[3] Linsted claimed it had been founded as a nunnery "long before the [Norman] Conquest" by a maiden named Mary, on the profits of a ferry across the Thames she had inherited from her parents.

Thus the author of an 1862 guidebook to the then St Saviour's Church suggested it was probable that the "noble lady" Swithen had in fact been a man – Swithun, Bishop of Winchester, from 852 or 853 until his death in 863.

[5] Although recent guidebooks are more circumspect, referring only to "a tradition", an information panel at the east end of the cathedral still claims that there had been "A convent founded in 606 AD" and "A monastery established by St Swithun in the 9th century".

[citation needed] The earliest reference to the site was in the Domesday Book of 1086, when the "minster" of Southwark seems to have been under the control of William the Conqueror's half-brother, Bishop Odo of Bayeux.

The Priory was dedicated to the Virgin Mother as 'St Mary' but had the additional soubriquet of "Overie" ("over the river")[6] to distinguish it from the many churches in the City of London (on the opposite bank of the Thames) with the same name.

[8] In its reconstructed state – the basic layout of which survives today – the church was cruciform in plan, with an aisled nave of six bays, a crossing tower, transepts, and a five-bay choir.

[11] In the 1390s, the church was again damaged by fire, and in around 1420 the Bishop of Winchester, Henry Beaufort, assisted with the rebuilding of the south transept and the completion of the tower.

During the 15th century the parochial chapel was rebuilt, and the nave and north transept were given wooden vaults[8] following the collapse of the stone ceiling in 1469.

[12][13] The 14th-century poet John Gower lived in the priory precinct and is entombed in the church,[14] with a splendid memorial, with polychrome panels.

[citation needed] There is a large stained glass window dedicated to William Shakespeare, depicting scenes from his plays, at the base of which is an alabaster statue representing the playwright reclining, holding a quill.

His father, Robert, a local butcher and inn-holder, was a business associate of Shakespeare's family and a parochial, school, and church officer with the playwright's colleagues.

[25] It was from the tower of St Saviour's that the Czech artist Wenceslas Hollar drew his Long View of London from Bankside in 1647, a panorama which has become a definitive image of the city in the 17th century.

At a vestry meeting held in May 1831 it was decided to remove the nave roof, which had become unsafe, leaving the interior open to the weather, and to hold all future services in the choir and transepts.

[29] It was widely criticised, notably by Pugin who wrote "It is bad enough to see such an erection spring up at all, but when a venerable building is demolished to make way for it, the case is quite intolerable.

"[30] On the initiative of Anthony Thorold, Bishop of Rochester, the nave was once again rebuilt between 1890 and 1897[28] by Arthur Blomfield, in a manner intended to recreate its 13th-century predecessor as accurately as possible, and to preserve the few surviving mediaeval fragments.

Jeffrey John, the openly gay[39] Dean of St Albans and former bishop-elect of Reading, had been Canon Theologian of Southwark.

[46] The cathedral made plans to acquire a new cat in 2020, due to mouse problems in the building and a feeling that Doorkins' presence was missed.

Hodge, a black and white tuxedo cat, was formally adopted from a rescue organisation in 2020, coincidentally on the day of Doorkins' death.

Three of the Lay Clerks are supported by endowments from The Ouseley Trust, the Vernon Ellis Foundation, and the Friends of Cathedral Music.

[57][58] Ernest Lough, who later made a celebrated recording of O for the Wings of a Dove with the choir of the Temple Church under George Thalben-Ball, auditioned unsuccessfully for a position as chorister at Southwark Cathedral.

[59] Both Alan Young and Jonathan Darbourne, Hammerstein Chanters (head choristers) between 1999 and 2000, were also trebles at English National Opera.

Rollo Armstrong also used Young's recorded vocals for Dusted's single Always Remember to Respect and Honour Your Mother, which reached no.

It is intended to be the place both for boys and girls who leave the cathedral choirs and also other young singers who wish to maintain their sight-reading skills acquired as choristers and explore a wide range of repertoire under expert tuition.

The choir is named after the Tudor composer John Merbecke (1510–1585) who wrote one of the most popular settings of the Book of Common Prayer communion service.

He was found guilty and condemned to death, but his sentence was commuted by Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, who decided that, as a mere musician, Merbecke "knew no better".

[65] At a trial of the facts held in 2015, it was proven that Chesshyre, who had dementia and was therefore found to be unfit to plead, had sexually abused a teenage chorister during the 1990s.

Thomas Christopher Lewis, the company's founder, was renowned for building instruments that had a bright, vibrant tone which, in part, was due to his use of low wind pressures.

Apart from routine maintenance, the instrument remained untouched until 1952, when Henry Willis & Sons undertook a major rebuild, during which the wind pressures were increased.

Some years after the rebuild it was thought that the Willis changes, though well intentioned, detracted too much from the original concept, so it was decided to restore the instrument to the Lewis specifications.

In 1986, the electrics were renewed, and although the Willis console was retained, it was given a solid state action with eight memory levels for the combination pistons and four for the crescendo pedal.