England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Walworth St Peter

The Parish

The parish of Walworth was created in 1825 from the larger parish of Newington to meet the growing population of the area as London expanded beyond the enclave of Southwark south of the Thames. Walworth is located about 2 miles south of the city of :London and just south of the landmark of Elephant & Castle. In the maze of major roads of south London Walworth sits just east of the A215 road which connects onwards and southwards through Camberwell & Streatham to eastern Croydon. Up to the middle of the 18th century London-south-of-the-river was restricted closely to the banks of the river, the area which now contains Walworth being still rural in both feel and economy. Plans drawn up for the development of the area by George Dance the Younger spread developments outward, initially along the main thoroughfares and later through infill vastly increasing the population of the area. By the end of the 1st quarter of the 19th century such was the growth that Walworth was created and St Peter's church built to serve it. Today Walworth is an integral part of the expanse of urban environment that is Greater London and it is difficult to picture the rural area that previously was here. Due to the urban environment there is no obvious surface drainage to report but water reaches the nearby Thames and thence the North Sea through underground routes. Walworth is sited at just 5 metres above the sea, it sits on the inner flood plain of the Thames and height does not begin to significantly increase for some distance from that river. Walworth parish covered a tiny area, just 300 acres is estimated, but the population would have grown exponentially from a small beginning to well over 2,000 parishioners by the close of the transcript period. In Domesday times Walworth, then a tiny hamlet, was held by the Archbishop of Canterbury and could offer just 4 ploughs and a small meadow.

The Church

St Peter's church sits just a few yards to the east of the busy A215 (Walworth Road) and is accessed along Liverpool Grove where some parking may be found. Built between 1823 & 1825 to the design of Sir John Soane (whose work also can be found at Bethnal Green) the church is built from a honey-yellow brick. The western front with its 4 Ionic columns faces down Liverpool Grove and presents an attractive appearance as you close. As a modern church the building merits little in the way of comment from Pevsner as it has little of architectural interest for him. The area surrounding the church is dominated by three storey brick buildings from the expansion area as well as modern developments, some of which are unattractive, and the church enhances the area. Together with Faraday Gardens the churchyard forms a pleasant "L" shaped area of green within this urban environment. Given the urban setting it is surprisingly easy to gain acceptable images of St Peter.