St Thomas Church,

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 ...

, London, England. The first church building was part of the original

St. Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foun ...

which was located to the area around the present St Thomas Street, from the infirmary at

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. ...

priory in 1212. The hospital was therefore also an Augustinian house. The hospital/conventual precinct became a parish no later than 1496. It was named after Thomas Becket whose cult pilgrimage to Canterbury began at London Bridge. The church was renamed St Thomas the Apostle following the abolition of the Becket cult in 1538 during the Reformation. The present church was built by the Hospital Governors to designs by Thomas Cartwright in 1703. It had a garret that was called the

Herb Garret The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret at 9a St Thomas Street is a museum of surgical history and one of the oldest surviving operating theatres. It is located in the garret of St Thomas's Church, Southwark, in London, on the origin ...

in 1821. In the same year, the

Old Operating Theatre The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret at 9a St Thomas Street is a museum of surgical history and one of the oldest surviving operating theatres. It is located in the garret of St Thomas's Church, Southwark, in London, on the origin ...

was built in the Herb Garret. Its use as a church became redundant in 1899 and the parish merged with St Saviour's, which became Southwark Cathedral in 1905; St Thomas' then was used as the

Chapter House A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...

for the cathedral.Churches, Artists and People Thirteenth Report of the

Central Council for the Care of Churches The Central Council for the Care of Churches of the Church of England was formed in 1917, developing from the Central Committee for the Protection of English Churches under the Archbishops' Council. It became the Church Buildings Council in 2007, ...

. (Westminster: The Church Information Office, 1959), p.34. In the late 20th century it was used as office space by the Chapter Group, an insurance company. The building was undermined by the Jubilee Line Extension workings and was 'at risk' but repairs were effected from 2010 it became the HQ of the Cathedral Group property development company. The church also houses the oldest surviving operating theatre in England. The scientific facility was uncovered in 1957 by Raymond Russell, and is situated in the garret (roof section) of the church.

References

External links

Information from the Old Operating Theatre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Thomas Church Former Church of England church buildings Former churches in the London Borough of Southwark History of the London Borough of Southwark