The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in
South London forms part of
Inner London
Inner London is the name for the group of London boroughs which form the interior part of Greater London and are surrounded by Outer London. With its origins in the bills of mortality, it became fixed as an area for statistics in 1847 and was u ...
and is connected by bridges across the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
to 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 f ...
and
London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the
London Government Act 1963
The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...
. All districts of the area are within the
London postal district. 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 within the borough is home to
London Bridge terminus station and the attractions of
The Shard
The Shard, also referred to as the Shard of Glass, Shard London Bridge, and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a 72-storey skyscraper, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, in Southwark, London, that forms part of The Shard Quarter dev ...
,
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 ...
,
Shakespeare's Globe
Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...
and
Borough Market
Borough Market is a wholesale and retail market hall in Southwark, London, England. It is one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, with a market on the site dating back to at least the 12th century. The present buildings were b ...
that are the largest of the venues in Southwark to draw domestic and
international tourism
International tourism is tourism that crosses national borders. Globalisation has made tourism a popular global leisure activity. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual en ...
. Dulwich is home to the
Dulwich Picture Gallery
Dulwich Picture Gallery is an art gallery in Dulwich, South London, which opened to the public in 1817. It was designed by Regency architect Sir John Soane using an innovative and influential method of illumination. Dulwich is the oldest pub ...
and the
Imperial War Museum is in
Elephant and Castle
The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground stati ...
.
History
Southwark is the oldest part of
south London. An urban area to the south of the bridge was first developed in the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
period, but subsequently abandoned. The name
Southwark dates from the establishment of a defensive position in the area by
King Alfred
Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who ...
in the 9th century. The London Borough of Southwark was formed in 1965 from the former area of the
Metropolitan Borough of Southwark
The Metropolitan Borough of Southwark (''Br'' sʌðɨk was a metropolitan borough in the County of London from 1900 to 1965. It was created to cover the western section of the ancient borough of Southwark and the parish of Newington. In common ...
, the
Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell
Camberwell was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in south London, England. Camberwell was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey, governed by an administrative vestry from 1674. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of ...
, and the
Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey
The Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London, created in 1900 by the London Government Act 1899. It was abolished and its area became part of the London Borough of Southwark in 1965.
Formation and bo ...
.
Toponymy
The name ''Suthriganaweorc''
or ''Suthringa geweorche''
is recorded for the place in the early 10th-century
Anglo-Saxon document known as the ''
Burghal Hidage''
and means "
Surrey folk's fort"
or "the
defensive work of the men of Surrey".
Southwark is recorded in the 1086
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
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 settlers in the mid-5th c ...
''sūþ'' (south) and ''weorc'' (work). In
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 settlers in the mid-5th c ...
,
Surrey 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
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 ...
, its
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
and preventing waterborne attackers from travelling further up the
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
.
Geography
The borough borders 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 f ...
and the
London Borough of Tower Hamlets to the north (the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
forming the boundary), the
London Borough of Lambeth to the west and the
London Borough of Lewisham
Lewisham () is a London boroughs, London borough in south-east London; it forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham. The local authority is Lewisham London Borough Council, based in Catford. The Prime Merid ...
to the east. To the south the borough tapers giving a brief border with the
London Borough of Bromley
The London Borough of Bromley () is the southeasternmost of the London boroughs that make up Greater London, bordering the ceremonial county of Kent, which most of Bromley was part of before 1965. The borough's population is an estimated 332,3 ...
.
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 formed around the former 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 Grade I listed combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames clos ...
, 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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
London Bridge all connect 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 f ...
to the borough. 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 ...
art gallery,
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...
, the
Imperial War Museum and
Borough Market
Borough Market is a wholesale and retail market hall in Southwark, London, England. It is one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, with a market on the site dating back to at least the 12th century. The present buildings were b ...
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 ot ...
is Southwark's largest green space.
