St Margaret was a parish in the ancient borough 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 ...

, located south of the River Thames in the Brixton Hundred of

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. It was abolished in 1541 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and replaced with the parish of St Saviour. The parish church was located on what is now Borough High Street and the area now forms part of the London Borough of Southwark. It was from 1444 governed by the Guild of the Assumption of St Margaret's Church.

History

The parish of St Margaret was located in the Brixton Hundred of

. It included the Liberty of the Clink and the

Liberty of Paris Garden Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

. In 1295 the ancient borough of Southwark was enfranchised and initially consisted of the parish of St Margaret and the parishes of

St George the Martyr Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

, St Olave and

St Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

. The parish was abolished in 1541 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries when the

Priory of St Mary Overie Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark. ...

was dissolved. Its former area was combined with that of the small parish of St Mary, which had covered the precinct of the priory, to form the new parish of St Saviour.

Governance

The parish was unusual in that from 1444 its affairs were under the control of the Guild of the Assumption of St Margaret's Church. The guild was incorporated by

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

in 1449 with parishioners able to elect 2 or 3 wardens. In 1536 the church wardens obtained authority by act of Parliament for the purposes of enlarging the churchyard. When the parish was replaced by St Saviour in 1541 the guild became the Corporation of Wardens of St Saviour's Parish, an organisation still in existence as the

United St Saviour's Charity United St Saviour's Charity is a charity in the London Borough of Southwark, London, England. Its purpose is to alleviate poverty in Southwark by providing housing for older persons in their almshouses, by making charitable grants to local charitie ...

St Margaret's Church

The parish church on St Margaret's Hill (now known as Borough High Street) was granted to the

by Henry I in the 12th century. It was rebuilt in the 13th century. After being deconsecrated it was converted for use as the

Borough Compter The Borough Compter was a small compter or prison initially located in Southwark High Street but moved to nearby Tooley Street in 1717, where it stood until demolished until 1855. It took its name from 'The Borough', a historic name for the Sout ...

and destroyed in the Great Fire of Southwark in 1676. The church was a notable example of the practice of putting on religious plays.MacLean, Sally-Beth (1996). Festive Liturgy and the Dramatic Connection: A Study of Thames Valley Parishes. Medieval & Renaissance Drama in England, 8, 49–62.

References

{{coord, 51.504, -0.091, type:landmark_region:GB-SWK, display=title History of the London Borough of Southwark Former civil parishes in London 1541 disestablishments in England