St Saviour's House, Union Street - geograph

Union Street is a major street in the

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

. It runs between

Blackfriars Road Blackfriars Road is a road in Southwark, SE1. It runs between St George's Circus at the southern end and Blackfriars Bridge over the River Thames at the northern end, leading to the City of London. Halfway up on the west side is Southwark Und ...

to the west and

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 ...

to the east.

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 conn ...

crosses in the middle.

History

The eastern part of the street was laid out under a 1774 Act passed for making a new workhouse and for "making a carriage way from the … High Street, through the Greyhound Inn, into Queen Street, and for improving the passage from thence into Gravel Lane, leading towards the Black Friars Bridge Road, in the parish of Christ Church." In 1782 the Union Hall was opened as the Surrey Magistrates Court in the borough, the JPs having previously sat at the Town Hall in the High Street. The façade of the Hall was retained on the new structure on the site in 2005. In 1813, Queen Street and Duke Street were renamed Union Street. In 1908 Charlotte Street, at the western end of Union Street, was also renamed to be part of the street yet it clearly has a dislocated junction with it, exacerbated by it starting under the railway viaduct. A fire at an oil and paint shop in Union Street in April 1885 resulted in the death of

Alice Ayres Alice Ayres (12 September 1859 – 1885) was an English nursemaid honoured for her bravery in rescuing the children in her care from a house fire. Ayres was a household assistant and nursemaid to the family of her brother-in-law and sister, ...

, whose bravery in saving her three nieces captured the public imagination. Red Cross Burial Ground was a burial ground at the northeast corner of Union Street and Red Cross Way. The street was called Union Street because it marks the boundary between the two local parishes in the area.

Amenities

The Union Theatre is a leading fringe venue on the north side of the street. On the south side is

Jerwood Space Jerwood Space is an arts venue at Bankside on Union Street, Southwark, London. The facilities include rehearsal studios, gallery/exhibition space, meeting rooms, a café, etc. Exhibits include contemporary art and photography throughout the bui ...

, an arts venue, located in the former Orange Street School. Other art galleries include the RKB Gallery, dedicated to artworks on paper, and the Union Gallery, a contemporary art gallery under the railway arches on the north side, that moved to Teesdale Road in February 2009.Union Gallery
London SE1 community website Public houses on the street include the Charles Dickens and the Lord Nelson, named after two famous Englishmen. Dickens lodged in

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

not far away as a child.

Transport

Southwark Underground station is at the western end.

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

runs in parallel to the north. The road forms part of the B300, linking with The Cut to the west. To the east is Newcomen Street.

References

External links

{{coord, 51, 30, 13, N, 0, 5, 53, W, display=title Streets in the London Borough of Southwark Art gallery districts