History of the LCM site

The LCM headquarters offices were built on the site of a church called St John's Horsleydown. You can still see the original stonework around the base of the building.

St John's was one of the last works of the Commission for Building Fifty New Churches. This body was set up in Queen Anne's reign by the Tories who were anxious to rescue the suburbs from the influence of nonconformity. Of the fifty churches, only ten new churches were built and two existing churches were rebuilt. By 1734 the Whigs had been in power a long time, money was short, and for St John's church the commissioners ordered a cut-price job from their two surveyors - Nicholas Hawksmoor and John James. Land for Horsleydown church and parsonage was bought from St Olave's school as early as 1718, but it was only in June 1727 that the two surveyors who had been pursuing their separate designs were ordered to 'jointly prepare a model of the Church by the next meeting that may be built as cheap as possible'.

Pictures of St John's Horsleydown LCM acquires the site   The old rectory

Additional sources:   Lambeth Palace Library holds 'Papers of the Commission for the Building of Fifty New Churches (the Queen Anne Churches) in and around London, appointed by Act of Parliament in 1711. These include minute books, correspondence, financial records and plans, 1711-59 (MSS. 2690-2750)'.   The British History Online gives details of the list of commissioners and officers, an illustrative map of London parishes, a list of churches built and Minutes of the Commissioners.   A fascinating personal history of the Horsleydown area, mentioning St John's Church and St Olave's school, is given in the Cryer Family's web site.   British History Online contains an extract from Old and New London: Volume 6 (1878), pp. 100-17 concerning Bermondsey and Tooley Street. This article covers the following subjects and has illustrations.    Derivation of the Name of Bermondsey—General Aspect of the Locality—Duke Street—Tooley Street—St. Olave's Church—Abbots' Inn of St. Augustine—Sellinger's Wharf—The Inn of the Abbots of Battle—Maze Pond—The House of the Priors of Lewes—St. Olave's Grammar School—Great Fires at the Wharves in Tooley Street—Death of Braidwood, the Fireman—The "Lion and Key"—The Borough Compter—The "Ship and Shovel"—Carter Lane Meeting House—Dr. Gill and Dr. Rippon—The "Three Tailors of Tooley Street"—The "Isle of Ducks"—Tunnels under London Bridge Railway Station—Snow's Fields—A Colony of Hatters—Horselydown—Fair Street—The Birthplace of Thomas Guy—The Church of St. John the Evangelist—Goat's Yard—Keach's Meeting-house—Absence of Singing in Dissenting Meeting-houses two Centuries ago—Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School—A Description of Horselydown and the adjacent Neighbourhood in Former Times—Dockhead—"Shad Thames"—Jacob's Island.   The website for The Lost Industry of Southwark Project is also worth visiting. The home page states: Southwark was once a major centre of Industry hosting large scale industries such as: shipbuilding, rope-making, engineering, carriage, haulage, shipping, victualling and food-processing industries. It had Europe’s largest leather industry, the largest hatters and largest brewer in the world. It was the home to many household brand names such as: Jacobs Cream Crackers, Cross and Blackwell, Hartley's Jam, Courage Beer, Sarsens Vinegar, Pearce Duff, Spiller's dog biscuits and Peak Frean Biscuits. They are now virtually all gone - but the Lost Industries can still be found, in the street names, the preserved warehouses, the very geography of the streets and in the memories of the workers. The aim of the project is to help people enjoy finding out about those lost industries and perhaps to learn some lessons from their passing.