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St. Saviour (Southwark) (Parish)

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Introduction

This large parish on the south bank of the Thames was part of the deanery of Southwark, in the diocese of Winchester and the province of Canterbury.

Location

South bank of the Thames in Surrey, between London Bridge to the east and Lambeth Marsh to the west (Boulton 9).

Name and Etymology

The parish of St. Saviour (Southwark) was also known as the parish of St. Saviour and St. Mary Overy (St. Mary Overie; St. Mary Overies) I.e., over the river.

Significance

The parish had a reputation for religious radicalism and supported several puritan clergy and lecturers including:
Lectures by these clergy members include:
Title Author Printer Date STC Number ESTC Citation Number
A short summe of the vvhole catechisme. Wherein the question is propounded and answered, for the greater ease of the common people and children of Saint Saueries in South-warke. First gathered by Mr. Thomas Ratliffe minister of Gods word in Saint Saueries in South-warke. Thomas Ratcliffe Edward Allde 1619 20746 S119779
Certain godly and learned sermons, preached by that worthy seruant of Christ M. Ed. Philips in S. Sauiors in Southwarke: vpon the whole foure first chapters of Matthew, Luc. 11. vers. 24. 25. 26. Rom. 8. the whole, 1. Thess. 5. 19. Tit. 2. 11. 12. Iames 2. from the 20. to the 26. and 1. Ioh. 3. 9. 10. And were taken by the pen of H. Yelverton of Grayes Inne Gentleman. Edward Philips Arnold Hatfield 1607 19853 S114640
A heauenly voyce. A sermon tending to call the people of God from among the Romish Babylonians: preached at Paules Crosse the 12 of Ianuarie. 1606. By William Symonds. William Simonds James Roberts 1606 23591 S100150
Englands first and second summons. Two sermons preached at Paules Crosse, the one the third of Ianuarie 1612; the other the fifth of Februarie, 1615. By Thomas Sutton Batchelour of Diuinitie, then fellow of Queenes Colledge in Oxford, and now preacher at Saint Mary Oueries in Southwarke Thomas Sutton Nicholas Okes 1616 23502 S105186
The parish was also the site of the Rose, Swan, Globe, and Hope playhouses, as well as bull and bear baiting arenas, and other places of public entertainment (Cerasano 3; Cerasano 93).

Maps and Images

Wenceslaus Hollar’s S. Marie Ouer’s in Southwarke. Image courtesy of LUNA: Folger Digital Image Collection.
Wenceslaus Hollar’s S. Marie Ouer’s in Southwarke. Image courtesy of LUNA: Folger Digital Image Collection.
Wenceslaus Hollar’s Long View of London from Bankside. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Wenceslaus Hollar’s Long View of London from Bankside. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Wenceslaus Hollar’s Ad Londinvm epitomen & ocellvm. Image courtesy of LUNA: Folger Digital Image Collection.
Wenceslaus Hollar’s Ad Londinvm epitomen & ocellvm. Image courtesy of LUNA: Folger Digital Image Collection.

History

The parish of St. Saviour was formed in 1541 by uniting the parishes of St. Margaret (Southwark) and St. Mary Magdalen (Southwark). It is one of five parishes in the borough of Southwark (Surrey) according to Stow’s 1598 Survey. The others are St. Thomas in the Hospital, St. George, St. Olave, and St. Mary Magdalen (Bermondsey). Modern accounts place St. Mary Magdalen in a different borough (Boulton 9).
At the dissolution, the church of St. Saviour was leased by the parishioners (a corporation made up of vestrymen) from the crown. In 1614, a group of wealthy vestrymen bought the church and rectory outright from the crown. This gave the vestry the right to appoint two ministers (or a minister and a lecturer).
In the west, the parish of St. Savior included the Manor of Paris Garden or Paris Garden Liberty, and in the east, the Borough or Boroughside. Between these areas lay the Bishop of Winchester’s Liberty, also known as the Clink. Only the eastern, Boroughside, area of the parish was under City control. It formed part of London’s 26th ward (Bridge Ward Without), created in 1550. In 1671, the Manor of Paris Garden became the new parish of Christ Church.

