The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

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 The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, London borough covering much of the traditional East End of London, East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropol ...

. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London Government Act 1963. All districts of the area are within the

London postal district The London postal district is the area in England of to which mail addressed to the London post town is delivered. The General Post Office under the control of the Postmaster General directed Sir Rowland Hill to devise the area in 1856 and thro ...

. It is governed by

Southwark London Borough Council Southwark London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Southwark in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. History There have previously been a numbe ...

. The part of the

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...

within the borough is home to

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 ...

terminus station and the attractions of The Shard, Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe and Borough Market that are the largest of the venues in

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 ...

to draw domestic and international tourism. Dulwich is home to the Dulwich Picture Gallery and the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

is in Elephant and Castle.

Toponymy

The name ''Suthriganaweorc'' or ''Suthringa geweorche'' is recorded for the place in the early 10th-century

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

document known as the ''

Burghal Hidage The Burghal Hidage () is an Anglo-Saxon document providing a list of over thirty fortified places (burhs), the majority being in the ancient Kingdom of Wessex, and the taxes (recorded as numbers of hides) assigned for their maintenance.Hill/ Rumb ...

'' and means "

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

folk's fort" or "the defensive work of the men of Surrey". Southwark is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as ''Sudweca''. The name means "southern defensive work" and is formed from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''sūþ'' (south) and ''weorc'' (work). In

means "southern district (or the men of the southern district)", so the change from "southern district work" to the latter "southern work" may be an evolution based on the elision of the single syllable ''ge'' element, meaning district. The strategic context of the defences would have been in relation to London, its bridge and preventing waterborne attackers from travelling further up the Thames.

History

is the oldest part of

south London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

. An urban area to the south of the bridge was first developed in the Roman period, but subsequently abandoned. The name

dates from the establishment of a defensive position in the area by King Alfred in the 9th century. Southwark was an ancient borough, being described as a borough from at least the 12th century. The area historically formed part of the county of

. Southwark had a complicated administrative relationship with the neighbouring City of London. There was a

parliamentary borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

(constituency) of

from 1295 onwards. London was given various manorial and judicial rights over parts of Southwark, notably in 1327 and 1550, when Southwark was brought within the city boundaries as the ward of Bridge Without. However, the city's authority over Southwark was not as complete as it was for the older part of the city north of the Thames; certain judicial powers over the borough were still exercised by the Surrey authorities. From 1856 the area was also governed by the Metropolitan Board of Works, which was established to provide services across the metropolis of London. In 1889 the Metropolitan Board of Works' area was made the County of London. From 1856 until 1900 the lower tier of local government within the metropolis comprised various parish vestries and district boards. The parishes of Bermondsey,

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

, Newington, Rotherhithe and

Southwark St George the Martyr Southwark St George the Martyr was a civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England and part of the ancient Borough of Southwark. In 1855 the parish vestry became a local authority within the area of responsibility of the Metropolita ...

were governed by their individual vestries, whilst other smaller parishes and liberties were grouped into the St Olave District and St Saviour's District. In 1900 the lower tier was reorganised into metropolitan boroughs. Bermondsey, Rotherhithe and the St Olave District merged to become the Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey, the parish of Camberwell was made the Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell, and Newington, Southwark St George the Martyr, and the St Saviour's District merged to become the Metropolitan Borough of Southwark. The City of London's Bridge Without ward which had covered parts of Southwark was effectively abolished as part of the reforms, losing all its territory. The larger London Borough of Southwark was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963, covering the combined area of the former metropolitan boroughs of Southwark, Bermondsey and Camberwell.

Geography

The borough borders the City of London and the

to the north (the River Thames forming the boundary), the

London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London boroughs, London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London ...

to the west and the London Borough of Lewisham to the east. To the south the borough tapers giving a brief border with the London Borough of Bromley. The northwest part of the borough is part of Central London and is densely developed. To the east, the Rotherhithe peninsula has lower-density modern housing and open space around the former Surrey Commercial Docks. The southern part of Southwark includes the Victorian suburbs of Camberwell, Peckham and Nunhead, and the prosperous "village" of Dulwich with some very large houses forms the far south of the borough.

