The Tabernacle moved to this site because of its prominant location and because it is believed to be the site of the burning of the Southwark Martyrs.
The tabernacle left the Baptist Union in 1887 because of what they describe as theological liberalism.
The building burnt down in 1898 with only the portico and basement surviving. It burnt down again after being hit by a incendiary bomb in May 1941. The portico and basement survived again and it reopened in 1957.