St George's Fields - Property of The City

Property of The City

The manor belonged to the Crown for only fourteen years, as in 1550 the City acquired it from Edward VI's government and also the Canterbury manor on the east side of the high street. The 'Abbot's' manor became known as 'The King's Manor'. This was presumably because of the royal presence at the old Suffolk House. This had been specifically excluded from the City’s jurisdiction by clauses in the 1550 charter. The building remained a royal mansion; in 1554 Queen Mary stayed overnight with her new husband King Philip II of Spain as part of their progress to London. The City's jurisdiction in Southwark now stretched across from the various borders with Lambeth and Bermondsey. These lands were paid for through the use of the endowments of the Bridge House Estates. From this point the City nominated the Rector of St George's, as to the present day.

The City's control of the area of St George's Fields allowed its development. From 1750 the creation of the new roads associated with the new Westminster Bridge and the improvements to the old London Bridge created the traffic nexus at Newington which because of these changes became known as Elephant and Castle and the junction of St George's Circus was required to connect these with the later, 1769 Blackfriars Bridge Road / London Road.