Landmarks

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule and Suspended-deck suspension bridge, suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones (architect), Horace Jones and e ...

, the Millennium Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge, Southwark Bridge and

all connect the City of London to the borough. The Tate Modern art gallery, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, the

and Borough Market are also within the borough. At wide,

Burgess Park Burgess Park is a public park situated in Camberwell the London Borough of Southwark, and is close to Walworth to the north, Bermondsey to the east and Peckham to the south. At , it is one of the largest parks in South London. Unlike most other ...

is Southwark's largest green space.

Hills and watercourses

The

Norwood Ridge The Norwood Ridge is a rectangular upland which occupies the geographical centre of south London, centred south of London Bridge. Beneath its topsoil it is a ridge of London Clay that is capped on all sides (including as isolated knolls in t ...

, save for around its broad northern third, forms the borough's boundary. Along these crests, against the extreme of the borough's southern narrow taper, is the highest point of the borough, Sydenham Hill. This is the fifteenth-highest peak in London. The main watercourse is the Thames bounding the north of the borough into which the area drains. The southern of the borough is the valley catchment of a present sewerage and surface water drainage basin, once a large stream with complex mouths across the north of the borough, the

Effra The River Effra is a former set of streams in south London, England, culverted and used mainly for storm sewerage. It had been a tributary of the Thames. Its catchment waters, where not drained to aquifer soakaways and surface water drains, have ...

. It is in very large part converted to a combined sewer under a

Joseph Bazalgette Sir Joseph William Bazalgette CB (; 28 March 181915 March 1891) was a 19th-century English civil engineer. As chief engineer of London's Metropolitan Board of Works, his major achievement was the creation (in response to the Great Stink of 1 ...

-engineered reform to enable general urbanisation; all combined and public foul sewers drain far to the east – to the Crossness works. Similarly reformed, into all three types of drainage (foul, combined, surface), are the Neckinger and Peck catchments of the borough.

Governance

Southwark Council Offices (geograph 2727779)

The local authority is Southwark Council, based at

160 Tooley Street 160 Tooley Street is a municipal facility in Tooley Street, Southwark, London. It is the headquarters of Southwark London Borough Council. History The proposed development combined the refurbishment of some Victorian warehouses with the constr ...

Greater London representation

Since 2000, for elections to the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...

, the borough forms part of the Lambeth and Southwark constituency.

Westminster Parliament

The borough is covered by three

parliamentary constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region Administra ...

. All three are currently represented by

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

MPs MPS, M.P.S., MPs, or mps may refer to: Science and technology * Mucopolysaccharidosis, genetic lysosomal storage disorder * Mononuclear phagocyte system, cells in mammalian biology * Myofascial pain syndrome * Metallopanstimulin * Potassium perox ...

. (

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 ...

was suspended from Labour on 11 February 2022, but re-admitted in May 2023, sitting in the interim as an independent.) * Camberwell and Peckham – Harriet Harman *

Dulwich and West Norwood Dulwich and West Norwood is a constituency in South London created in 1997. It has been represented by Helen Hayes of Labour since her election in 2015. In the 2016 EU referendum The United Kingdom European Union membership referend ...

(shared with

) –

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...

* Bermondsey and Old Southwark –

Demographics

At the 2001 census Southwark had a population of 244,866. Southwark was ethnically 63.04% white, 5.9% Asian or Asian British, and 25.9% black or black British. By 2021 the population was 307,640, with 51.5% white, 9.9% Asian or Asian British, and 25.1% black or black British. 31% of householders were owner–occupiers. The area is the home of many Nigerian (Peckham is largely regarded as the heart of London's Nigerian community), Jamaican, South African, South American, Polish, and French immigrants.t

Ethnicity

Religion

Southwark was per the last census about 50% Christian. It has many notable places of Christian worship and ceremony: Anglican, Roman Catholic and other denominations. These include Charles Spurgeon's Metropolitan Tabernacle, Southwark Cathedral (Church of England), Saint George's Cathedral (Roman Catholic), and Saint Mary's Cathedral (Greek Orthodox). London's Norwegian Church, Finnish Church and the Swedish Seamen's Church are all in Rotherhithe. Saint George the Martyr is the oldest church in London dedicated to England's patron saint. Southwark has the most British-Nigerian churches in the country and the highest concentration of African churches outside the continent. Places of worship for Sunni Muslims, Hindus,

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...

and Jews exist. Per the 2011 Census, 35.6% of the borough's resident respondents identified as non-religious, or chose not to state their faith. The following table shows the religious identity of residents residing in Southwark according to the 2001, 2011 and the 2021 censuses.

