First, though, as they pass through Southwark, there lies the cathedral church of St.George. Southwark‟s Catholic Cathedral had its origins in St.George‟s Chapel in London Road, which, by the mid-nineteenth century was serving a congregation of 15,000 people. A collection for a new church was organised by the chaplain, Fr.Thomas Doyle. By 1839 this enabled the Church to acquire a site in St.George‟s Fields and to commission the celebrated architect of Gothic Revival, Augustus Welby Pugin. In 1840 the foundation stone was laid and in 1848 St.George‟s Church was ready to be opened by the Vicar Apostolic for the London District, Nicholas Wiseman. In 1850, when the Catholic Hierarchy was restored, St.George‟s became the cathedral of the new diocese of Southwark. It was here that Cardinal Wiseman was enthroned as first Archbishop of Westminster and Administrator of Southwark on December 6th of that year. It was also here, on May 4th, 2000, that the Sesquicentennial Anniversary of the Restoration of the Hierarchy was celebrated, along with events at Westminster. During the celebration of Vespers for the Feast of St.George, the congregation sang a hymn written by Marty Haugen, “Let Us Build A House Where Love Can Dwell”:
Let us build a house where prophets speak, And words are strong and true... Here the cross shall stand as witness And as symbol of God‟s grace; Here as one we claim the faith of Jesus Let us build a house where love is found in water, wine and wheat... Let us build a house where hands will reach beyond the wood and stone to heal and strengthen, serve and teach and live the Word they‟ve known Let us build a house where all are named, their songs and visions heard... Built of tears and cries and laughter prayers of faith and songs of grace. In 1941 St.George‟s was severely damaged by German firebombs. In 1953, rebuilding began and the cathedral was ready to be re-opened in 1958. From Southwark‟s Gothic revival the pilgrim‟s next cathedral offers glimpses of Norman Gothic architecture. Rochester makes claim to be the oldest diocese in England, only after Canterbury. In 604, Augustine sent the first bishop. The remains of the northern missionary, St.Paulinus, are buried here. In 1077, the Saxon church was replaced by Gandulf, the first Norman bishop and some of his Romanesque building is still visible, as are parts of the twelfth century monastic cloister and chapter house. Throughout the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the building continued in the Gothic style. In the fourteenth century, Bishop Hamo de Hythe constructed the central tower and spire, although these were remodeled by the Victorians. The cathedral produced two martyrs, Bishop John Fisher (see chapter Twelve, The Tower), executed by Henry VIII and, during the reign of Mary Tudor, the Protestant martyr, Nicholas Ridley (who was Bishop of London by then). The latter is commemorated in the quire screen.