St George's Circus is a road junction 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 ...

, London, England. At its centre, which is now a traffic

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

, is an historic

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

, designed by Robert Mylne (1733–1811), in his role as surveyor and architect of

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

History

St George's Circus was built in 1771 to mark the completion of the new roads through

St George's Fields St George's Fields was an area of Southwark in south London, England. History Originally the area was an undifferentiated part of the south side of the Thames, which was low-lying marshland unsuitable even for agricultural purposes. There ...

in the parish of Southwark St George the Martyr during the tenure of

Brass Crosby Brass Crosby (8 May 17251793) was an English radical lawyer, Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of the City of London. Life Brass Crosby was born in 1725 the son of Hercules Crosby, a respectable burgess of Stockton-on-Tees and his wife Mary Br ...

Lord Mayor of the City of London Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

. It was the first purpose-built traffic junction in London, and initially featured an obelisk with four oil lamps affixed to it. The obelisk was removed in 1897 for a clocktower, to commemorate

Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria was officially celebrated on 22 June 1897 to mark the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. Queen Victoria was the first British monarch ever to celebrate a Diamond ...

. In 1905, it was relocated to what is now the

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 ...

, in front of 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 ...

. The clocktower was demolished as a "nuisance to traffic" in the 1930s, but the obelisk did not return to its original location until 1998, by then without the oil lamps. At the base of the obelisk is the inscription ''Erected in XI year of the reign of King George MDCCLXXI'', with the inscriptions on the other three sides reflecting the obelisk's distances from Palace Yard (one mile),

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 ...

(one mile 40 feet) and

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...

(one mile 350 feet). The obelisk has been

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

listed since 1950, when it was in its previous location. The landscaping introduced in the centre of the circus when the obelisk returned incorporated a semi circle of soil in which two Cabbage Palms were planted. This was then neglected and fell into long term decay until in 2005

guerrilla gardeners ''Guerrilla Gardeners'' was an Australian television show that was broadcast on Network Ten. The show takes its name and basic premise from the guerrilla gardening environmental movement. Premiering on 18 February 2009, it was axed in April 200 ...

took over the land. They subsequently replanted it with lavender, rosemary, tulips, campanula, azalea and even a 7' Christmas tree, but is no longer planted. The circus and obelisk provided a formal termination of Blackfriars Road, a mile long boulevard from the recently constructed

. At the circus, Blackfriars Road intersected with new and existing highways to

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

, Newington,

Westminster Bridge Westminster Bridge is a road-and-foot-traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, linking Westminster on the west side and Lambeth on the east side. The bridge is painted predominantly green, the same colour as the leather seats in the H ...

and The Borough at

. In local parlance the area was known as the "obliss", it was a destination point for both trams and busses, so passengers, – if they so wished – could ask for a "tuppeny to the obliss please guv." The ''St George’s Fields (Surrey) Improvement Act 1812'' required that all new building around the circus should have concave fronts and should be consistent with a minimum diameter across the Circus of 240 ft. It also specified that no houses "inferior to the 3rd building rate should be erected on the frontages of Borough Road and St. George’s Circus". IMAG0027

Following the construction of

Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at the ...

, Waterloo Road was also cut through to terminate nearby, but this was not part of the original formal layout. Following the growth of nearby industry, and the construction of a railway viaducts by the

London, Chatham and Dover Railway The London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR or LC&DR) was a railway company in south-eastern England created on 1 August 1859, when the East Kent Railway was given parliamentary approval to change its name. Its lines ran through London and nor ...

in the 1860s bringing noise and smoke pollution, the area become less popular as a middle class residential suburb. The surrounding streets contain a number of

social housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

estates constructed by the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...

and

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

, dating from the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

to the 1950s. St George's Circus was the location of a tube station on the abortive City & Brixton Railway, which was authorised by the ''City & Brixton Railway Act 1898'' but which was never built. The south side of the circus was originally occupied by the

School for the Indigent Blind SeeAbility (formerly School for the Indigent Blind and Royal School for the Blind) is a UK charity that provides support and campaigns for better eye care for people with learning disabilities, autism and Visual impairment, sight loss. In 2017 it ...