Hills and watercourses
The borough's boundary, save for around its broad northern third, forms the
Norwood Ridge. Along these crests, against the extreme of the borough's southern narrow taper, is the highest point of the borough,
Sydenham Hill
Sydenham Hill forms part of a longer ridge and is an affluent locality in southeast London. It is also the name of a road which runs along the northeastern part of the ridge, demarcating the London Boroughs of Southwark, Bromley, and Lewisham ...
. This is
the fifteenth-highest peak in London.
The main watercourse is the
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
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. 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
A peck is an imperial and United States customary unit of dry volume, equivalent to 2 dry gallons or 8 dry quarts or 16 dry pints. An imperial peck is equivalent to 9.09 liters and a US customary peck is equivalent to 8.81 liters. Two pecks ma ...
catchments of the borough.
Demographics
![Southwark population pyramid](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Southwark_population_pyramid.svg)
At the
2001 census Southwark had a population of 244,866. Southwark was ethnically 63% white, 16% black African and 8% black Caribbean. By 2018 the population was 317,256, with 53% white, 16% black African and 6% black Caribbean. 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.
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
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19 June 1834 – 31 January 1892) was an English Particular Baptist preacher.
Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the "Prince of Preachers". He wa ...
's
Metropolitan Tabernacle
The Metropolitan Tabernacle is a large independent Reformed Baptist church in the Elephant and Castle in London. It was the largest non-conformist church of its day in 1861. The Tabernacle Fellowship have been worshipping together since 1650. ...
,
Southwark Cathedral
Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwar ...
(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
Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of D ...
.
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
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
,
Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
,
Sikhs and
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
exist.
Per the 2011 Census, 35.6% of the borough's resident respondents identified as
non-religious
Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and ant ...
, 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 other redundant church in public use is
Francis Bedford's in
Trinity Church Square
Trinity Church Square, formerly known as Trinity Square, is a garden square in Newington, London, Newington in the London Borough of Southwark.
Trinity Church, in the centre of the square, has been the classical music rehearsal and recording ven ...
, as recording studio
Henry Wood Hall.
Literature and theatres
Southwark has many literary associations.
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 ...
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 Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's ''magnum opus ...
),
the White Hart inn and the
George Inn which survives.
The rebuilt
Globe Theatre and its exhibition on the
Bankside
Bankside is an area of London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the River Thames, east of Charing Cross, running from a little west of Blackfriars Bridge to just a short distance befo ...
remind us of the area's being the birthplace of classical theatre. There is also the remains of the
Rose Theatre. In 2007 the
Unicorn Theatre
The Unicorn Theatre is a children's theatre in the London Borough of Southwark, in England. It is a custom-built, RIBA Award–winning building on Tooley Street, which opened in 2005. The theatre was designed by Keith Williams, built by Arup ...
for Children was opened on Tooley Street. The
Southwark Playhouse
Southwark Playhouse is a theatre in London, located between Borough and Elephant and Castle tube stations.
History
The Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company was founded in 1993 by Juliet Alderdice and Tom Wilson. They identified the need for a ...
is in
Elephant and Castle
The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground stati ...
and the
Union Theatre is on Union Street near Southwark station. The
Menier Chocolate Factory
The Menier Chocolate Factory is a 180-seat off-West End theatre, which comprises a restaurant, bar and rehearsal rooms.
It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate Company factory at 53 Southwark Street, a major street in the London Boro ...
combines a theatre and exhibition space, whilst the newly opened
Bridge Theatre
The Bridge Theatre is a commercial theatre near Tower Bridge in London that opened in October 2017. It was developed by Nick Starr and Nicholas Hytner as the home of the London Theatre Company, which they founded following their tenancy as execut ...
is next to Tower Bridge and City Hall.
Museums and galleries
The borough hosts the main site of the
Imperial War Museum 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
William Allen Alsop (12 December 1947 – 12 May 2018) was a British architect and Professor of Architecture at University for the Creative Arts's Canterbury School of Architecture.
He was responsible for several distinctive and controversia ...
won the
Stirling Prize
The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The S ...
for modern architecture. Another architecturally innovative library designed by
Piers Gough
Piers Gough (born 24 April 1946) is an architect in the practice CZWG. His younger brothers are the composer Orlando Gough and Jamie Gough, the University of Sheffield's senior lecturer in Town and Regional Planning.
