St George's Fields was an area of

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

, England.

History

Originally the area was an undifferentiated part of the south side of the Thames, which was low-lying marshland unsuitable even for agricultural purposes. There is evidence of Roman occupation. As at

Lambeth Marsh Lambeth Marsh (also Lower Marsh and Lambeth Marshe) is one of the oldest settlements on the South Bank of London, England. Until the early 19th century much of north Lambeth (now known as the South Bank) was mostly marsh. The settlement of La ...

, the settlement was built on raised through roads over the marsh lands. These were likely summer residences, for in winter the land was under water.Walford, Edward. "St George's Fields." ''Old and New London'': Volume 6. London: Cassell, Petter & Galpin, 1878. 341-368. British History Online. Web. 3 March 2020
/ref> A monastery is known to have existed at

Bermondsey Bermondsey ( ) is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, ...

before 715 AD. Bermondsey is likely to have been a higher, drier spot in an otherwise marshy area. The area was part of the king's demesne. In 1082, according to the " Annales Monasterii de Bermundeseia", Alwinus Child obtained a royal license to found a monastery dedicated to St Saviour, most likely on the site of the earlier one. In 1086, the monastery became part of the

Cluniac Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter, Saints Peter and Saint Paul, Paul. The abbey was constructed ...

network under the Priory of St Mary's of La Charité-sur-Loire. Bermondsey Priory later acquired additional properties neighbouring their home manor. The area takes its name from the nearby Church of St George the Martyr, which according to the ''Annals of Bermondsey Abbey'' was founded by Thomas Ardern and Thomas his son in 1122. The small de Ardern family property occupied the corner of the junction of the high street and "old" Kent street (now Tabard Street); presumably this had been acquired from Canterbury after 1086. It may have been a hamlet that had developed at what is the junction of the Roman roads now known as

Stane Street Stane Street is the modern name of the Roman road in southern England that linked ''Londinium'' (London) to ''Noviomagus Reginorum'' (Chichester). The exact date of construction is uncertain; however, on the basis of archaeological artefacts ...

and

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...

. This too was given to Bermondsey Priory in 1122 by the Arderns along with the church of St George the Martyr which is in that precinct. The Rectors were appointed by the Priory/Abbey until the Reformation changes and its dissolution.

Suffolk Place

In 1479 William Brandon was appointed Knight Marshal of the Marshalsea Court, and therefore, of

Marshalsea The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners—including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition—it became known, ...

prison. The Brandons also came to control the

King's Bench Prison The King's Bench Prison was a prison in Southwark, south London, England, from the Middle Ages until it closed in 1880. It took its name from the King's Bench court of law in which cases of defamation, bankruptcy and other misdemeanours were he ...

. Prisons, at that time, were run as private concerns for profit, as a sort of forced lodging for debtors and those awaiting trial. As they became more prominent at court the Brandons grew wealthier and acquired from the Abbey parts of the western side of the high street to create a large mansion. and grounds including, notably, Moulton Close, which is now Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park around the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

. The house became known as Brandon Place. Charles Brandon, the last of the male line, became

Earl Marshal Earl Marshal (alternatively marschal or marischal) is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England (then, following the Act of Union 1800, in the U ...

in 1510 and was created

Duke of Suffolk Duke of Suffolk is a title that has been created three times in the peerage of England. The dukedom was first created for William de la Pole, who had already been elevated to the ranks of earl and marquess, and was a powerful figure under Henr ...

in 1514; he married

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

's sister in 1516. The mansion then became known as Suffolk Place. In 1536 Charles gave Suffolk Place, rebuilt by him in fine Renaissance style in 1522, to King Henry VIII in exchange for Norwich Palace on the Strand. Shortly after, in June 1536,

Bermondsey Abbey Bermondsey Abbey was an English Benedictine monastery. Although generally regarded as having been founded in the 11th century, it had a precursor mentioned in the early 8th century. It was centred on what is now Bermondsey Square, the site ...

was induced to "grant" its land to the king as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries: hence he now owned all of the Abbey’s manor west of the high street. Henry VIII gave this building to Queen

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (; 24 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was ...

in 1537. It appears that it was the king's intention to create a new royal hunting park and the Brandon mansion was to serve as its lodge. However, he seems to have lost interest in the project after the Queen died of post-natal complications shortly after the birth of

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

Property of the City

The manor belonged to the Crown for only fourteen years, as in 1550 the City acquired it from Edward VI's government and also the Canterbury manor on the east side of the high street. The Abbot's manor became known as "The King's Manor". This was presumably because of the royal presence at the old Suffolk House. This had been specifically excluded from the City’s jurisdiction by clauses in the 1550 charter. The building remained a royal mansion; in 1554 Queen Mary stayed overnight with her new husband King

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

as part of their progress to London. The City's jurisdiction in

now stretched across from the various borders with

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

and Bermondsey. These lands were paid for through the use of the endowments of the

Bridge House Estates City Bridge Foundation is the working name of the historic Bridge House Estates, which originated in the late eleventh century and was formally established by royal charter in 1282 by the City of London Corporation in London, England. It is a reg ...

