Parish of St James, Bermondsey , Church of England

In 1821, the land which forms part of the churchyard was bought and a generous grant from the Commissioners of the Fund was secured. The Chairman of the Committee was William Nottidge, a wool-stapler; with him were two brothers, William George and Richard King Watts, tanners; John Harcourt, Thomas Keeton and Martin Carter, all builders, Robert Rich, who commanded the Bermondsey Volunteers and Dr William Harrison, one of the two Chaplains of Sat Saviour's, Southwark.

With a liberal grant from the parishioners and a gift from the commissioners, the contract for the building of the church, costing £21,412.19.5, was signed. The first stone was laid on 21st February 1827. The church was consecrated by Dr Sumner, Bishop of Winchester, on May 7th 1829. Initially the church encountered some financial difficulty, however by 1840 the last loan had been repaid and the church was free of debt.

The parish of Saint James was formed in 1840, from part of the parish of Saint Mary Magdalene. The creation of new parish in the Bermondsey area was necessitated by a great increase in population. The advowson of the parish was held by the rector of Bermondsey.