Repurposed places of worship

Ex- St Thomas's Church is the

Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret at 9a St Thomas Street is a museum of surgical history and one of the oldest surviving operating theatres. It is located in the garret of St Thomas's Church, Southwark, in London, on the origi ...

. The other redundant church in public use is Francis Bedford's in Trinity Church Square, as recording studio Henry Wood Hall.

Literature and theatres

Southwark has many literary associations. Charles Dickens set several of his novels in the old borough where he lived as a young man. The site of The Tabard inn (featured in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales), the White Hart inn and the George Inn which survives. The rebuilt

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and gra ...

and its exhibition on the Bankside remind us of the area's being the birthplace of classical theatre. There is also the remains of the

Rose Theatre The Rose was an Elizabethan theatre. It was the fourth of the public theatres to be built, after The Theatre (1576), the Curtain (1577), and the theatre at Newington Butts (c. 1580?) – and the first of several playhouses to be situated in Ba ...

. In 2007 the Unicorn Theatre for Children was opened on Tooley Street. The Southwark Playhouse is in Elephant and Castle and the Union Theatre is on Union Street near Southwark station. The Menier Chocolate Factory combines a theatre and exhibition space, whilst the newly opened Bridge Theatre is next to Tower Bridge and City Hall.

Museums and galleries

The borough hosts the main site of the

at the south end of Borough High Street.

Peckham Library Peckham Library is a library and community building situated in Peckham in south-east London. It was designed by Alsop and Störmer,

, designed by Will Alsop won the Stirling Prize for modern architecture. Another architecturally innovative library designed by Piers Gough, Canada Water Library opened in 2011. South London Gallery between Camberwell and Peckham is split across two buildings on Peckham Road. The Tate Modern is also based at Bankside. MOCA, London, as curated by the artist

Michael Petry Michael Petry (born 1960) is an American multi-media artist and author who lives and works in London. He is director of MOCA, London (Museum of Contemporary Art London), and co-founder of the Museum of Installation, also in London. He was former ...

, and

Flat Time House Flat Time House was the studio home of British conceptual artist John Latham (1921–2006) and is now open as a contemporary art gallery, centre for alternative learning and artist residency space, housing the John Latham archive. It is located ...

are both contemporary art galleries on Bellenden Road. Dulwich Picture Gallery also is in Dulwich. Bold Tendencies is an annual exhibition space in a former car park on Rye Lane in Peckham which has shown work by Simon Whybray, Jenny Holzer, Derek Jarman, Rene Matić, and Gray Wielebinski. Another museum is the

Old Operating Theatre The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret at 9a St Thomas Street is a museum of surgical history and one of the oldest surviving operating theatres. It is located in the garret of St Thomas's Church, Southwark, in London, on the origin ...

. One former museum include the Cuming Museum and the

Livesey Museum for Children The Livesey Museum for Children was in the Old Kent Road, within the London Borough of Southwark, London, England. The Livesey Museum was one of very few children's museums in the United Kingdom, which used to show a completely new hands-on ex ...

was a free children's museum housed in the former Camberwell Public Library No.1, which was given to the people of Southwark by the industrialist Sir George Livesey. The museum was closed by Southwark council in 2008.

Economy

The northern end of the borough opposite the Square Mile includes the

More London More London, part of an area known as London Bridge City, is a development on the south bank of the River Thames, immediately south-west of Tower Bridge in London. It is owned by the Kuwaiti sovereign wealth fund. It includes the City Hall, a ...

and

London Bridge City Tooley Street is a road in central London, central and south London, south London connecting London Bridge to St Saviour's Dock; it runs past Tower Bridge on the Southwark/Bermondsey side of the River Thames, and forms part of the A200 road. (.) ...

developments accommodating the offices of major professional service firms. Notable such businesses include PricewaterhouseCoopers,

Norton Rose Norton Rose Fulbright is a British-American multinational law firm. It is the second largest law firm in the United States and one of the ten largest in the world, by both lawyers and revenue. In 2017–18, Norton Rose Fulbright had total reven ...

