Wooden bridges crossing the River Thames between Southwark and the City of London had existed at various times since the Roman occupation, but had always utilised the same site.

The construction may have been instigated by King Henry II who levied a tax on wool, sheepskin and leather to help pay for the bridge.

Based on this data, a series of engravings were made by George Vertue (1684–1756), giving an impression of how the building would have appeared before it was modified for secular use.

The plain façade, pierced by two doors and a pointed arched window divided by a single mullion, stood 40 feet (12 m) above street level.

[5] King Henry VIII was keen to end the veneration of saints, in many cases removing the valuable decoration of shrines for the enrichment of the Treasury.

An order was issued in 1538 to change the dedication to Saint Thomas the Apostle and in the following year, a painter from Southwark was employed to cover over images of Becket on the chapel walls.

[9] In 1751, the Chapel House, as it became known, passed into the hands of a firm of stationers, run by partners Thomas Wright and William Gill, who later both became Lord Mayors of London.

[10] Due to the congestion of the narrow street and the decrepit condition of the various buildings on the bridge – even newly built houses quickly began to subside – it was decided to clear away all these structures and redevelop the roadway.

During the first half of 1832, the arches and then the piers were dismantled, exposing the vaults and columns of the Lower Chapel, an event that was recorded by Edward William Cooke in an engraving published in 1833.