South London . ims, merchants,travellers, all put up at the Southwark inns. The place wasnothing but a collection of inns ; the ecclesiastics stayed herefor a few weeks and then went away; the great lords camehere when they had business at Court and then went awayagain ; the merchants came and went : by itself the placehad, as yet, no independent life or character of its ownat all. There were two Monastic Houses. Both were stately ;both arc full of history. Let us consider the House of A FORGOTTEN MONASTERY 51 Bermondsey, because it is less generally known than the otherof St. Mary Overy or Ov
South London . ims, merchants,travellers, all put up at the Southwark inns. The place wasnothing but a collection of inns ; the ecclesiastics stayed herefor a few weeks and then went away; the great lords camehere when they had business at Court and then went awayagain ; the merchants came and went : by itself the placehad, as yet, no independent life or character of its ownat all. There were two Monastic Houses. Both were stately ;both arc full of history. Let us consider the House of A FORGOTTEN MONASTERY 51 Bermondsey, because it is less generally known than the otherof St. Mary Overy or Overies. The Abbey of St. Saviour, Bermondsey, was the West-minster of South London. Like Westminster, Bermondseystood upon a low islet in the midst of a marsh ; at thedistance of half a mile on the north ran the river ; half a mileon the west was the Causevi^ay; half a mile on the south wasthe Dover roadthe House lay that theonly road which con-nected it with the world It is significant of the seclusion in which. was that lane called Bermondsey or Barnsie or BarnabieLane, which ran from the Abbey to St. Olaves and so toLondon Bridge. It was not, like , a placeof traffic and resort. It lay alone and secluded, scpaiatcdfrom the noise and racket of life. When the marsh had beengradually drained and the Embankment continued throughRolhcrhithe to Doptford and b(.)()nd the Greenwich levels, H 2 52 SOUTH LONDON the Abbey lands round the islet became extremely fertile andwooded and covered with sheep and cattle. The House was founded in the year 1182 by one AilwinChilde, a merchant of the City, an Alderman also and one ofthe ruling families of London. He was the son of an elderAilwin, who was a member of that Knighten Guild which,with all its members and all its property—the land whichnow forms the Ward of Portsoken—went over to the Prioryof the Holy Trinity. Religion of a practical and real kind
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Keywords: ., bookauthorbesantwa, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookyear1912