, Ernst & Young,

Lawrence Graham Lawrence Graham LLP (informally LG) was a multinational law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The firm had over 180 lawyers, and as well as London it had offices in Dubai, Moscow, Singapore and Monaco. Lawrence Graham merged with the ...

and Actis. The

Greater London Authority The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the metonym "City Hall", is the devolved regional governance body of Greater London. It consists of two political branches: the executive Mayoralty (currently led by Sadiq Khan) and the ...

is based at

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

. The press and publishing industry is also well represented in Southwark; the '' Financial Times'' has its head office in Southwark Bridge Road, and IPC Magazines in Southwark Street.

Campus Living Villages Campus Living Villages (CLV) is a global student accommodation provider with services in finance, design, development, project management and operation of student housing.Campus Living Villages." Campus Living Villages'. Retrieved on 15 March 201 ...

UK also has its head office in the borough. Butlers Wharf

Some of the old industrial and wharfside heritage remains at the now defunct Surrey Commercial Docks now Surrey Quays, including Greenland Dock and Baltic Quay, where major residential schemes were developed in the 1980s and 1990s. Near

old warehouses have been converted to new mixed uses at

Butler's Wharf Butler's Wharf is an England, English historic building at Shad Thames on the south bank of the River Thames, just east of London's Tower Bridge, now housing luxury flats and restaurants. Lying between Shad Thames and the Thames Path, it overlo ...

and Hay's Wharf. Similarly, further west, the

Oxo Tower The Oxo Tower is a building with a prominent tower on the south bank of the River Thames in London. The building has mixed use as Oxo Tower Wharf containing a set of design, arts and crafts shops on the ground and first floors with two galler ...

hosts restaurants, shops and housing. There are major retail concentrations at Surrey Quays, Old Kent Road, Elephant & Castle/Walworth Road and central Peckham. Southwark is currently home to three Opportunity Areas (areas with capacity for significant economic development) as designated in the Mayor of London's London Plan. These are Elephant and Castle, Canada Water and Old Kent Road.

Educational establishments

London South Bank University (LSBU) has over 23,000 students and 1,700 staff at its principal Elephant and Castle site. The Chancellor is the entrepreneur newscaster Richard Farleigh. The

University of the Arts London University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea Coll ...

has two of its colleges in the borough – at Elephant and Castle is the London College of Communication and on Peckham Road is the Camberwell College of Arts. The largest university teaching hospital in Europe

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

is at the Guy's Hospital site, merging the teaching activities of the Guy's, St Thomas' and King's College Hospitals here. St Thomas' was founded in the mid-12th Century in the borough and parts of it remain at St Thomas Street; Guy's was founded opposite this in 1725. The

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

maintains the

William Booth Memorial Training College William Booth College on Champion Park, Denmark Hill in the London Borough of Southwark, is the headquarters of The Salvation Army leadership and officer training which delivers education and training programmes for the United Kingdom. Designed b ...

at Denmark Hill. Founded in 1945, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts moved to

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...

in 2018.

Housing

Southwark has a wide variety of housing, including

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...

, such as the post- Blitz Aylesbury Estate and the

Heygate Estate The Heygate Estate was a large housing estate in Walworth, Southwark, South London comprising 1,214 homes. The estate was demolished between 2011 and 2014 as part of the urban regeneration of the Elephant & Castle area. Home to more than 3,000 ...

to provide homes to low-income residents. The aforementioned estates have been turned over to local housing associations to demolish and redevelop as mixed-tenure developments. Southwark Council and the Greater London Authority have invested tens of millions of pounds in supporting the respective housing associations complete these projects, which in both cases will lead to a large increase in the number of properties on the sites, with an almost equal reduction in the amount of social housing: the Aylesbury Estate originally housed 2,403 properties at social rent while post-development there will be 1,323 for social rent and 1,733 for private sale, meanwhile the Heygate Estate had 1,214 properties before demolition, most of which were leased at social rent, while the final plans for the development will see 2,530 homes of which 500 will be social housing. Southwark's local residents' returns recorded in 2011 that its rented sector comprised 53.4% of its housing, marginally below the highest in England, which was recorded by

Camden Camden may refer to: People * Camden (surname), a surname of English origin * Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer * Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor Places Australia * Camden, New South Wales * Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...

