Page 3 - The Pettards of Bermondsey - The Parishes

The Parishes.

With reference to the old Parish areas of Bermondsey; two are of particular interest to our history one being the Parish of St. Olave the other St. Saviour’s.  Both these parishes take their names from Church of England churches within the respective parish areas, although the origins of both churches date back long before the establishment of the Church of England.  St. Olave had been a place of worship in the area since 1088 with the last church of that name demolished on the banks of the River Thomas in 1928.  This fine building of stone and bricks stood so close to the river that early paintings depict boats moored in front, other paintings 1850 to 1890 show warehouses built and adjoined to the church.  It was finally demolished to make way for the Hay’s Company Wharf in 1928, a sad ending to such an historical presence and impressive final structure of worship named after St. Olave.  By comparison St. Saviour’s faired better, first established in 1539 with the merging of the much early Churches of St Margaret and St Mary Magdalene first established 1273, it stands today as Southwark Cathedral. Queen Elizabeth I was to become a benefactor of the church helping and encouraging teaching and schooling for both the poor and able alike of the parish, amongst it’s many graduates John Harvard would become notable for the bequest and benefactor who establish the first university of the new world;  Harvard University. In Elizabethan times St Saviour’s was known as the Actors Church with close connection to the Shakespearian theatres’ of the day, both William and his brother Edmund were church members with Edmund buried St. Saviour’s 1607.

                                                St Saviour Church 1851