. From this point the City nominated the Rector of St George's, as to the present day. The area having been over the course of time drained, St George's Fields, comprised broad open meadows. By the reign of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

it was a popular meeting place for mobs, and in May 1640 a large armed mob attacked Lambeth Palace in the hope of capturing the unpopular Archbishop,

William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I of England, Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Caroline era#Religion, Charles I's religious re ...

. At the restoration, during Charles II's progress from Dover to London, the Lord Mayor and Aldermen feted the king under a large tent erected in St George's Fields, where on 29 of May 1660, a great banquet was held prior to the king's entering the City. According to

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

and

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diary, diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's Diary, ...

, six years later, St George's Fields were one of the places of refuge to which the poorer citizens retreated with such of their goods and chattels as they could save from the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

. It also became a place much favoured by open-air preachers, who were not allowed to hold forth in London. The City's control of the area of St George's Fields allowed its development. From 1750 the creation of the new roads associated with the new

Westminster Bridge Westminster Bridge is a road-and-foot-traffic bridge crossing over the River Thames in London, linking Westminster on the west side and Lambeth on the east side. The bridge is painted predominantly green, the same colour as the leather seats ...

and the improvements to the old

London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...

created the traffic nexus at Newington which because of these changes became known as

Elephant and Castle Elephant and Castle is an area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station of the same name. The n ...

, and the junction of St George's Circus was required to connect these with the 1769

Blackfriars Bridge Blackfriars Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge, carrying the A201 road. The north end is in the City of London near the Inns of Court and Temple C ...

Road / London Road. The City also decided to relocate the

Bethlem Royal Hospital Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in Bromley, London. Its famous history has inspired several horror books, films, and television series, most notably ''Bedlam (194 ...

from

Moorfields Moorfields was an open space, partly in the City of London, lying adjacent to – and outside – its London Wall, northern wall, near the eponymous Moorgate. It was known for its marshy conditions, the result of the defensive wall acting a ...

in 1815. The location at the edge of the territory it had control of in St George's Fields, the site of the Dog and Duck tavern, was thought at the time to be sufficiently rural for the institution but also convenient to the built up area. St George's Fields was the scene of riots in 1768, agitating for the release of

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English Radicalism (historical), radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlese ...

and, more seriously, was the starting point of the

Gordon Riots The Gordon Riots of 1780 were several days' rioting in London motivated by anti-Catholic sentiment. They began with a large and orderly protest against the Papists Act 1778, which was intended to reduce official discrimination against British ...

in 1780 which began in the movement to repeal the act of parliament removing penalties for Catholics.

The obelisk at St George's Circus

The

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

at St George's Circus was built in 1771 in honour of Brass Crosby, the

Lord Mayor of the City of London Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

. It was moved to the north apex of Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, (the remnant of Moulton Close) a short distance to the southwest, in front of the museum, in 1905, and put back in its original spot in the late 1990s. The obelisk was mentioned in the novel ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...

'' by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

St George's Cathedral, Southwark

Although there had been a Catholic chapel at London Road a new and much larger church was required for an increasing local population. As the area is known as St George's Fields and the site of the new church was on St George's Road its dedication to England's Patron Saint was suggested immediately. It was designed by

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 1812 – 14 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival architecture ...

, who married there, being considered the most important Catholic church in England when it was built. It could seat about 3,000 persons, and the building was 240 feet long by 72 feet wide. The church was solemnly opened by Bishop Wiseman on 4 July 1848. To mark the occasion

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

sent a golden chalice and paten as a gift. Two years later Pope Pius IX restored the English hierarchy and St George's was chosen as the diocesan church of

St George's Cathedral, Southwark The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of St George, usually known as St George's Cathedral, Southwark, is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark, south London, and is the seat of the Archbishop of Southwark. The cathedral is ...

, of the new

Archdiocese of Southwark The Archdiocese of Southwark () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in England. It is led by the Archbishop of Southwark. The archdiocese is part of the Metropolitan Province of Southwark, which covers the South of England. Th ...

, which was to cover the whole of southern England. For the next half-century, until the opening of

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral, officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, is the largest Catholic Church in England and Wales, Roman Catholic church in England and Wales. The shrine is dedicated to the Blood of Jesus Ch ...

, St George's was the centre of Catholic life in London. As a cathedral it actually predates by more than half a century that of the Anglican

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ), formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, is a Church of England cathedral in Southwark, London, near the south bank of the River Thames and close to London Bridge. It is the mother c ...

References

External links

History of the Obelisk and St George's Fields
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint George's Fields Areas of London Former parks and open spaces of London History of the London Borough of Southwark Districts of the London Borough of Southwark Jane Seymour