, at 53.5%. In neighbouring Lambeth this figure was 47.3% and in neighbouring Croydon the figure was 29.7%. Southwark had the greatest proportion of social housing in England, 43.7% (31.2% owned by the council itself with the other social housing in the hands of housing associations), at the time of the 2011 census. Tenant management organisations benefit many apartment blocks. The council set much housing policy among Housing Association blocks to allocate homes based on need and a

rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

that residents can afford, based on

means testing A means test is a determination of whether an individual or family is eligible for government assistance or welfare, based upon whether the individual or family possesses the means to do without that help. Canada In Canada, means tests are use ...

, via headlease and/or by the Housing List. In many blocks a mixture of social, shared-ownership and private sector housing exists, particularly in those where the right to buy has been exercised and in newer developments.

Courts and judiciary

The old Southwark borough hosted many Courts and Prisons of Royal Prerogative, the Marshalsea and King's Bench. As well as the manorial and borough courts, magistrates met until the 20th century at the Surrey Sessions House which had its own jail for the punitive aspect of its work. The

Inner London Sessions House The Inner London Sessions House Crown Court, more commonly known as the Inner London Crown Court and distinct from the Inner London Magistrates' Court, is a Crown Court building in Newington, London, United Kingdom. It is located in the Sessions ...

(or now Crown Court) on Newington Causeway descends from these. The

Southwark Coroner's Court Southwark Coroner's Court is the Coroner's Court for inner south London. It is located at Tennis Street, London. The court covers cases for the London boroughs of Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark.Southwark Crown Court was opened at English Grounds near London Bridge. Since 1994 the Crown Court for west London Boroughs, was rehoused from Knightsbridge to Southwark as Blackfriars Crown Court. When the decision was taken to separate the judiciary and legislature, in 2007, by transforming the House of Lords Judicial Committee of Law Lords into the Supreme Court took over the court occupying the Middlesex Guildhall, whose

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...

judges transferred to Southwark Crown Court, hence the senior judge holds the honorific title of the

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

of Westminster. Southwark's local magistrates sit at two courts in the borough, Tower Bridge and Camberwell Green Magistrates Courts. The concentration of major courts, which are unlawful to film save for sentencing with judicial permission, enables their media coverage: Southwark has seven jurisdictions, six of which are London's criminal courts and which commonly receive offences committed in public office or in businesses based in Westminster and several other London boroughs.

Sport and leisure

The London Borough of Southwark has the following sport clubs: *

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

club

Millwall F.C. Millwall Football Club () is a professional football club in Bermondsey, South East London, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name ...

who play at the New Den. *

Non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

club

Dulwich Hamlet F.C. Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill. History The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. T ...

who play at Champion Hill. *

clubs Fisher F.C. &

Bermondsey Town F.C. Bermondsey Town Football Club is a football club based in Rotherhithe, England. They are currently members of the and play at St Paul's Sports Ground, groundsharing with Fisher. History In 2013, Bermondsey Town were formed, playing Sunday league ...

play at St Paul's Sports Ground, Rotherhithe. * Independent Football Academy, Ballers Academy who train and play at St Paul's Sports Ground and The Docklands Settlement in Rotherhithe & Harris Academy in Bermondsey.

Transport

Bridges and tunnels

* Blackfriars Bridge *

London Millennium Bridge The Millennium Bridge, officially known as the London Millennium Footbridge, is a steel suspension bridge for pedestrians crossing the River Thames in London, England, linking Bankside with the City of London. It is owned and maintained by Bridg ...

* Southwark Bridge *

Rotherhithe Tunnel The Rotherhithe Tunnel, designated the A101, is a road tunnel under the River Thames in East London, connecting Limehouse in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets north of the river to Rotherhithe in the London Borough of Southwark south of the ...