Gough was born in Brighton, ...
opened in
Canada Water
Canada Water is an area of the Docklands in south-east London. It is named after a freshwater lake and wildlife refuge. Canada Water tube, Overground and bus station is immediately north of the lake, along with Canada Water Library which ov ...
in 2011. 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 also based at Bankside.
The
Livesey Museum for Children 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.
MOCA, London, as curated by the artist
Michael Petry, is a free museum in Peckham Rye that exposes and showcases new, cutting-edge artists and their work.
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, ...
and
London Bridge City developments accommodating the offices of major professional service firms. Notable such businesses include
PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounti ...
,
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
Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewat ...
,
Lawrence Graham and
Actis. The
Greater London Authority is based at
City Hall.
The press and publishing industry is also well represented in Southwark; the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...
'' has its head office in Southwark Bridge Road, and
IPC Magazines
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 ...
in Southwark Street.
Campus Living Villages UK also has its head office in the borough.
Some of the old industrial and wharfside heritage remains at the now defunct
Surrey Commercial Docks
The Surrey Commercial Docks were a large group of docks in Rotherhithe, South East London, located on the south bank (the Surrey side) of the River Thames.
The docks operated in one form or another from 1696 to 1969. Most were subsequently fi ...
now
Surrey Quays
Surrey Quays is a largely residential area of Rotherhithe in south-east London, occupied until 1970 by the Surrey Commercial Docks. Previously known as Surrey Docks, the area was renamed following the construction of the Surrey Quays shopping ce ...
, including
Greenland Dock
Greenland Dock is the oldest of London's riverside wet docks, located in Rotherhithe in the area of the city now known as Docklands. It used to be part of the Surrey Commercial Docks, most of which have by now been filled in. Greenland Doc ...
and
Baltic Quay
Baltic Quay is a large residential development, located in Surrey Quays in the London Borough of Southwark. Completed in 1989 during the London Docklands Development Corporation, it is largely known for its unique architecture, which won it award ...
, where major residential schemes were developed in the 1980s and 1990s. Near
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames clos ...
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
London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough ...
(LSBU) has over 23,000 students and 1,700 staff at its principal
Elephant and Castle
The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground stati ...
site. The Chancellor is the entrepreneur newscaster
Richard Farleigh
Richard Bruce Farleigh (born ''Richard Buckland Smith'', 9 November 1960) is an Australian private investor and reality television personality. He is currently a member of the ''Business Review Weekly'' Rich 200 list, a list of the 200 wealth ...
.
The
University of the Arts London has two of its colleges in the borough – at Elephant and Castle is the
London College of Communication
The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation, film, graphic design, photography and sound arts. It has approximately ...
and on Peckham Road is the
Camberwell College of Arts
Camberwell College of Arts is a public tertiary art school in Camberwell, in London, England. It is one of the six constituent colleges of the University of the Arts London. It offers further and higher education programmes, including postgrad ...
.
The largest university teaching hospital in Europe
King's College London is at the
Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...
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 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 ...
at Denmark Hill.
Founded in 1945,
Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts
Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, formerly Mountview Theatre School, is a drama school in Peckham, south London, England, founded in 1945. The Academy provides specialist vocational training in acting and musical theatre, as well as production ...
moved to
Peckham in 2018.
Housing
Southwark has a wide variety of housing, including
council housing, such as the post-
Blitz
Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to:
Military uses
*Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign
*The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War
*, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...
Aylesbury Estate
The Aylesbury Estate is a large housing estate located in Walworth, South East London.
The Aylesbury Estate contains 2,704 dwellings, spread over a number of different blocks and buildings, and was built between 1963 and 1977. There are approx ...
