St Mary's Church, Rotherhithe, is the local

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

parish church in Rotherhithe, formerly in

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. ...

and now part of south east

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The parish is now within the

diocese of Southwark The Diocese of Southwark is one of the 42 dioceses of the Church of England, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. It was created on 1 May 1905 from part of the ancient Dio ...

and under the jurisdiction of the

Bishop of Fulham The Bishop of Fulham is a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of London in the Church of England. The bishopric is named after Fulham, an area of south-west London; the see was erected under the Suffragans Nomination Act 1888 by Order in Council dated ...

. The 18th-century church is in ''St Marychurch Street'' and is dedicated to

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

, and it is particularly proud of its connections with the Pilgrim Fathers. It remains a living and working church, supported by local people and serving a broad community.

History

There is documentary evidence that a church has existed on this site since at least 1282. However,

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

bricks were found when the tower was underpinned in 1913, so it is probable that there were even earlier buildings on the site. The area was eventually served by Catholic priests from

Bermondsey Abbey Bermondsey Abbey was an English Benedictine monastery. Most widely known as being founded in the 11th century, it had a precursor mentioned in the early eighth century, and was centred on what is now Bermondsey Square, the site of Bermonds ...

. Following the break with Rome under

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

in 1538, the

vestments Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Anglicans, and Lutherans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; this w ...

, silver and gold plate and other gifts of the cathedral were sold to provide money to repair the mediaeval church. Some remains of the

mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

building can still be seen, for example the stone blocks incorporated into the walls on each side of the organ. In the

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

, parts of the old church walls of chalk and flint are visible, and some later Tudor brickwork. A drawing made of this building in 1623 has survived. Although the artist had difficulty representing the perspective of the old church, this drawing is the only remaining evidence of its appearance. A few memorials from the old church have survived. In 1710, the parishioners of St Mary's petitioned parliament for a grant to rebuild their church 'which standing very low and near the banks of the Thames, is often overflowed, whereby the foundation of the church and tower is rotted and in great danger of falling'. The petition was not successful but the parishioners went on to collect subscriptions and the local craftsmen, of which there were many, turned their hands and feet to church building. It was rebuilt in 1714–15, to a design by John James, a major architect of his day (and an associate of

Sir Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...

). As money was short, the tower ''(above right)'' was not finished until 1747, when

Lancelot Dowbiggin Lancelot Dowbiggin (born in 1685 in Melling, near Lancaster in Lancashire, England - died 24 July 1759 in London, England) was an English architect. He designed St Mary's Church in Islington, London,John Richardson, ''Islington Past'', Revise ...

, a City joiner and surveyor, completed it, perhaps to his own design, following the general plan of James. Since then, the external appearance of the church has remained almost unchanged. It is set in a narrow street close to the Thames, surrounded by former warehouses and facing the charity school house which was built in 1703. In 1760, Birmingham industrialist

Matthew Boulton Matthew Boulton (; 3 September 172817 August 1809) was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century, the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engine ...

wed his second wife, Anne, here. The two had journeyed far from home to evade ecclesiastical difficulties; she was his first wife's sister, and the marriage was forbidden by canon law, but not void if no one objected when the banns were read. In 1838, when the well-known ship Temeraire was broken up, some of her timbers were used to build a communion table and two bishop's chairs in the Rotherhithe church. The interior of the church was much altered in 1876. Between 1996 and 1999, the bells were restored and re-hung, and essential repairs made to the spire. The bells are regularly rung by members of the

Docklands Ringing Centre Dockland or Docklands are areas occupied by, or in the neighbourhood of maritime docks, sometimes described as a Sailortown (dockland). The term is more common in Britain and British Commonwealth. Specifically the term may refer to: * Aarhus Dock ...

Present day

St Mary's Church is within the

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

of the Church of England. As the parish rejects the

ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordina ...

, it receives alternative episcopal oversight from the

(currently Jonathan Baker).

The organ

St Mary's Church, Rotherhithe is fortunate to possess a fine pipe-organ dating from 1764 installed by the organ builder John Byfield II. Despite several alterations in the intervening years the present-day instrument retains much of its original character and its magnificent organ case. A history of the instrument can be found at https://alanjohnphillips.weebly.com/rotherhithe.html#history

Maritime connections

As befits a church near the merchant activity on the river, there are several maritime connections. The communion table in the

Lady Chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chapel or a Marian chapel, an ...

and two bishop's chairs are made from salvaged timber from the warship HMS ''Temeraire''. The ship's final journey to the breaker's yard at Deptford was made famous by Turner in his evocative painting '' The Fighting Temeraire'', now in the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

. In the church a memorial marks the final resting place of Christopher Jones, captain of the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...

'', which took the Pilgrim Fathers to North America in 1620. It is also the burial place of Prince Lee Boo of

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...

, a Pacific Island prince, and Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Teddeman (c.1620–1668). Nearby are some of London's Nordic churches and missions to seafarers.

References

External links

Official websiteDiocese of SouthwarkThe Interesting History of Prince Lee Boo, brought to England from the Pelew Islands
From the Collections at the Library of Congress {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Marys Church, Rotherhithe Churches completed in 1747 Rebuilt churches in the United Kingdom 18th-century Church of England church buildings Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Southwark Rotherhithe John James (architect) buildings Rotherhithe Rotherhithe Rotherhithe Churches on the Thames