Southwark Street is a major street in

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 be ...

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 ...

, in

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, just south of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

. 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 Un ...

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 ...

to the east. It also connects the access routes for

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 re ...

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

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 ...

. At the eastern end to the north is

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 ...

. The road forms part of the A3200, which continues with

Stamford Street Stamford Street is a street in Lambeth and Southwark, London, England, just south of the River Thames. It runs between Waterloo Road to the west and Blackfriars Road to the east. It forms part of the A3200. The street has a wide variety of bui ...

to the west.

History

In April 1856, the St Saviour's District Board petitioned 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 Coun ...

to create a new street to run between the South Eastern Railway terminus at

London Bridge station London Bridge is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Southwark, south-east London. It occupies a large area on three levels immediately south-east of London Bridge, from which it takes its name. The m ...

and the West End. The street was the first to be made by the Board and was completed in 1864. It was driven across a densely occupied part of the parish and crosses older roads and streets which created oddly shaped plots for redevelopment. Its junction with Borough High Street is so gently curved that the transition between the streets leads to confusion and imprecision as to which is which and the street numbering and lack of a street name plate compounds this, the break between them occurs at the junction with Bedale Street on the north-side but at the south-side the street does not begin until after the 'fork' opposite Stoney Street, some 130 metres to the west. Under the street, a tunnel was constructed with side passages to carry utilities such as gas, water, and drainage pipes, together with

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

wires for communication. This was an advanced feature for the time. South facade of Borough market on Southwark Street - geograph

During the first decade of the street's existence, many large commercial buildings were built along the street. The Hop Exchange, of 1874, is the most notable building at the northern side filling most of the quadrant formed by the street and the railway viaduct. Built in the 1870s, the former

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 Borou ...

on Southwark Street was converted to an arts complex that incorporates an

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

, and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

, opening in 2004.Menier Chocolate Factory
In 1932 Borough Market built a formal gateway with administrative offices at Nos 6 and 8. In 1958 the Trustees erected a small office building at the junction with Stoney Street 'St Margaret's House'. At No 110, the western-end of the street, is the headquarters of IPC Media at the 'Blue Fin Building' completed in 2007. The building on the south-west corner of the junction with Great Guildford Street is, unusually, numbered 59½. Another notable building is Bankside Studios at 76–80, which is cantilevered over the street and has multicoloured window frames.

Public art

Poured Lines by Ian Davenport, Southwark Street, London SE1

Under the railway bridge carrying trains to Blackfriars Station from the south some urban art work has been placed on the south-side, whilst on the north-side the word 'Bankside' has been placed in very large lettering occupying most of the wall against the pavement. This is part of the area and tourist branding as the relationship with the ancient district of

is tenuous, the most that can be said is that Southwark Street defines the southernmost limit of Bankside. Ian Davenports' 2006 painting ''

Poured Lines ''Poured Lines'' is a 2006 painting by the British painter Ian Davenport. It is the largest painting to be publicly displayed outdoors in the United Kingdom. It is situated under the rail bridge at the western end of Southwark Street in London S ...

'' is displayed under the rail bridge at the western end of Southwark Street. It is the largest painting to be publicly displayed outdoors in the United Kingdom.

References

External links

Under the railway bridge at Southwark Street, near London Bridge
— photographic 360° interactive panorama. {{London Borough of Southwark Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Southwark Districts of London on the River Thames Art gallery districts Business improvement districts in London Streets in the London Borough of Southwark