England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Bermondsey St James

The Parish

The parish of Bermondsey St James lies in the extreme northeast of Surrey forming part of the border, here formed by the Thames, with neighbouring Middlesex and separated from neighbouring Kent only by the parish of Rotherhithe. Bermondsey is located roughly 1 1/2 miles southeast of the city of London and stands on the southern bank of the Thames, the A200 (London to Greenwich) and A20 (London to Maidstone) roads frame the parish to north and south. In historical times a Cluniac priory was founded here (in 1089) which formed the seed for a small village to develop. From such small beginnings Bermondsey has grown over the centuries, initially as a centre for the distasteful industries best kept from residential areas, tanning, vinegar manufacturing and brewing. The proximity to the Thames also brought maritime trades of rope-making, anchor smithing and dock work. Thus Bermondsey became part of the inexorable early growth of London south-of-the-river and is nowadays an integral part of the broader metropolis that is Greater London. A major development in the parish was the construction of some of London's first railway lines, as early as the 1840s, the line from London along the North Kent coast was cut through and a major junction of lines formed where Bermondsey meets Deptford. The growing population by as early as 1827 saw the parish subdivided by the creation of St James and this process continued through the Victorian era as a further 5 areas were given their own parish churches. Sitting alongside the Thames most water drains by sub-surface means to it and thus to the North Sea through the Thames Estuary. Bermondsey is sited at little more than 5 metres above the sea with land gradually rising to slightly over 10 metres by the time one reaches Camberwell to the south. Bermondsey St James parish was given most of the east of the former area of Bermondsey parish, itself one of the smaller in the county, St James would have covered barely 400 acres, nevertheless it would have seen a population of intensive growth during the period of this transcript, the volume of marriages recorded in this transcript is roughly equivalent to the volume one would find with a population of 6,000. In Domesday times Bermondsey was a mere hamlet, held by the King, himself, it could offer merely 5 ploughs and the usual meadows & woodland.

The Church

St James' church stands on the eastern side of Thurland Road which sits between the Jamaica Road (A200) and the railway tracks, its congregation would have been main reliant upon the Thames and the church is barely 400 metres south of that mighty river. The church was begun in 1827 with funding from the London Church Commissioners, it took just over 2 years to build with the first marriage in January 1830. Pevsner rightly calls St James the "grandest church in Bermondsey". The church comes with the usual 19th century flair for amalgamating many differing styles, the front is a deep portico with Ionic columns and a pediment, the western tower is rather Baroque, the main body of the church, 8-bays in length is more conventional with straight-headed windows and a clerestory. Like most urban churches this is one to visit using public transport, an underground station lies just east on Jamaica Road. Also like most urban churches the photographer will find the usual obstacles of close-set buildings, there are also many trees within its dedicated urban block, some searching will be required to find acceptable views, it must be said, however, the view of the west end from Thurland Road is by far the most superior.