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This plaque is on the south wall of the south aisle, but was covered up when the
South Gallery was built in the late 18th Cent. A coat of arms is visible
below, and the name of John Russell is visible in the South Gallery, but all
wording in between is hidden.
John Russell was born in about 1698 in Staffordshire and died 21 December 1770
in Bermondsey. He married Rebecca Docker from Bermondsey in 1722.
John was very active within the church between 1746 and 1770. He was
survived by a son, Richard Russell, a fellmonger, who then died in 1784.
Richard is recorded on the list of benefactors of the charity school (seen on
the stairway in the NW corner of the church). He also left a larger sum of
money for a monument in "St John's Southwark" (St John's Horselydown?), the
reason being that St Mary's did not have the room for such a large memorial.
It seems surprising that the church would cover up the John Russell memorial
only ten years or so after his son's death. This would not be allowed
today!
This page last updated 29 December 2006