St. George the Martyr, Southwark
| St George the Martyr | |
|---|---|
.jpg) St George the Martyr looking south along Borough High Street
| |
| 51°30′05″N 0°05′34″W / 51.501263°N 0.092671°WCoordinates: 51°30′05″N 0°05′34″W / 51.501263°N 0.092671°W | |
| Location | The Borough, London Borough of Southwark |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Tradition | High church |
| Website |
www |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Architect(s) | John Price |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Southwark |
| Clergy | |
| Priest(s) | Fr Jonathan Sedgwick (Sept 2014) |
| Curate(s) | Fr Sam Hole (Aug 2016) |
| Laity | |
| Churchwarden(s) |
Jane Mogford Peter Duggan Percy Larnbi |
St George the Martyr is a church in the historic Borough district of south London. It lies within the modern-day London Borough of Southwark, on Borough High Street at the junction with Long Lane, Marshalsea Road, and Tabard Street. St George the Martyr is named after Saint George. The church is a Grade II* listed building.
The church has strong associations with Charles Dickens, whose father was imprisoned for debt in the Marshalsea prison. The surviving wall of the prison adjoins the north side of the churchyard. Dickens himself lived nearby, in Lant Street, lodging in a house that belonged to the Vestry Clerk of St George's. This was during the darkest period of his life when, as a teenager, with his father in prison, he had to work in the 'blacking factory', and his literary career must have seemed an impossible dream. Later, he was to set several scenes of the novel Little Dorrit in and around St George's Church. There is a small representation of Little Dorrit in the east window of the church.
It is also a recognised church of the City of London Company of Parish Clerks and the guild church of the Guildable Manor. From 2008 the annual Southwark Quit Rents ceremony, before the Queen's Remembrancer has taken place there.
According to traditional hagiography, the saint served as a soldier in the Roman Army and was killed on the orders of the emperor Diocletian in 303 for refusing to persecute Christians and confessing to his own Christianity. The earliest reference to this church is in the Annals of Bermondsey Abbey, which claims that the church was given by Thomas Ardern and Thomas his son in 1122. The date follows the Battle of Acre when the St George myth became adopted by English crusaders; perhaps the church dedication is related to the Arderns' involvement in the Crusade. This gift included tithes from their manor at Horndon in Essex and "land of London Bridge returning five solidos". This statement means that this St George's is the first and the oldest church with this dedication in the present London area and it predates Edward III's adoption of George as the patron of the Garter by over 200 years. The statement is also the first reference to London Bridge's endowment lands. The present priest was nominated by the City's Bridge House Estates.
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