41. PRIORS, BISHOPS AND PROVOSTS
This is a list of the Priors of the Augustinian House of St Mary Overie, Bishops of Southwark, and Provosts of Southwark. The earliest date is 1106! PLAN
42. NAVE NORTH WALL II
We continue our exploration as we walk down the North aisle of the nave. We observe two more stained glass windows, and below from left, a dark rectangular plaque, a brightly coloured poster, a small doorway, and a tomb.
43. NORTH NAVE WINDOWS
The two windows depict (from left): Alexander Cruden (1701 – 1770), famous for his Concordance to the Old and New Testaments; John Bunyan (1628 – 1688) who wrote ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’.
44. ELLIS MEMORIAL
These tablets are in memory of Alice Prowde Ellis who died in 1928. She donated statues to the great Screen and on her death in 1928 bequeathed a generous sum to the Cathedral besides supporting other diocesan and church organizations.
45. ZIMBABWE CONNECTION
Like most Anglican dioceses in England, the Diocese of Southwark has a strong overseas partnership link with another part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Southwark’s link is with the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe, which is part of the Anglican Province of Central Africa.
46. NAVE NORTH WALL III
Continuing our investigation of the North wall, we arrive at a tomb with a small double window above (partly obscured here by the column), and a further stained glass window.
47. TOMB OF JOHN GOWER
This is the tomb of John Gower who was Poet Laureate to King Richard II and King Henry IV. This is a unique example of an English medieval canopied tomb with a full-sized recumbent effigy of a poet, depicted as such. His head lies on representations of his three books.
48. NORTH NAVE WINDOWS
The left window above John Gower’s tomb is dedicated to John Gower. It shows two scribes, the one on the left holding a book with text: In principio erat verbum = In the beginning was the Word. The right window features Geoffrey Chaucer (1340–1400), author of ‘The Canterbury Tales’, with St Thomas below.
49. MADONNA AND CHILD
On the last two pillars eastwards in the nave are, on the left (north), a carving of the Virgin and Child, by Peter Eugene Ball, and on the right (South), an icon of Christ the Saviour, a gift of the Romanian Patriarch. These together represent the dedication of the Cathedral to St Saviour and St Mary.
50. CROSSING THE CROSSING
We look now across the crossing: the main altar is just to the left. At centre is a memorial, and to the right a three lancet window above a tomb.
51. MEMORIAL AND SHAKESPEARE
The memorial is to the memory of Susannah Perkins who died in 1851, and whose remains are deposited in a nearby vault. At right we approach the great William Shakespeare.
52. SHAKESPEARE WINDOW
This window carries the initials WS. It was designed by Christopher Webb, and replaced the one which had been destroyed during the war, and was unveiled on the anniversary of Shakespeare's death in April 1954. The window depicts characters from some of Shakespeare's plays.
53. SHAKESPEARE MEMORIAL
Beneath the window is a recumbent alabaster figure of Shakespeare, carved by Henry McCarthy in 1912, set against a background of seventeenth-century Southwark in relief, showing the Globe Theatre, Winchester Palace and the tower of St Saviour's.
54. PLAQUE AND SOUTH NAVE
Right next to the Shakespeare memorial is a small plaque in memory of Sam Wanamaker who had a major role in rebuilding the Globe Theatre. The South aisle of the nave looking towards the St Swithun window is surprisingly bare.
55. ROOF AND CEILING
Before we leave the nave it is good to look up and appreciate the fine vaulting. In contrast is the ornate and colourful ceiling of the crossing with its many bosses.
57. NORTH TRANSEPT, WEST WALL
The fancy monument at left is a memorial to Joyce, Lady Clerke, erected by her husband William, a local lawyer and poet. It was designed by Nicholas Stone, a prominent 17th century sculptor. Tablets at right remember William and Martha Cabell, and Thomas Aishton.
58. NORTH TRANSEPT, NORTH WALL
The memorials at left are for Elizabeth Newcomen, and a local character, Dr Lockyer. At right is the Richard Blisse monument. Richard Blisse (1703) was a vestryman of St Saviour’s.
59. DR LOCKYER
Lionel Lockyer (1672) was a London physician of doubrful reputation, famous for his pills which were said to cure everything! The walls of the North transept date from the early 12th century – the oldest part of the existing cathedral.
60. NORTH TRANSEPT WINDOW
This window was Installed in 1897 to mark Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. Its theme is English churchmen. From left are shown: St Gregory the Great; St Ethelbert, King of Kent; Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury; and William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester. The dove of peace can be seen at top.