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 association
In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, Non-profit organization, non-profit making organisations that provide low-cost "Public housing in the United Kingdom, social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budge ...
s 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, 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 organisation A tenant management organisations (TMO) is an organisation set up under the UK Government's Housing (Right to Manage) Regulations 1994, which allow residents of council housing or housing association homes in the UK to take over responsibility for t ...
s 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
The Right to Buy scheme is a policy in the United Kingdom, with the exception of Scotland since 1 August 2016 and Wales from 26 January 2019, which gives secure tenants of councils and some housing associations the legal right to buy, at a large ...
has been exercised and in newer developments.
Courts and judiciary
The old Southwark borough hosted many Courts and Prisons of Royal Prerogative, 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, ...
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 (or now Crown Court) on Newington Causeway descends from these. The
Southwark Coroner's Court in Tennis Street dates back to the charter of 1550. In 1964
Southwark Crown Court
The Crown Court at Southwark, commonly but inaccurately called Southwark Crown Court, is one of two locations of the Crown Court in the London SE1 postcode area, along with the Crown Court at Inner London.
Opened in 1983, the brick building is ...
was opened at English Grounds near London Bridge. Since 1994 the Crown Court for west London Boroughs, was rehoused from
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End.
Toponymy
Knightsbridge is an ancien ...
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 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
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...
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.
Civic affairs
Mayor
The
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of Southwark for 2009–2010 was Tayo Situ (Peckham Ward), who was elected on 19 May 2010. He replaced Jeff Hook who served from 2009 to 2010. Tayo Situ died in office on 9 May 2011 from cancer. Under the civic and legal protocol he was given a full civic and
ceremonial funeral and no replacement could be elected until then which delayed the Annual Council Assembly.
Charlie Smith was elected Mayor and Jamille Mohammed was appointed as Deputy Mayor in a civic celebration at Southwark Cathedral on Saturday 13 May 2017, incorporating The Southwark Civic Awards and Annual Meeting of the council.
Cabinet
The council is run by a
Leader and Cabinet
In England, local authorities are required to adopt one of three types of executive arrangements, having either an "elected mayor and cabinet", a "leader and cabinet", or a "committee system". The type of arrangement used determines how decisions ...
Cabinet, chaired by council leader Peter John. Following the election in 2010 the Cabinet is
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 ...
, replacing the previous Liberal Democrat and Conservative Party coalition.
Coat of arms
The two supporters on the coat of arms are an Elizabethan player dressed to play
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
to the left, indicating the theatrical heritage of the area, and the youth on the right side is the Esquire from
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 ...
's
Canterbury Tales
''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's ''magnum opus ...
. 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
' (IPA: , VOS Spelling: ''tjanting'', jv, ꦕꦤ꧀ꦛꦶꦁ, Tjanting) is a pen-like tool used to apply liquid hot wax ( jv, ) in the batik-making process in Indonesia, more precisely ''batik tulis'' (lit. "written batik"). Traditional '' ...
' reference to Camberwell and the
cinquefoil
''Potentilla'' is a genus containing over 300Guillén, A., et al. (2005)Reproductive biology of the Iberian species of ''Potentilla'' L. (Rosaceae).''Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid'' 1(62) 9–21. species of annual, biennial and perenn ...
s 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:
*
Langenhangen, Germany
*
Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France
*
Cambridge, Massachusetts, US["A Message from the Peace Commission: Information on Cambridge's Sister Cities,"](_blank)
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.
Politics
Southwark London Borough Council
![Southwark_London_UK_labelled_ward_map_2002](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Southwark_London_UK_labelled_ward_map_2002.svg)
The borough currently has since 2010 a
Labour Party-led council which has been the case in all but eight years since its formation. Previous control saw a four-year coalition of
Liberal Democrats and
Conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
, during which as small minority members the latter held 2 of the 10 executive positions, including deputy leader.
Summary of council election results:
(*) Danny McCarthy (Cathedrals ward) defected from the Lib Dems to Labour after the 2006 election. Ola Oyewunmi (Peckham ward) did the reverse over one month to January 2010. Ade Lasaki (South Bermondsey ward) defected from the Lib Dems to Labour in March 2010.