* Thames Tunnel now part of the Overground

"A" Roads

*Roads leading to bridges across the Thames meet at St. George's Circus *The A201 Inner Ring Road crosses the north-west of the area from the Elephant and Castle to

and the city. *The A2 runs along Old Kent Road through the north of the borough and is London's main artery from the centre out to Kent. *The A202 runs along Peckham High Street and passes the town hall. *The A205 London's South Circular Road runs east–west along Dulwich Common and Thurlow Park Road in the south. *The boundary with Bromley at Crystal Palace Parade is part of the A212.

London Underground (Tube) stations

The

Bakerloo The Bakerloo line () is a London Underground line that goes from in suburban north-west London to in south London, via the West End of London, West End. Printed in brown on the Tube map, it serves 25 stations, 15 of which are underground, ove ...

, Jubilee and

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

lines all run through the borough, below are the stations called at: * Bermondsey (Jubilee line) * Borough (Northern line (Bank Branch) * Canada Water (Jubilee line) * Elephant & Castle (Bakerloo and Northern line (Bank Branch) *

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between the ...

(Northern line) *

(Jubilee and Northern line (Bank Branch) *

(Jubilee line)

London Overground stations

* Surrey Quays * Rotherhithe * Canada Water (also part of London Underground) *

Denmark Hill Denmark Hill is an area and road in Camberwell, in the London Borough of Southwark. It is a sub-section of the western flank of the Norwood Ridge, centred on the long, curved Ruskin Park slope of the ridge. The road is part of the A215 road, A21 ...

* Peckham Rye * Queens Road Peckham

Railway stations

National Rail services in the Borough are operated by Southern, Southeastern and Thameslink. * Gipsy Hill *

(also part of London Overground) * East Dulwich * West Dulwich *

North Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half o ...

* Nunhead * Peckham Rye (also part of London Overground) * Queens Road Peckham (also part of London Overground) * Sydenham Hill *

South Bermondsey South Bermondsey is a ward in the London Borough of Southwark created in 2010 out of Burgess Ward in southeast London, England. The area is served by South Bermondsey railway station, with a future station at Surrey Canal Road. Nearby neighbor ...

* Elephant & Castle

Riverbus piers

''Operated by Thames Clippers'' *

Bankside Pier Bankside Pier is a stop for river services in London. It is located on the south bank of the river Thames, close to Tate Modern museum. Three services call at the pier: the river bus routes RB1 (between Embankment and Woolwich Arsenal) and RB2 ...

– for Tate Modern and the

* London Bridge City Pier *

Nelson Dock Pier Nelson Dock Pier is the official name of a pier on the south bank of the River Thames in Rotherhithe, London, UK. It lies to the south of Columbia Wharf. Services The pier is served by the river bus RB4 Canary Wharf - Rotherhithe Ferry, whic ...

Greenland Pier Greenland (Surrey Quays) Pier is a pier on the River Thames in London, United Kingdom. It is situated at the eastern end of Greenland Dock in the London Borough of Southwark, and is a stop on the Thames commuter catamaran service. Services Gre ...

Parking and DVLA database ban

In 2012 it was revealed that the Southwark borough council has been permanently banned from accessing information from the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency. This information is normally made available to local authorities for purposes such as enforcing parking fines, but access can be withdrawn if they are found to be mis-using the service. The

Big Brother Watch Big Brother Watch is a non-profit non-party British civil liberties and privacy campaigning organisation. It was launched in 2009 by founding director Alex Deane to campaign against state surveillance and threats to civil liberties. It was fou ...

organisation, which obtained the information about the ban under a Freedom of Information request, claimed that "the public are right to be worried that their privacy is at risk across a range of government services."

Travel to work

In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: bus, minibus or coach, 17.5% of all residents aged 16–74; underground, metro, light rail, tram, 8.5%; train, 8.5%; on foot, 8.2%; driving a car or van, 8.1%; bicycle, 4.9%; work mainly at or from home, 2.8%.

Places

Localities

Parks and open spaces

Southwark Park Southwark Park is located in Rotherhithe, in central South East London, England, and is managed by the London Borough of Southwark. It first opened in 1869 by the Metropolitan Board of Works as one of its first parks. It was designed by Alexander ...

