BERMONDSEY, a parish in the eastern division
of the hundred of BRIXTON, county of SURREY, 1 mile
(S.S.B.) from London, containing 25,235 inhabitants.
This place, in Domesday-book, is described as a royal
demesne, and, in other ancient records, as having been
occasionally the residence of William the Conqueror, and
his successor, William Rufus, who had a palace here.
In 1082, a priory for Cluniac monks was founded by
Aldwin Child, a citizen of London, as a cell to the
abbey of La Charite" in France, from which establishment
brethren of that order are said to have been
sent hither through the influence of Lanfranc, Archbishop
of Canterbury. To this monastery William
Rufus and some of his successors were great benefactors.
Henry I. gave the palace to the monks, for the
enlargement of their cloister, reserving a part of it as a
residence for himself, in which King John having subsequently
resided, it obtained the appellation of King
John's palace, and has been by some antiquaries considered
rather the original site, than, as it was in reality,
only an appendage to the monastery. This establish-
ment increased so much in wealth and importance,
that it was found necessary to enlarge the buildings;
and an hospital was erected adjoining it, for the reception
of their converts and the education of their children,
which was dedicated to St. Thomas the Martyr.
Though an Alien priory, it was exempted from sequestration
in the reign of Edward III., who placed it under
the superintendence of an Englishman, in whom he
could confide, and whom he made prior. It was subsequently
elevated into an abbey, and retained its grandeur
and importance till the dissolution, when its revenue
was £ 548. 2, 5. The site appears to have been
very extensive, comprising the present churchyard, and
an adjoining area, still called King John's Court. Vestiges
of the palace and conventual buildings may still
be traced in the gardens of the houses which have been
erected on the site: a gateway, which was standing in
1807, has been taken down, in order to form a new
street. Bermondsey owes its origin to the establishment
of this monastery, in the vicinity of which, a
gradual accumulation of buildings had formed an extensive
village in the reign of Edward III., when a
church was founded by the prior, for the use of the
inhabitants. In this religious house, Catherine of
France, widow of Henry V., lived in retirement, and
died in 1436; and here also, in 1486, Elizabeth, queen
of Edward IV., who was sentenced by the council to
forfeiture of land and goods, ended her life in confinement.
The village is situated on the southern bank of
the Thames, and consists principally of two extensive
streets, meeting obliquely near the church, and intersected
by many smaller streets; the houses, in general
ancient and irregularly built, are interspersed with several
modern and handsome structures: the streets are
paved, and well lighted with gas, and the inhabitants
are supplied with water from the river and from springs.
The tanning of leather is carried on to a very great extent,
by a company chartered in the reign of Queen
Anne; there are also numerous woolstaplers, fellmongers,
curriers, and manufacturers of vellum and parchment.
The situation is favourable to the carrying on
of many trades: there are two small docks and several
yards for boat-builders, in connexion with whom are
rope-makers, anchor-smiths, and stave-merchants, and
there are establishments for the printing and dyeing of
calico.
The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry of Surrey,
and diocese of Winchester, rated in the king's
books at £15. 8. 11., and in the patronage of Mrs.
Humbly. The church, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene,
is an ancient and very plain structure, with a low
square tower. A new church was completed in 1828,
partly by grant from the parliamentary commissioners,
at an expense of £21,412. 19. 5.; it is a handsome
edifice in the Grecian style of architecture, with a
tower, and a portico of four pillars of the Ionic order,
and contains two thousand sittings, of which one thousand
two hundred are free. There are places of worship
for Independents and Wesleyan Methodists. A
free school for sixty boys, who are instructed in reading,
writing, and arithmetic, was founded, in 1709, by
Mr. Josiah Bacon, who left £700 for building the premises,
and £150 per annum for an endowment; of
this annual income, the master receives a salary of
£80 per annum, and the usher one of £50, the remainder
being laid out in repairs: the school-room, which
was erected in 1718, in the Grange road, is a neat brick
building, having a statue of the founder in a niche over,
the entrance. The united charity schools, established in
1712, are supported partly by subscription, and partly
by an endowment of £109. 16. 4. per annum, arising
from several donations: the whole income is about
£550 per annum, for which two hundred and twenty
boys, and one hundred and thirty girls, are instructed,
of whom fifty boys and thirty girls are also clothed:
there is another school with a small endowment, and
numerous benefactions have been made for the relief of
the poor. In 1770, a chalybeate spring was discovered
here, and a spa established, which, for many years, was
a celebrated place of entertainment. Israel Mauduit,
an ingenious writer on politics and commerce, was born
here, in 1708.