Susan Elan Jones resigned as councillor for The Lane ward to stand for MP to Clwyd South in Wales in the impending 2010 round of coinciding elections.
(**) Labour's candidates won 33 seats in 1998, of whom two resigned the whip to sit as independents, leaving no overall party-political control.
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, or other poli ...
. Two 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;
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 and currently sits as an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
.
*
Camberwell and Peckham
Camberwell and Peckham is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament since its 1997 creation ...
–
Harriet Harman
Harriet Ruth Harman (born 30 July 1950) is a British politician and solicitor who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Camberwell and Peckham, formerly Peckham, since 1982. A member of the Labour Party, she has served in various Cabi ...
*
Dulwich and West Norwood (shared with
London Borough of Lambeth) –
Helen Hayes
*
Bermondsey and Old Southwark –
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 ...
Sport and leisure
The London Borough of Southwark has the following sport clubs:
*
Non-League football 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.
*
Non-League football clubs
Fisher F.C.
Fisher Football Club is a football club based in Rotherhithe, Southwark, England. The club was established in 2009 after Fisher Athletic folded. Affiliated to the London Football Association, they are currently members of the and play at t ...
&
Bermondsey Town F.C. 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
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 ...
*
London 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 Brid ...
*
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 ...
*
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames clos ...
*
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
The Thames Tunnel is a tunnel beneath the River Thames in London, connecting Rotherhithe and Wapping. It measures 35 feet (11 m) wide by 20 feet (6 m) high and is 1,300 feet (396 m) long, running at a depth of ...
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
The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground stati ...
to
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames clos ...
and the City.
*The
A2 runs along
Old Kent Road
Old Kent Road is a major thoroughfare in South East London, England, passing through the London Borough of Southwark. It was originally part of an ancient trackway that was paved by the Romans and used by the Anglo-Saxons who named it Wæceli ...
through the north of the borough and is London's main artery from the centre out to
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
.
*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
Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011.
Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...
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
A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...
and
Northern lines all run through the borough, below are the stations called at:
*
Bermondsey
Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham ...
(Jubilee line)
*
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 A ...
(Northern line (Bank Branch)
*
Canada Water
Canada Water is an area of the Docklands in south-east London. It is named after a freshwater lake and wildlife refuge. Canada Water tube, Overground and bus station is immediately north of the lake, along with Canada Water Library which ov ...
(Jubilee line)
*
Elephant & Castle
The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground stati ...
(Bakerloo and Northern line (Bank Branch)
*
Kennington (Northern line)
*
London Bridge (Jubilee and Northern line (Bank Branch)
*
Southwark (Jubilee line)
London Overground stations
*
Surrey Quays
Surrey Quays is a largely residential area of Rotherhithe in south-east London, occupied until 1970 by the Surrey Commercial Docks. Previously known as Surrey Docks, the area was renamed following the construction of the Surrey Quays shopping ce ...
*
Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of D ...
*
Canada Water
Canada Water is an area of the Docklands in south-east London. It is named after a freshwater lake and wildlife refuge. Canada Water tube, Overground and bus station is immediately north of the lake, along with Canada Water Library which ov ...
(also part of London Underground)
*
Denmark Hill
*
Peckham Rye
Peckham Rye is an open space and road in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England. The roughly triangular open space lies to the south of Peckham town centre. It is managed by Southwark Council and consists of two contiguous areas, wit ...
*
Queens Road Peckham
Railway stations
National Rail services in the Borough are operated by Southern, Southeastern and Thameslink.
*
Gipsy Hill
Gipsy Hill in south London is a hilly neighbourhood spanning the southern parts of the London Boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark characterised for its great views of the City of London and Dulwich.
Historically, north of its traditional Wes ...
*
Denmark Hill (also part of London Overground)
*
East Dulwich
East Dulwich is an area of South East London, England in the London Borough of Southwark. It forms the eastern part of Dulwich, with Peckham to the east and Camberwell to the north. This South London suburb was first developed in the nineteent ...
