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 London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The first church building was part of the original St. Thomas' Hospital which was located to the area around the present St Thomas Street, from the infirmary at

St Mary Overie 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 ...

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 Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...

. The church was renamed after Thomas the Apostle at the time of 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 in 1821. In the same year, the Old Operating Theatre 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 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 ...

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 Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

. (Westminster: The Church Information Office, 1959), p.34. The small civil parish of Southwark St Thomas was merged into Southwark St Olave and St Thomas in 1896, and that then merged into

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, ...

parish in 1904 to reflect the previous establishment of the metropolitan borough. 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 The Jubilee Line Extension (JLE) is the extension of the London Underground's Jubilee line from to through south and east London. An eastward extension of the line was first proposed in the 1970s. As part of the development of London Dockland ...

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 An operating theater (also known as an Operating Room (OR), operating suite, operation suite, or Operation Theatre (OT)) is a facility within a hospital where surgical operations are carried out in an aseptic environment. Historically, the ter ...

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