, (including trees at New Church Road) * Dulwich Park *Belair *Long Meadow a.k.a. Belle Meadow *Peckham Rye Park *

Russia Dock Woodland Russia Dock Woodland is a long narrow park in Rotherhithe, London, created by the infilling of one of the former Surrey Commercial Docks. The former Russia Dock was originally used for the importing of softwood timber from Norway, Russia and Swe ...

Sydenham Hill Wood Sydenham Hill Wood is a ten-hectare wood on the northern slopes of the Norwood Ridge in the London Borough of Southwark. It is designated as a Local Nature Reserve and Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. With the adjacent ...

Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park is a public park in Kennington, South London. Maintained by the London Borough of Southwark, it is bounded by Lambeth Road, Kennington Road, St George's Road and Brook Drive. It covers an area of . The grounds of ...

, Lambeth Road, SE1. This park houses the

although the Museum only owns the land directly in front of it, and the remainder is a public park. * Nunhead Cemetery *Newington Gardens (Previously Horsemonger Jail Park. To locals Jail Park )

Notable residents (past and present)

In 2003, the London Borough of

started a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

scheme for the commemoration of notable residents notably including living people in the awards. The London Borough of Southwark awards Blue Plaques through popular vote following public nomination. Unlike the English Heritage scheme, the original building is not necessary for nomination.

Civic affairs

Coat of arms

The two supporters on the coat of arms are an Elizabethan player dressed to play Hamlet to the left, indicating the theatrical heritage of the area, and the youth on the right side is the Esquire from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The coat of arms is an amalgam of elements of the three constituent Metropolitan Boroughs arms. The chequered band represents the three boroughs together. The cross was a common feature of Southwark and Camberwell. The well in the centre of the shield is a ' canting' reference to Camberwell and the cinquefoils represent the Dulwich area of Camberwell, while the ship on the top left refers to the maritime history of Bermondsey and was part of the Rotherhithe insignia. The rose on the right is from the Southwark arms where it represented St Saviour's parish, i.e. the cathedral.

Twinning

Southwark is twinned with: *

Langenhagen Langenhagen ( Eastphalian: ''Langenhogen'') is a town in the Hanover district of Lower Saxony, Germany. History From 1866 to 1868 Robert Koch worked in Langenhagen. On June 18, 1972, Red Army Faction terrorist Ulrike Meinhof was arrested in La ...

, Germany * Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France * Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA"A Message from the Peace Commission: Information on Cambridge's Sister Cities,"
15 February 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2008.Richard Thompson
"Looking to strengthen family ties with 'sister cities',"
''Boston Globe'', 12 October 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2008.

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the

Freedom of the Borough The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

of Southwark.

Individuals

Lance Sergeant Lance sergeant (LSgt or L/Sgt) is an appointment in the armies of the Commonwealth and formerly also a rank in the United States Army. Commonwealth Lance-sergeant in the armies of the Commonwealth was an appointment given to a corporal so they ...

Johnson Beharry: 12 May 2012. *

Sir Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film icon ...

: 12 May 2012. * Dame Tessa Jowell: 12 May 2012. * Harriet Harman : 12 May 2012. *

Sir Simon Hughes Sir Simon Henry Ward Hughes (born 17 May 1951) is a former British politician. He is now the Chancellor of London South Bank University, an External Adviser to The Open University, and UK Strategic Adviser to Talgo. Hughes was Deputy Leader o ...

: 12 May 2012.

Military units

Source: * 256 (City of London) Field Hospital (Volunteers): 30 June 2013. * The Royal Marines Reserve (City of London): 30 June 2013. *

D Company D-Company is a name coined by the Indian media for the Bombay underworld organized criminal syndicate founded and controlled by Dawood Ibrahim, an Indian mafia boss, drug dealer and wanted terrorist. In 2011, Ibrahim, along with his D-Company, ...

The

London Regiment London Regiment may refer to two infantry regiments in the British Army: * London Regiment (1908–1938) The London Regiment was an infantry regiment in the British Army, part of the Territorial Force (renamed the Territorial Army in 1921). The ...

: 30 June 2013. * 2nd Battalion The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.

References

External links

Southwark Council website

Historic Southwark
{{DEFAULTSORT:London Borough Of Southwark

1965 establishments in the United Kingdom