Bell's Cathedrals: Southwark Cathedral / Formerly the Collegiate Church of St. Saviour, Otherwise St. Mary Overie. A Short History and Description of the Fabric, with Some Account of the College and the See

by George Worley

Photo. G.P. Heisch.

THE CATHEDRAL FROM THE SOUTH-WEST.[ToList]

CHAPTER II[ToC]

THE EXTERIOR

At the present day St. Saviour's Cathedral is most unfortunate in its surroundings, and cannot be seen as a whole from any point, near or distant. Hemmed in as the church is by London Bridge on the east, the Borough Market and railway arches on the south, and by tall warehouses on the other sides, the confined space in which it stands is a decided hindrance to the near perspective, while the surrounding buildings shut off the view from a distance in all directions.[13]

The railway line from Cannon Street commands a fairly good prospect from the south-west, as it passes the church in its course. A closer prospect is to be obtained from the London Bridge approach which takes in the Lady Chapel, the east and south sides of the choir, the tower and south transept. A few yards further up the slope we, of course, lose the south aspect, but get a fair view, from the north-east corner, of part of the east front and the north transept, including the new Harvard window in the chapel beneath it. If we descend the short flight of steps at the foot of the bridge, and take up a position in the south-east corner of the open ground outside the church railings, we get a fairly good view of the south side from the Lady Chapel to the south-west porch, but lose sight of much of the east end, and therefore of one of the most characteristic external features.

The church lies in a general east and west direction, and is cruciform in plan, consisting of a nave, north and south transepts, a central tower, and choir, beyond which is the retro-choir, or so-called Lady Chapel. The nave and choir have aisles, but the transepts have not. While strict orientation has been secured in the main building, it will be noticed that the chancel is slightly deflected towards the south, in supposed mystic allusion to the drooping head of the Saviour upon the Cross, a piece of symbolism very frequent in Gothic churches, and here rendered peculiarly appropriate by the dedication.[14]