Literary References

Title Author Printer Date STC Number ESTC Citation Number Note
The true history of the life and sudden death of old Iohn Overs, the rich ferry-man of London And how he lost his life by his owne covetousnesse. And of his daughter Mary, who caused the Church of Saint Mary Overs in Southwark to be built, and of the building of London-Bridge NA Nicholas Okes and John Okes 1637 18922 S110189 In this didactic tale, the rich but miserly ferryman John Overs fakes his own death in order to save a day’s expenditure on food for his apprentices and servants. When Overs rises up in his shroud, he is struck and killed by a servant who mistakes him for the devil. As a usurer, Overs is denied Christian burial by the monks of Bermondsey, until his daughter Mary bribes them. However, when the abbot discovers this he disinters Overs’ body and throws it on back of his ass which dumps it near a gallows at St. Thomas a Waterings. The daughter puts her father’s wealth to pious uses by founding a church near the site of her former home: the church of St. Mary Overs. The work contains six distinct woodcuts.
The puritaine or The vviddovv of VVatling-streete Wentworth Smith but attributed to Thomas Middleton George Eld c. 1607 21531 S106337 This play satirizes a character named Simon St. Mary Overies—apparently an allusion to parish lecturer William Simonds.

Notable Residents

The theatrical entrepreneur Philip Henslowe and his son-in-law the actor Edward Alleyn both served as vestrymen and churchwardens and held other parochial appointments. Francis Langley, the owner of the Swan playhouse, also lived in the parish. The poet John Gower, William Shakespeare’s brother Edmund, and Bishop Lancelot Andrewes have tombs in the church. The clown Will Kempe along with the playwrights John Fletcher and Philip Massinger are also buried here. Until 1625, a prominent Catholic family, the Brownes (Viscounts Montague), had their London residence at Montague House that was located directly north of St. Saviour’s church (Questier 512-519).

Parish Records

A full set of parish records, including baptismal, marriage, and burial registers, as well as Communion Token Books, is on deposit at the London Metropolitan Archives (LMA): LMA P92/SAV.
LMA’s description of the records may be found here (enter the above reference in Reference Code on the Advanced Search menu). Many of these records have been transcribed and analyzed by William Ingram and Alan H. Nelson in their indispensible online resource: The Parish of St Saviour, Southwark. Information about Parishioners, from Various Sources, 1550-1650. The site includes searchable transcriptions of Views of Inmates, Views of New Buildings, Parochial Presentments, Vestry Minutes, Sacramental Token Books, parishioner wills, and other primary documents in the LMA and other collections.

Further Information from MoEML

William Ingram and Alan H. Nelson, in conjunction with the London Metropolitan Archives, have created an online database of the token books of St. Saviour Parish.

References

Cite this page

MLA citation

Highley, Christopher. St. Saviour (Southwark) (Parish) The Map of Early Modern London, Edition 6.6, edited by Janelle Jenstad, U of Victoria, 30 Jun. 2021, mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/STSA101.htm. INP.

Chicago citation

Highley, Christopher. St. Saviour (Southwark) (Parish) The Map of Early Modern London, Edition 6.6. Ed. Janelle Jenstad. Victoria: University of Victoria. Accessed June 30, 2021. mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/STSA101.htm. INP.

APA citation

Highley, C. 2021. St. Saviour (Southwark) (Parish) In J. Jenstad (Ed), The Map of Early Modern London (Edition 6.6). Victoria: University of Victoria. Retrieved from https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/editions/6.6/STSA101.htm. INP.

RIS file (for RefMan, RefWorks, EndNote etc.)

Provider: University of Victoria
Database: The Map of Early Modern London
Content: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

TY  - ELEC
A1  - Highley, Christopher
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T1  - St. Saviour (Southwark) (Parish)
T2  - The Map of Early Modern London
ET  - 6.6
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/06/30
CY  - Victoria
PB  - University of Victoria
LA  - English
UR  - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/STSA101.htm
UR  - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/xml/standalone/STSA101.xml
TY  - UNP
ER  -

TEI citation

<bibl type="mla"><author><name ref="#HIGH1"><surname>Highley</surname>, <forename>Christopher</forename></name></author>. <title level="a">St. Saviour (Southwark) (Parish)</title> <title level="m">The Map of Early Modern London</title>, Edition <edition>6.6</edition>, edited by <editor><name ref="#JENS1"><forename>Janelle</forename> <surname>Jenstad</surname></name></editor>, <publisher>U of Victoria</publisher>, <date when="2021-06-30">30 Jun. 2021</date>, <ref target="https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/STSA101.htm">mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/STSA101.htm</ref>. INP.</bibl>

Documents relating to St. Saviour, Southwark

The church of St. Saviour (Southwark) was within St. Saviour (Southwark) parish.

Personography

Locations

Variant spellings