Description

SOUTHWARK

TQ3279 BOROUGH HIGH STREET 636-1/5/100 (East side) 02/03/50 Church of St George The Martyr

II*

Church, 1734-6. By John Price, interior altered 1807-8 by William Hedger; ceiling 1897 by Basil Champneys, restored 1951-2 by TF Ford. MATERIALS: red brick with Portland stone, Portland stone dressings; copper roof over nave, slate roof over chancel. PLAN: rectangular with west tower of 2 stages with half stages between, over. EXTERIOR: 2 storeys, 6-bay north and south elevations, divided into single-bay narthex and 5-bay nave. Chancel extends a further bay beyond. 3-bay east and west elevations. West, entrance front: central section under segmental pediment supported on giant Ionic columns. Angels in tympanum over cornice. Inner round arch on flat pilasters framing square-headed doorway with moulded architrave reached by flight of 8 steps, curving to sides. Pair of raised and fielded panelled doors; lunette with bracketed sill above. In outer sections, doorways at ground floor with architrave, pulvinated frieze, and console bracketed cornice. Above each, a round-arched window with apron, eared architrave and a keystone appearing to support cornice and balustraded parapet above. Cresset finials to corners of parapet and over pediment. Plain stone string course between floors continues round side elevations. Stone quoins and plinth. North and south elevations: quoins separate narthex from nave. 6 smaller ground-floor windows with elliptical heads, in stone architraves; 6 gallery windows above as those to west front. Balustraded parapet continued round from west front over narthex; plain brick parapets over nave. Tower: Portland stone, surmounted by spire. Lowest stage square with single, round-arched opening to each face; modillion cornice, urn finials. Octagonal half stage above with small pediment on brackets over clock on each main face. Next, octagonal Ionic stage defined by half columns at angles, round-arched opening on alternating faces. Above, shallow stage with round openings having architrave in form of cartouche. Polygonal spire with 3 diminishing oval openings on alternating faces, surmounted by ball and weather vane. East elevation: pedimented centre breaking forward. Lunette in tympanum. Palladian window with Ionic pilasters, pulvinated frieze and cornice; plain arch to centre. Above, garlanded

cartouche. Recessed single-storey side sections with panelled door in moulded architrave and, above, blind segmental-headed window in similar architrave. Similar windows to south face of chancel. INTERIOR: gallery on 3 sides of nave, supported on square posts with enriched brackets. Pair of fluted Ionic columns support gallery at west end, where are Stuart Royal Arms. Open string stairs to gallery, closed string below organ; moulded rail, pair of turned balusters per tread. Stairs at east end, also turned balusters, panelled walls. Ceiling with Italianate central feature with cherubs breaking through clouded sky, with texts on ribbon, the whole within a foliate border. Egg and dart cornice. Deep plaster frieze with arms of livery companies. Angels and swags on leafy ground. 3-bay chancel with coved barrel vault, enriched keystone to arch. Wrought-iron communion rail. Tall pulpit on 4 Ionic columns with fluted engaged columns at angles. Curved stair with shaped tread ends, ramped rail, stick balusters. Octagonal grey marble font. Lead cistern, dated 1738, as arms chest. Many minor tablets C18 and C19. Barrel-vaulted undercroft. Rooms at ground floor flanking chancel and south of entrance. Groin-vaulted entrance porch. SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: attached to south-east, brick wall and pair of square stone dressed gate piers. (The Buildings of England: Cherry B: London 2: South: England: 1983-1984: 576).

Listing NGR: TQ3249179763

External Links

• St George the Martyr at Wikipedia
• St George the Martyr official website
• Wikidata Q545935

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)