*
West Dulwich
West Dulwich ( ) is a neighbourhood in South London on the southern boundary of Brockwell Park, which straddles the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Southwark. Croxted Road and South Croxted Road mark the boundary between S ...
*
London Bridge
*
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
Nunhead is a suburb in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England.Southwark Council Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council It is an inner-city suburb located southeast of Charing Cross. It is the location of the Nunhead Cemetery.BB ...
*
Peckham Rye
Peckham Rye is an open space and road in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England. The roughly triangular open space lies to the south of Peckham town centre. It is managed by Southwark Council and consists of two contiguous areas, wit ...
(also part of London Overground)
*
Queens Road Peckham (also part of London Overground)
*
Sydenham Hill
Sydenham Hill forms part of a longer ridge and is an affluent locality in southeast London. It is also the name of a road which runs along the northeastern part of the ridge, demarcating the London Boroughs of Southwark, Bromley, and Lewisham ...
*
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
The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground stati ...
Riverbus piers
''Operated by
Thames Clippers
Thames Clippers (since July 2020 branded as Uber Boat by Thames Clippers for sponsorship purposes with Uber) is a river bus service on the Thames in London, England.
The company operates both commuter services between eastern and Central Lon ...
''
*
Bankside Pier – for
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 ...
and the
Globe Theatre
*
London Bridge City Pier
London Bridge City Pier (also known as London Bridge Pier and City Pier) is situated on the south bank of the River Thames in London, UK, close to London Bridge. It serves as the main pier for the City of London and City Hall, former headqua ...
*
Nelson Dock Pier
*
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
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA; cy, Asiantaeth Trwyddedu Gyrwyr a Cherbydau) is the organisation of the UK government responsible for maintaining a database of drivers in Great Britain and a database of vehicles for the entire ...
. 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 organisation, which obtained the information about the ban under a
Freedom of Information
Freedom of information is freedom of a person or people to publish and consume information. Access to information is the ability for an individual to seek, receive and impart information effectively. This sometimes includes "scientific, Indigeno ...
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 ...
*
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 ot ...
, (including trees at New Church Road)
*
Dulwich Park
Dulwich Park is a public park in Dulwich in the London Borough of Southwark, south London, England. The park was created by the Metropolitan Board of Works from former farmland and meadows. While the initial design was by Charles Barry (juni ...
*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
*
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
Imperial War Museum although the Museum only owns the land directly in front of it, and the remainder is a public park.
*
Nunhead Cemetery
Nunhead Cemetery is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries in London, England. It is perhaps the least famous and celebrated of them. The cemetery is located in Nunhead in the London Borough of Southwark and was originally known as All Saints ...
*Newington Gardens ( Previously Horsemonger Jail Park. To locals Jail Park )
Notable residents (past and present)
In 2003, the London Borough of
Southwark started a
blue plaque 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.
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 Johnson Beharry
Colour Sergeant Johnson Gideon Beharry, (born 26 July 1979) is a British Army soldier who, on 18 March 2005, was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration for valour in the British and Commonwealth armed forces, for saving me ...
COG: 12 May 2012.
*
Sir Michael Caine : 12 May 2012.
*
Rt Hon Dame Tessa Jowell : 12 May 2012.
*
Rt Hon Harriet Harman : 12 May 2012.
*
Rt Hon Sir Simon Hughes: 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 The
London Regiment: 30 June 2013.
* 2nd Battalion The
Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (or PWRR, also known as 'The Tigers') is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, second in the line infantry order of precedence to the Royal Regiment of Scotland and part of the Q ...
.
See also
* ''
Southwark News
''Southwark News'' is a weekly local newspaper based in Southwark, south London, England. It is the only independent, paid-for newspaper in London. The newspaper is owned and run by Southwark Newspaper Limited, based in Bermondsey.
''Southwark N ...
'' (local newspaper)
References
External links
Southwark Council websiteHistoric Southwark
{{DEFAULTSORT:London Borough Of Southwark
Southwark
Southwark
1965 establishments in the United Kingdom