Under Bermondsey Square lie the remains of Bermondsey Priory. Founded in the 1080s on the South Bank of the Thames, across the riever from the White Tower, Bermondsey and its Holy Rood - its 'miraculous' statue of Christ on the cross - was popular with medieval pilgrims and in 1399 the priory was made an abbey.

The site's long history is explored in the fully illustrated book which shows the results of modern excavation of the eastern parts of the church and priory, east of Bermondsey Square, combined with detailed documentary research and an extensive 19th-century survey of the abbey.