Chapel of St Thomas on the Bridge

Chapel of St Thomas on the Bridge
An artist's impression showing the exterior view of the West Front of the Upper Chapel from London Bridge Street, after a print by George Vertue, (1684 – 1756), which was in turn based on a survey by architect Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661 – 1736)
Basic information
Geographic coordinates	51°30′29.66″N 0°5′12.41″W / 51.5082389°N 0.0867806°W / 51.5082389; -0.0867806Coordinates: 51°30′29.66″N 0°5′12.41″W / 51.5082389°N 0.0867806°W / 51.5082389; -0.0867806
Affiliation	Roman Catholic Church of England
Municipality	City of London
Year consecrated	before 1205
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	bridge chapel
Patron	Thomas Becket
Architectural description
Architect(s)	Peter de Colechurch
Architectural style	English Gothic
Demolished	1832
Specifications
Length	60 feet (18 m)
Width	20 feet (6 m)
Height (max)	40 feet (12 m) above street level
Deconsecrated in 1548

The Chapel of St Thomas on the Bridge was a bridge chapel built near the centre of "Old" London Bridge in the City of London and was completed by 1209. In 1548, during the Reformation, it was dissolved as a place of worship and soon afterwards converted to secular use. The building survived as a dwelling and warehouse until 1747 when the upper storey at street level was removed; the lower storey, which was built into the structure of one of the piers, remained in use as a store until Old London Bridge was demolished in 1832.

Wooden bridges crossing the River Thames between Southwark and the City of London had existed at various times since the Roman occupation, but had always utilised the same site. The last wooden London Bridge was built from elm in about 1163, under the direction of Peter de Colechurch, the priest of the parish church of St Mary Colechurch in Cheapside. This came at a period of growth and prosperity for the City, and it is likely that the wooden bridge soon proved to be inadequate.

Work on the foundations for the first pier of a new stone London Bridge began in 1176, also under Peter de Colechurch. The construction may have been instigated by King Henry II who levied a tax on wool, sheepskin and leather to help pay for the bridge. The eleventh pier from the Southwark side was built as the largest of the nineteen piers, specifically to accommodate a chapel dedicated to the popular saint and martyr, Thomas Becket, who had been murdered by Henry's followers in 1170 and for whom the king had since performed extensive public penance. The building of bridge chapels was common in the high medieval period, as the construction of bridges was considered an act of religious piety.