CHAPTER XVIII.

NEW LONDON BRIDGE.

ST. MARY OVERIES; OR, ST. SAVIOUR's.

ET us turn now to what the new bridge represents,

Industry, Traffic, Toil, and what is called Progress. "The old order changeth, giving place to new." Southwark appears to have forgotten the exquisite fancies, the marvellous taste, the delicate handiwork, much of which, however, still remains for our wonder and delight, (though not in Southwark itself), to show what our craftsmen did in ancient days. The hop merchants of the Borough, the leather-sellers of Bermondsey, the vast engineering shops, themselves almost towns, seem to have engrossed, in the substantial and the practical, all the inventive power that formerly adorned our public buildings, or was dedicated to God's service.

I once greatly enjoyed a visit to one of the largest of these huge engineering establishments. We saw an enormous casting made, and the liquid iron glowing like molten gold, as it was poured from the vast troughs or scuttles suspended from huge cranes, into the large earthen mould, when in a moment up burst the escaping gas in brilliant jets of many coloured flames, dancing on the surface. We went through all the different shops. We saw engines preparing for gigantic works in every part of the Queen's dominions, and many also for foreign lands, Egypt, Turkey, and Russia. It was a sight never to be forgotten, and perhaps gave a

greater idea of the enormous industry and wealth, and with it the power of our country, than anything else could have done. Strange to say, as we passed along through the busy lines of workmen, one was pointed out to us, a handsome stalwart man, and we were told he was a Sobieski, a descendant of the line of Poland's Kings: nor indeed do sons of England's best blood disdain to go through hard, toilsome, mechanical drudgery in the school of the engineer's workshop. I felt that the romance of life has not quite died out, though one could no more if one would, bring back the picturesque scenes of mediæval times.

Yet life is often very hard and gloomy to the toil-worn workmen of the courts and alleys of Southwark, alike on Sundays and weekdays. For when you have enticed the "working man" into a dreary church, cold and comfortless, and placed him in the seats up the middle aisle, in the draught of the great west door, gazed at by his richer "brethren," in their cushioned pews, and he is asked to take part in a dreary, cold service, with a long wearisome sermon, and then, perchance, to join in some hymn which suggests that this worshipping in God's house on earth is only a foretaste of what it will be in the Courts above, is it wonderful, that he should be careless about getting to such a dreary Heaven, and prefer the flaring gin-palace. below? And this thought leads me on from London Bridge to my next subject. Step by step, only pausing a moment at the top, to survey the exquisite east end of the Lady Chapel, and beautiful grouping of Tower and Chancel and Chapel, let us go down together into St. Mary Overie's Close, now St. Saviour's Churchyard. There stands, what was once, and in some respects is still, the finest church in London, excepting the Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. What would it not be for Southwark, if the interior of St.

Saviour's once again presented the grand space that it should, where all worshippers would be equally welcome. where the pealing organ, and the glorious cathedral music, and the daily services might make the poor and rich exclaim, "I was glad when they said unto me we will go into the house of the Lord. We will go into His Tabernacle and fall low on our knees before His footstool." Surely all Surrey and the grand old Dioceses of Winchester, and Rochester, and London itself will help the wealthy merchants of Southwark to make St. Saviour's what it should be, the rich man's delight and the poor man's home.

But let us now take a rapid review of the history of St. Saviour's, as in my last chapter we did of that of London Bridge, and see whether we are not bound to hand down unimpaired to our own children the noble work we owe to our forefathers.

A religious house for women existed here in very early times; but a St. Swithin, and almost certainly that good, holy, and wise man, who was Ethelwulf's friend and counsellor in all matters, ecclesiastical and spiritual, and to whose wise counsels, therefore, probably our great and good King Alfred owed much, turned the convent of nuns into a monastery for Canons regular, and their chief endowment may have consisted of the profits of the Ferry. For a bridge existed, as we have seen, before Canute's time, and possibly they had the tolls. But when the Normans came to England, they found both bridge and priory in a somewhat decayed state; or it may well be that the Normans in their insolent recklessness may have injured both, or probably burned them when the ruthless Conqueror passing on gave Southwark to the flames, and did not cross the Thames till he came to Wallingford.

It was in William Rufus' time that the Conqueror's

treasurer, William Pont de l'Arche and another Norman knight William Dauncy rebuilt both bridge and priory. A beautiful old doorway of Norman work remained so short a time ago, that it seems the more grievous that it should have disappeared under the hands of those modern Goths who destroyed the remains of both Norman and so-called Gothic work. There is a description of it in Nightingale's history of St. Mary Overie's with its chevron mouldings, and its deep cut flower tracery; but it has gone. The two knights were assisted in their pious work by Gifford, Bishop of Winchester, one of four brothers, who came over with the Conqueror. He is said to have built the nave at his own cost, and also at the same time to have erected the Bishop's Palace on Bankside. He thus secured a serviceable position at this end of his vast diocese, close to the rising City of London, which every year was increasing in importance, whilst at Winchester he was in what was still the capital city of the kingdom. It is probably owing to this foresight of Bishop Gifford that the Bishops of Winchester played so important a part in our history, and still remain among the three of highest rank, and largest emoluments, though wofully reduced since Bishop Summer's resignation and death. There still exists a confirmation to St. Mary Overie's of a grant, made by King Stephen of "the stone house in Dowgate which had belonged to William Pont de l'Arche.

I have spoken of the terrible fire in King John's reign, and the consequent foundation of St. Thomas's Hospital. The Priory was not rebuilt till Peter de Rupibus, or des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, one of Henry III.'s governors during his minority, both restored it and also built the spacious chapel of St. Mary Magdalene, used afterwards as a parish church by the inhabitants.

After the reign of Edward I. the Priory seems to have fallen into a great state of decay, and in the reign of Richard II. to have again been damaged by fire. It was rebuilt, some say, at the sole expense of Gower, the poet; but this is scarcely possible. He was, however, there is no doubt, a great benefactor to the church, but a large part of the early English work of Henry III.'s time was still left, and even some of the more ancient Norman architecture. The Chantry and Chapel of St. John, which disappeared with the destruction of the nave were founded by him.

On 24th of January, 1406, Edmund Holland, Earl of Kent, grandson to Joanna, wife of Edward the Black Prince, by her first husband, was married at St. Mary's with great pomp to Lucia, eldest daughter of Barnaby, Lord of Milan; the King, Henry IV., attended the wedding, and gave the bride away. Her marriage portion is said by Stowe to have been 100,000 ducats.

Next in order comes the time of Cardinal Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, and the marriage of James I. of Scotland, of which I have given an account.

In 1469, when Edward IV. was King, the vaulting of the nave fell in; it was replaced by a timber roof, the work it is said of Fox, Bishop of Winchester, who also at the same time, placed the reredos or altar screen at the east end of the choir. This is particularly cited by Parker, in his Glossary of Architecture, as a fine example of its kind. I believe there is no certain record left as to the fact of Fox having erected this screen; but there can be little or no doubt that he was the author of it, as the pelican, his favourite emblem, appears in the ornamentation.

An article in the " Gentleman's Magazine" for 1834, gives the following account of it, which I have slightly