Marshalsea Road (classified A3201) is a major street in Southwark, south

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. At the northwest end is the

Southwark Bridge Road Southwark Bridge Road is a road in Southwark, London, England, between Newington Causeway near Elephant and Castle and Southwark Bridge across the River Thames, leading to the City of London, in a meandering route. The road was created by con ...

. At the southeast end is Borough tube station on

Borough High Street Borough High Street is a road in Southwark, London, running south-west from London Bridge, forming part of the A3 route which runs from London to Portsmouth, on the south coast of England. Overview Borough High Street continues southwest ...

. Continuing across the street are Long Lane and

Great Dover Street Great Dover Street is a road in Southwark, south London, England. At the northwest end it joins Marshalsea Road and Borough High Street and there is a junction with Long Lane; Borough Underground station is at this location. At the southeast ...

. At the northeast corner is the historic St George the Martyr church, where the

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

character

Little Dorrit ''Little Dorrit'' is a novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in serial form between 1855 and 1857. The story features Amy Dorrit, youngest child of her family, born and raised in the Marshalsea prison for debtors in London. Arthur Cl ...

was married in Dickens' book of the same name. The area around Marshalsea Road has many Dickens associations. Opposite Borough tube station, on the corner of Marshalsea Road and Borough High Street, is Brandon House. This is now the headquarters of

Acas The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) is a Crown non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to improve organisations and working life through the promotion and facilitation of strong ...

(the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service), an independent non-departmental public body of the

UK Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

for resolving industrial relations disputes. The

Christian Medical Fellowship The Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF), founded in 1949, is an evangelical, interdenominational organisation that links together Christian doctors, medical students, nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom (UK). CMFs stated aims are "uniting ...

(CMF) is located at 6 Marshalsea Street and the Tara Bryan Gallery is at No 10. BCH Architects, specialists in church restoration projects and ecclesiastical architecture, are located at 16–18 Marshalsea Road.

History

The area was previously known as The Mint. It was a slum area with privileges for debtors until

The Mint in Southwark Act 1722 The Mint in Southwark Act 1722 is an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (statute number ''9 Geo. I c. 28''). It was passed to remove certain legal privileges of Liberty of the Mint, The Mint, a location in Southwark which had ...

removed these rights. The area remained a slum until the 19th century. The only reminder of The Mint is Mint Street off Marshalsea Road, where there used to be a

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...

. The

Marshalsea The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners, including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition, it became known, ...

prison, associated with the

Marshalsea Court The Marshalsea Court (or Court of the Marshalsea, also known as the Court of the Verge or the Court of the Marshal and Steward) was a court associated with the Royal Household in England. Associated with, but distinct from, the Marshalsea Court ...

, was located close to the southeast end of what is now Marshalsea Road, just north of St George's Church. The area has Dickensian connections and the prison was mentioned in the works of

. The Marshalsea was very significant to Dickens since his father was imprisoned at the prison for debt from 2 February 1824 to 28 May 1824. At the time, Dickens lived nearby in

Lant Street Lant Street is a street south of Marshalsea Road in Southwark, south London, England.Lant Street Association ...

, just south of Marshalsea Road, in a house that belonged to the Vestry Clerk of St George's Church. The prison was closed in the 19th century and only a fragment of wall now remains, forming the north part of St George's churchyard. In 1875, it was suggested that a new road to connect with Southwark Bridge Road would be beneficial to the traffic congestion on London Bridge. Powers to create such a road were granted to the

Metropolitan Board of Works The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of local government in a wide area of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, defined by the Metropolis Management Act 1855, from December 1855 until the establishment of the London Cou ...

by the 1877 Metropolitan Street Improvements Act. Subsequently, Marshalsea Road was opened in 1888, named after the former prison. In 1902, a small public open space, known as

Little Dorrit's Playground Little Dorrit's Playground, named after Little Dorrit, the eponymous Charles Dickens character, is a public playground and small park just north of Marshalsea Road in Southwark, south London, England. History The site was previously called Fal ...

, after the Charles Dickens character, was opened north of Marshalsea Road.London County Council. Parks Committee,
Ceremony of opening Little Dorrit's playground, Southwark, on … 25th January, 1902
', 1902. Much of the area became derelict as a result of air raid damage during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. North of Marshalsea Road is Little Dorrit's Court, also named after the Dickens character.

Gallery

File:Peabody Trust housing, Marshalsea Road - geograph.org.uk - 1750102.jpg,

Peabody Trust The Peabody Trust was founded in 1862 as the Peabody Donation Fund and now brands itself simply as Peabody.

housing on Marshalsea Road. File:St. George The Martyr (1).jpg, St George the Martyr church opposite the southeast end of Marshalsea Road. File:Borough tube station london.jpg, Borough tube station at the southeast end of Marshalsea Road.

References

External links

LondonOnline information

Marshalsea Road house prices
{{coord, 51, 30, 07, N, 0, 05, 43, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Streets in the London Borough of Southwark Charles Dickens