Bankside is an

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, within the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas ...

. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

, east of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

, running from a little west of

Blackfriars Bridge Blackfriars Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge, carrying the A201 road. The north end is in the City of London near the Inns of Court and Temple Ch ...

to just a short distance before

London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...

at St Mary Overie Dock. It is part of a business improvement district known as 'Better Bankside'.

History

Toponymy

The 'banke' was reclaimed by the

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...

who owned the manor of the Clink of which this is part. There is a map plan in the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of ...

archive showing 'the way to the banke'. The name is recorded in 1554 as ''the Banke syde'' and means 'street along the bank of the Thames'. In 1860

Southwark Street Southwark Street is a major street in Bankside in the London Borough of Southwark, in London England, just south of the River Thames. It runs between Blackfriars Road to the west and Borough High Street to the east. It also connects the access r ...

was created to connect the Blackfriars and London bridge crossings here and that can be regarded as the area's informal southern perimeter.

Urban development

Bankside is the riverside of the former

liberties Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society f ...

of the Clink and

Paris Garden Christchurch was a civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England. It was located south of the River Thames straddling either side of Blackfriars Road. It originated as the manor of Paris Garden in the parish of St Margaret, Southwa ...

. In the Elizabethan period, because it was outside the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

and its authority, the area of the Clink and Paris Garden became occupied by the bear baiting pits and playhouses, including the

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

, the

Hope Theatre The Hope Theatre was one of the theatres built in and around London for the presentation of plays in English Renaissance theatre, comparable to the Globe, the Curtain, the Swan, and other famous theatres of the era. The Hope was built in 1613 ...

, the

Swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

and the Globe Theatre of which a replica was constructed in the late 1990s. The history of the area is traced in a study that traces the earliest known history of a particular building on Bankside until the present day. It has experienced regeneration in recent decades, becoming a significant tourist destination, and forms a business improvement district. The skyline of Bankside is dominated by the former Bankside Power Station, which now houses the

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...

. A major new development in the area is the Bankside 1/2/3 complex on Southwark Street. Together, these three buildings house about 5,000 employees. Bankside 1, also known as the Blue Fin Building, was built for and partially occupied by

IPC Media TI Media (formerly International Publishing Company, IPC Magazines Ltd, IPC Media and Time Inc. UK) was a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year. Most of its tit ...

, while Bankside 2 and 3 are occupied by The Omnicom Group Ltd. The architect for the buildings was

Allies and Morrison Allies and Morrison LLP is an architecture and urban planning practice based in London and Cambridge. Founded in 1984, the practice is now one of Britain's largest architectural firms. The practice's work ranges from architecture and interio ...

Governance

It is part of the Borough and Bankside Community Council which corresponds to the Southwark electoral wards of

Cathedrals A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

and

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

. They are part of the Bermondsey and Old Southwark Parliament constituency and the Member of Parliament is Labour's

Neil Coyle Neil Alan John Coyle (born 30 December 1978) is a British Independent politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bermondsey and Old Southwark since 2015. He was elected MP as a member of the Labour Party, but was suspended ...

. It is within the Lambeth and Southwark London Assembly constituency.

Transport

Since 1754 the

has formed a connection to the north and in 1819

Southwark Bridge Southwark Bridge ( ) is an arch bridge in London, for traffic linking the district of Southwark and the City across the River Thames. Besides when others are closed for temporary repairs, it has the least traffic of the Thames bridges in Lond ...

has connected the area into the City. In 2000 a direct pedestrian connection was opened between the Tate Modern and

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

via the

Millennium Bridge Several bridges are known as the Millennium Bridge: * in the United Kingdom **Gateshead Millennium Bridge ** Lune Millennium Bridge, Lancaster ** Millennium Bridge, Glasgow ** Millennium Bridge, London ** Millennium Bridge (Salford Quays) ** Teesqua ...

, which also hosts two Cycle Hire stations Blackfriars station on the City side north bank of the river has been redeveloped as part of the

Thameslink Programme The Thameslink Programme, originally Thameslink 2000, was a £6billion project in south-east England to upgrade and expand the Thameslink rail network to provide new and longer trains between a wider range of stations to the north and to the ...

and opened a Bankside entrance in 2012.

and

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

are the other stations closest to Bankside, located to the east and south of it respectively. It is served by bus routes 381 and RV1 which are hydrogen powered.

References

External links

Bankside page on London SE1 community website

Better Bankside - official Business Improvement District website

Bankside Mix - local promotion and tourism website
{{Authority control Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Southwark Districts of London on the River Thames Art gallery districts Business improvement districts in London