time to time kept the place in good reparations; but
lastly, the same bridge was built of stone; and then in the
year 1106 was this church again founded for canons regular by
William Pont de la Arch, and William Dauncey, Knights,
Normans.

Stow's account has been disputed in several particulars. Although it
may be taken for granted that there was a cross-ferry before there was
a bridge, it does not follow that the bridge immediately superseded
it; and it has been suggested, as more likely, that both means of
transit were used for some time simultaneously, as is the case to-day
at other places.

If the first London Bridge was built by Roman engineers during the
Roman occupation, it may be assumed that the bridge existed before the
church. That the first bridge was a Roman structure has been almost
proved by the discovery of Roman coins and other relics among the
_debris_ of the original work during the erection of later bridges. We
have an evidence of the antiquity of the site in some Roman
_tesserae_, discovered in 1832, while a grave was being dug in the
south-east corner of the churchyard, and still preserved in the
pavement, near the entrance, in the south aisle of the choir. These
_tesserae_, with the pottery, tiles, coins, lachrymatories, sepulchral
urns, etc., excavated from time to time in and about the church, are
clear indications of an important Roman settlement.

It is known that after the destruction of Roman London by Boadicea, a
great many Romans made their escape into Southwark, where they
continued to live, and contributed greatly to the size and importance
of the southern suburb. The principal buildings sprang up round the
site of St. Saviour's Church, and it has been reasonably conjectured
that a temple stood on the very spot that the church now occupies.[1]

It is true that no trace of this temple has been discovered; but the
conjecture is not inconsistent with the known principles of the early
Christian missionaries, in their contact with paganism, as illustrated
in the history and traditions of other important churches.

Stow's phrase, "long before the Conquest," though somewhat ambiguous,
has been thought to point to a date posterior to the Roman occupation.
Some authorities, therefore, contend that the Romans had erected
London Bridge and left the country before St. Mary's was founded, and
consequently the bridge the antiquary mentions as built by "Swithun, a
noble lady," wa