St Katharine's by the Tower

St Katharine's by the Tower - full name Royal Hospital and Collegiate Church of St. Katharine by the Tower - was a medieval church and hospital next to the Tower of London. The establishment was founded in 1148 and demolished in 1825 to build St Katharine Docks, which takes its name from it.

History

Medieval

It was founded by Matilda in 1148 in memory of her two sons Stephen's and Eustace's deaths in infancy (they were buried in the Priory Church of Holy Trinity at Aldgate) and its endowment was increased by two queen consorts, Eleanor of Castile (who gave a gift of manors) and Philippa of Hainault. It was made up of three brethren, three sisters (unusually, for that time, with equal rights to the brothers), a bedeswoman and six "poor clerks", all under a Master. In the 15th century its musical reputation rivalled that of St Paul's and in 1442 it was granted a Charter of Privileges, which made it and its 23 acre precinct a Liberty with its own prison, officers and court, all outside the City of London's ecclesiastical and civil jurisdiction.

Early Modern

Its liberty status and the fact it was personally owned and protected by the Queen Mother, meant that it was not dissolved but re-established in a Protestant form. There were by now 1,000 houses (including a brewery) in its precinct, inhabited by foreigners, vagabonds and prostitutes, crammed along narrow lanes (with names like Dark Entry, Cat’s Hole, Shovel Alley, Rookery and Pillory Lane) and many in poor repair - John Stow's 1598 "Survey of London" called them "small tenements and homely cottages, having as inhabitants, English and strangers [ie foreigners] , more in number than some city in England". Since the City's guilds' restrictions did not apply here, foreign craftsmen were attracted to the Liberty, as were many seamen and rivermen. Despite the high population density, however, in the Great Plague the Liberty's mortality rate was half of the rate in areas to the north and east of the City of London. Its continuing establishment of lay brothers and sisters, however, drew hostile attention from extreme Protestants - for example, it was only saved from being burned down by the mob in the 1780 Gordon Riots by a small group of pro-government inhabitants.

Demolition

The establishment was demolished in 1825 to provide a dock close to the heart of the City (named St Katharine Docks after it). The smallest of London's docks, some opposed the demolition of such an ancient establishment but in large part (in the words of Sir James Broodbank in his "History of the Port of London") it was also praised for demolishing "some of the most insanitary and unsalutary dwellings in London".

External links

* [http://www.royall.co.uk/royall/stkath1.htm Royall Family & East London History]