BermondseyVillage

About the BSAP

• Who we are
• The committee
• Contact us

The Local Area

News & Events

Useful links

A brief history of Bermondsey

Situated close to the river Thames, the Bermondsey Street area was originally marshland, dotted with small islands. Archaeologists have shown that the area’s earliest inhabitants were from the prehistoric era. The name Bermondsey is thought to be of Saxon origin.

Bermondsey Street was built up as a causeway crossing the marshy land. It was an access way leading to a religious foundation on the site of Bermondsey Square. The Priory of St.Saviour was established in the 11th century by four monks from France with the help of a wealthy Londoner, Alwyn Child. It was a dependant of the great Cluniac house at La Charité sur Loire. Donations of land and money and its proximity to the City of London secured its status. A miraculously discovered cross, the ‘rood of grace’ made the priory a place of pilgrimage. It also had royal connections, particularly as a place of refuge for aristocratic ladies. In 1399, the priory became Bermondsey Abbey. It was finally surrendered at the Dissolution around 1537. The site was purchased by Sir Thomas Pope, founder of Trinity College, Oxford who constructed an impressive mansion from the ruinous buildings.

Masonry from the abbey was also used in the houses that lined Bermondsey Street. Evidence of this has recently come to light as the result of work on construction sites. Although inhabitants of Bermondsey Street were subject to plague, fires and flooding that affected all Londoners, they eventually flourished in an area of successful artisans and manufacturers. In the 17th and 18th centuries, life revolved around the parishes of St.Mary Magdalen at the southern end of the street and St.Olave to the north.

South of the river and outside the City walls, the Bermondsey Street area attracted trades that were noxious and unpleasant. It became known for everything associated with leather, especially the tanning process. Allied activities such as woolstapling (dealing, sorting and storing wool), hat manufacture and glue production ensured that none of the products of the leather trade were wasted. By the end of the 18th century, the noise and smells of Bermondsey Street were driving out all but the most resilient. Owners of firms now lived in pleasant houses in the new suburbs. Houses and courtyards became overcrowded as workers flocked in from elsewhere to seek jobs.  In 1836, the London  & Greenwich railway was built across the northern end of Bermondsey Street. The original arches were enlarged as passenger demand increased and many of the old buildings disappeared.

Bermondsey Street declined as industries moved out of London. Its fabric was in a state of disrepair. The street was perhaps best known to visitors as the route to Bermondsey Antiques market. This was moved to Bermondsey Square from Caledonian Road in the 1950s and is held every Friday. Many of the former warehouses are used by antique dealers, offering a large variety of items. In the centre of a conservation area, Bermondsey Street is in the next phase of its long history, developing as a mainly residential quarter. Many of the alleyways and public houses are gone, although the revival of ‘live/work’ properties is a glance back at the past.   

Written by:
Jennie Howells

'If you would like to know more, or have any information to share about the history of Bermondsey Street and its surrounding area, contact Jennie Howells. Click here to email Jennie