Church Micro 9755...Bermondsey - St James
St James’ Church Bermondsey is a graceful church, Grade II listed, and set within a spacious well kept former graveyard where a few tombs and grave markers remain. The church predated the building of the nearby railway by only a few years but its steeple, topped by a golden dragon, has been a familiar site for train passengers as they journey out from London Bridge for nearly two hundred years.
The surrounding area was very different than it is today when the church was consecrated in 1829. Not only had the railway viaduct not been built, to the south the area was largely fields and market gardens, and wealthy merchants lived in large houses along Jamaica Road. St James Road was called Blue Anchor Lane and Thurland Road, where the entrance to the church is, was an extension of Spa Road.
The foundation stone of St James’ was laid in February 1827 by Dr Tomline, Bishop of Winchester and consecrated in May 1829 by a new Bishop of Winchester, Dr Sumner, whose name lives on in certain parts of Southwark.
The peel of 10 bells was cast from a cannon left behind by Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.
In 1921, the Joy Slide was installed in the church yard which had been donated by Arthur Carr, the Chairman of Peek Freans, the local biscuit factory. It brought fun to many generations of Bermondsey children who made the journey down the length of the slide sitting on doormats fast enough, it was reported, to exceed the speed limit.
The Joy Slide was destroyed by fire in the 1980s and later pulled down and replaced by a modern playground. It is still though fondly remembered by those who grew up in Bermondsey and there is now a campaign to build a new Joy Slide.
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