Southwark Cathedral

Why go

Stevens, Succentor and Sacrist, and later Honorary Canon, of Southwark Cathedral, who wrote a number of guidebooks to the cathedral, and a history that was revised and reprinted many times. Since 1900 The collegiate parish church of St Saviour was designated as a cathedral in 1905 when the Church of England Diocese of Southwark was created.

What to look for

• Merbecke Choir In 2004 the Cathedral founded the Southwark Cathedral Merbecke Choir.
• In 1543 Merbecke and three other companions were tried for heresy in the retrochoir at Southwark.
• Some of the carved bosses from the vault (destroyed in the 19th century) are preserved in the cathedral.

The full story

Between 1106 and 1538 it was the church of an Augustinian priory, Southwark Priory, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Following the dissolution of the monasteries, it became a parish church, with the new dedication of St Saviour's. The church was in the diocese of Winchester until 1877, when the parish of St Saviour's, along with other South London parishes, was transferred to the diocese of Rochester. 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. Legendary origins The 16th-century London historian John Stow recorded an account of the origins of the Southwark Priory of St Mary that he had heard from Bartholomew Linsted, who had been the last prior when the priory was dissolved.

Useful to know

• Confirm current admission and opening times before leaving.

Your next visit

Estimated · Declared scenario and planning estimates; no live opening, weather, queue or booking service.