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Our magnificent screen was erected by Bishop Fox of Winchester in 1520. Although the general appearance of the screen, with three broad rich bands of carvings, is that of the original, most of the detail is from later periods. Whether all the original statues were ever installed is uncertain, as the screen was completed within a decade of the Reformation when such statues were forbidden. The small carvings of the Lamb of God and the pelican (a badge of Bishop Fox) immediately above the rows of angels are probably original, as are some of the bases of the niches. The small carvings in the corners of the two doorways, showing hunting scenes, may also be original.
In 1703, the Great Screen was concealed by a painted wooden screen on which were inscribed the Lord's Prayer, Creed, the Ten Commandments, a dove descending with a group of cherubs heads topped with flaming urns.
This wooden screen was removed in 1830, and the niches restored and three rows of carved angels added.
In 1930, the lower portion was gilded and a new panel showing the Greek and Latin Fathers of the Church was added. This was inspired by a panel in St Mark's, Venice. The central figures of Christ in Majesty (St Saviour) and the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Christ Child (St Mary Overie) were gilded in the 1970s.
The majority of the figures set in the screen were carved by Messrs Nicolls of Lambeth from 1905 onwards. They tell the story of the church in which they stand.
[Southwark Cathedral]
Cathedral Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie (Southwark Cathedral)
Medieval Augustinian priory of St Mary Overie; Anglican cathedral since 1905. C12 church damaged by fire 1212 and rebuilt from 1220. East front, choir and retrochoir 1214-1260. Choir ceiling and tower pinnacles by George Gwilt Jnr. 1818-27; transepts altered 1830 by Robert Wallace. Nave replaced in 1839-40 by Henry Rose and again in 1890-97 by Sir Arthur Blomfield in C13 style.
[Historic England]