England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Southwark Christ Church

The Parish

Southwark lies in the extreme northeast of the county of Surrey, indeed it forms part of the boundary with the City of London which sits just across the Thames from Southwark. Southwark was divided into 6 parishes of which Christ Church was the third largest by population and the most westerly. Southwark sits at the southern end of London Bridge and today is an integral part of the capital, a city, having been granted that status in 1905 and a thriving business centre. Southwark owes its origins to the Romans where a small settlement grew up at was when the first, forded, crossing of the Thames long before there were bridges. Granted Royal Burgh status in the 10th century, it grew substantially once London Bridge was constructed about 1200 (this was the only bridge until the middle of the 18th century). Southwark has had something of a chequered past, homes to wealthy dignitaries and merchants, it also had a seedier side with inns and theaters as well as prisons & prostitution. Southwark's population grew rapidly during the period of this transcript, in 1801 it stood at 66,000 yet by 1831 it had reached 91,000 and peaked in 1901 at 206,000. Christ Church parish would have held around 15% of that population. The impact of World War 2 bombing was severe as London's blitz wrecked homes, businesses and not least the churches of the area. Today Southwark is a thriving community, home to Borough Market and refreshed as part of the wider South Bank redevelopment. As a riverside community no obvious surface drainage channels to the nearby Thames all being subsurface. Christ Church parish is sited at less than 5 metres above sea level, it being almost beyond Brixton before one crosses a 10 metres contour. Christ Church parish covered a tiny area of a few city blocks yet was packed with a population rising to almost 14,000 folk by 1831. In Domesday times Southwark was held by Bishop Odo of Bayeux but not specifically detailed as to its assets

The Church

Christ Church sits just off Blackfriars Road tucked away behind glass-fronted towers. The church is not a mediaeval masterpiece rather it was built in 1738 replacing an earlier church which lasted only 60 years itself. A rather gaunt brick structure, it clearly held little fascination for Pevsner as his account is short to say the least. Sadly Christ Church was struck on more than one occasion by bombs & incendiaries - the latter destroying the earlier registers, a great loss for family historians. The church has been restored but it remains less than a glorious building. From Southwark tube station one walks a few yards north and turn to the west and Christ Church sits behind ornamental railings, a difficult subject given the number of trees present but a welcome green oasis in an otherwise metropolitan setting.