. This was reconstructed and enlarged in the 1830s, but subsequently moved out of London. The site is now occupied by a brick building of 1901 on the same scale as the adjacent terraces. This conceals the subsurface depot for

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

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

. In 1900 a replica of the obelisk was placed in

Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regist ...

to mark where human remains from the crypt of St George the Martyr Southwark were reburied in 1899. Located on St. George the Martyr Avenue in plot 81 in the South side of the cemetery, this replica has subsequently toppled due to the subsidence of the remains beneath it.

Surroundings

To the north western side is McLaren House, a hall of residence for students of

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 Po ...

. The building was opened in 1996 and holds around 600 students. This ten-storey building replaced a derelict 1890s building that previously housed the Royal Eye Hospital. In 2013, the property developer Barratt London purchased existing office blocks on the north eastern side of the junction, announcing plans for up to 400 new homes to replace the existing office buildings. The development was subsequently named Blackfriars Circus, reflecting its position on Blackfriars Road and St George's Circus. The development, designed by architects Maccreanor Lavington received a multitude of awards, including the

RIBA National Award RIBA National Awards are part of an awards program operated by the Royal Institute of British Architects, also encompassing the Stirling Prize, the European Award and the International Award. The National Awards are given to buildings in the UK w ...

and RIBA London Award for 2021. The area is now a

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

, including a number of

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

buildings that was part of the original development. Many of these had been allowed to deteriorate to a near-derelict state of repair, following their purchase by the

for redevelopment plans that were subsequently abandoned, and were on the "buildings at risk" register. In 2007, facade repairs were completed to most of the buildings, although their long-term use remains unresolved. In 2013, the listed Victorian dwellings and the former Duke of Clarence public house on the southeast corner and down London Road were restored by London South Bank University and is now a business centre dedicated to supporting the university's graduates in creating new businesses.D. Denham St Pinnock From the north and clockwise, the following roads converge here: * Blackfriars Road (A201); leading to

Borough Road Borough Road is in Southwark, London SE1. It runs east–west between St George's Circus and Borough High Street. History and location The route was created as part of the planning and road improvements associated with the completion of W ...

; with entry to

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 ...

leading to

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 Londo ...

, and leading to

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 a ...

and

* London Road (A201), entry-only except for cycles and buses; leading to

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 station ...

Lambeth Road Lambeth Road is a road in Lambeth (to the west) and Southwark (to the east), London running between Lambeth Bridge over the River Thames at the western end and St George's Circus at the eastern end. The road is designated the A3203. The boro ...

(A3203), entry-only except for cycles; leading to

Lambeth Bridge Lambeth Bridge is a road traffic and footbridge crossing the River Thames in an east–west direction in central London. The river flows north at the crossing point. Downstream, the next bridge is Westminster Bridge; upstream, the next bridge i ...

Westminster Bridge Road Westminster Bridge Road is a road in London, England. It runs on an east–west axis and passes through the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark. Between 1740 and 1746, the Commissioners of Westminster Bridge bought land from the Archbishop of ...

(A3202), exit-only for all traffic; leading to

* Waterloo Road (A301); leading to

References

{{reflist

External links

St George's Circus protected
(July 2000) an
Hotel plan for St George's Circus
(August 2001), London SE1 Community website.

at night.
St George's Circus Conservation Area Appraisal
LB Southwark 2005
Guerrillagardening.org
Pictures of guerrilla gardening at St George's Circus can be seen here. London South Bank University Obelisks in England Road junctions in London Streets in the London Borough of Southwark Monuments and memorials in London Buildings and structures completed in 1771 Odonyms referring to religion