The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie stands at the oldest crossing-point of the River Thames at what was for many centuries the only entrance to the City of London situated across the river. Today, the street is dominated by the great Gothic building, whose presence has defined this corner of The Borough for nearly 900 years.

2005

Southwark Cathedral, 24th floor

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

2015

View of Southwark Cathedral from Cathedral Street

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

2024

Cathedral Street, Southwark, Benchmark

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

Today

View of Caffe Nero on Pickford's Wharf — near Cathedral Street

Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0

The street itself is a short and somewhat austere thoroughfare, hemmed in by the cathedral on one side and the railway viaduct on the other—a compression of space that preserves the medieval street pattern while the nineteenth-century infrastructure crowds around it. The main railway viaduct connecting London Bridge station to Blackfriars, Cannon Street and Charing Cross stations passes only eighteen metres from the southeast corner of the cathedral, blocking the view from the south side. This was a compromise when the railway was extended along this viaduct in 1852; the alternative was to demolish the building completely to allow a more direct passage for the line. That the cathedral survived at all was a stroke of luck bordering on defiance.

The street is named directly after the cathedral that dominates it—yet Cathedral Street is a modern name imposed on a very ancient place. The Priory of St Mary Overy was founded by William Pont de l’Arche and William Dauncey in 1106 for canons-regular of the order of St. Augustine. For 800 years, this church was known simply by its dedication: St Mary Overie—a name derived from its position on the south bank. The street would have been called by the church’s name, if it had a formal name at all.

Between 1106 and 1538, it was the church of an Augustinian priory, Southwark Priory, dedicated in honour of the Virgin Mary (St Mary – over the river, 'overie'). Following the dissolution of the monasteries, it became a parish church, with a dedication to the Holy Saviour (St Saviour). The street remained nameless or was identified simply by the church’s dedication. Only in 1905 when the Church of England Diocese of Southwark was created did the church become a cathedral, and only then did Cathedral Street emerge as a formal designation. The street name is therefore a product of the early twentieth century, commemorating what the church had finally become.

A verbal tradition passed on to the Elizabethan historian John Stow suggests that the first Christian establishment was a community of nuns in the 7th century, but the first written reference is the mention of a 'minster' in the Domesday Book of 1086. What is certain is that the church on this site has been one of London’s most enduring religious buildings, surviving plague, fire, war, and the caprice of kings where most medieval churches did not.

The state of the building became a real cause for concern in the 1820s. Already in need of further repairs, the whole situation of the building was affected by the proposals for a new London Bridge to be constructed much closer to the church. The Bridge Committee suggested that St Saviour's be demolished and a smaller church be built on another site. After much argument the decision was made to restore the building, and it was largely due to the architect George Gwilt that major parts of today's Cathedral are still standing. Thorold was the Bishop of Winchester in the late-Victorian era and therefore responsible for the fate of St Saviour's, Southwark. In his role as bishop, Thorold recognised that there was the need to replace the nave which was at a different level from the rest of the church; he led the subscription of funds for the new nave, putting much of his own money towards the restoration. The new nave was designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield and built by a local builder, Thomas Rider.

The cathedral has recorded associations with some of England’s most significant figures. Lancelot Andrewes became the only Bishop of Winchester to be buried in the Cathedral in 1626. He was involved with overseeing the translation of the King James Bible and his tomb can be found by the High Altar. John Harvard—the man who went on to found the famous US Harvard University—was a Londoner by birth and was baptised at Southwark Cathedral in 1607. The cathedral endured WWII bombing; on 20 February 1941 it was reported that the cathedral had been damaged by a bomb. Shrapnel damage is still visible on the outside of the building to this day.

The present building retains the basic form of the Gothic structure built between 1220 and 1420, although the nave is a late 19th-century reconstruction. There are many additional points of interest in the cathedral, including the tombs of the medieval poet, John Gower, and of the great preacher Bishop Lancelot Andrewes, who helped to prepare the King James version of the Bible in 1611. Among many literary associations is that with Shakespeare, who lived in Southwark. There is a much-photographed Shakespeare Memorial and window, and an inscription in the choir paving to Shakespeare's brother Edmund, who was buried here in 1607.

According to British History Online, the cathedral stands as one of the finest examples of London Gothic, with evidence of its continuous sacred use stretching back to the medieval period. The street itself, though narrow and constrained by modern infrastructure, remains the primary public approach to the building and functions as an essential threshold between the secular world of Borough High Street and the spiritual space within.

Cathedral Street today remains a quiet, functional street with the cathedral as its sole major structure. The viaduct dominates the eastern side, and the cathedral occupies most of the western side. Unlike many historic London streets that have been redeveloped with shops, offices, and cafés, Cathedral Street has preserved its primarily religious and civic character. It is a destination street—people come here intentionally to visit the cathedral, not to pass through.

Now as a Cathedral, Southwark is once again (as in monastic days) a centre for a pattern of daily worship within the English Cathedral music tradition. It continues to serve the people of its parish and the diocese, to be a centre of teaching, of worship, prayer and pilgrimage and offers an open and inclusive welcome to all who come here. The street remains a place of pilgrimage and reflection, much as it was when medieval travellers sought shelter within St Mary Overie's walls. According to MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology), excavations in the cathedral precinct have revealed continuous occupation and activity from Roman times onwards, making this one of London's most archaeologically significant sites.