At the end of Borough High Street in South London is a Church, surrounded on all sides by roads one of which is the main road to London Bridge it's not the most salubrious location, though by comparison with the history of this area and certain churchmen and "Winchester Geese" associated with it, a little traffic noise and pollution are a pretty tame. 
The church building doesn't seem anything out of the ordinary either, but in fact dates back to the 1730s so is older than many Victorian Churches with which it might be confused.
There is an interesting story to be told about this particular church however, and it's about its clock. A few years ago my mother told me that one of the clock faces is black while the other three are white, which seems a little odd.
She told me that the black one points towards Bermondsey and, the story goes, is black because the people there refused to give money to help build the church.
All history papers record apparently is that it is painted “in as good and handsome a manner as the Clock at Greenwich Church” and was made by George Clarke of Whitechapel, costing a massive £90 in 1738.
So, using an appropriate religious reference, is it an apocryphal story? Well we may never be able to prove it, and it important to note that the relevant dial is the one over the roof of the main building which may explain the different colouration. The story is a fun one though so I hope it true.
Laurie Smith
