The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

forms part of

Inner London Inner London is the group of London boroughs that 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 used as an area ...

and is connected by bridges across 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, s ...

to the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

and the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and ...

. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas were 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 The London postal district is the area in England of to which mail addressed to the London post town is delivered. The General Post Office under the control of the Postmaster General of the United Kingdom, Postmaster General directed Rowland Hil ...

. It is governed by

Southwark London Borough Council Southwark London Borough Council, also known as Southwark 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 London. The council has been under Labour major ...

. The part of the

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial area on the south bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Lambeth, central London, England. The South Bank is not formally defined, but is generally understood to be situated betwe ...

within the borough is home to

London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...

terminus station and the attractions of

The Shard The Shard, also referred to as the Shard London Bridge and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a 72-storey mixed-use development supertall pyramid-shaped skyscraper, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, in Southwark, London, that for ...

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse first built in 1599 for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays. Like the original, it is located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Southwark, Lon ...

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 built ...

that are the largest of the venues 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 ...

to draw domestic and

international tourism International tourism is tourism that crosses national borders. Globalization 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 ...

. Dulwich is home to the

Dulwich Picture Gallery Dulwich Picture Gallery is an art gallery in Dulwich, south London. It opened to the public in 1817 and was designed by the Regency architect Sir John Soane. His design was recognized for its innovative and influential method of illumination f ...

and the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

is in

Elephant and Castle Elephant and Castle is an area of South 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 of the same name. The n ...

. Major districts include

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, ...

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe ( ) is a district of South 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, with the Isle of Dogs to the ea ...

Peckham Peckham ( ) is a district in south-east London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vi ...

Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

, and

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 of H ...

Toponymy

The name ''Suthriganaweorc'' or ''Suthringa geweorche'' is recorded for the place in the early 10th-century

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

document known as the ''

Burghal Hidage The Burghal Hidage () is an Anglo-Saxon document providing a list of over thirty fortified places (burhs), the majority being in the ancient Kingdom of Wessex, and the taxes (recorded as numbers of hides) assigned for their maintenance.Hill/ Rumb ...

'' and means "

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

as ''Sudweca''. The name means "southern defensive work" and is formed from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''sūþ'' (south) and ''weorc'' (work). In

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 city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, its

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

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 th ...

History

is the oldest part of

south London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

. 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

period, but subsequently abandoned. The name

dates from the establishment of a defensive position in the area by

King Alfred Alfred the Great ( ; – 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 both died when ...

in the 9th century. Southwark was an

ancient borough An ancient borough was a historic unit of lower-tier local government in England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the co ...

, being described as a borough from at least the 12th century. The area historically formed part of the county of

. Southwark had a complicated administrative relationship with the neighbouring

. There was a

parliamentary borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

(constituency) of

from 1295 onwards. London was given various

manorial Manorialism, also known as seigneurialism, the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features included a large, ...

and judicial rights over parts of Southwark, notably in 1327 and 1550, when Southwark was brought within the city boundaries as the ward of

Bridge Without Bridge Without was a historical ward of the City of London situated to the south of the River Thames, which existed between 1550 and 1899. The area of the Bridge Without ward today forms part of the London Borough of Southwark. It was so-called t ...

. However, the city's authority over Southwark was not as complete as it was for the older part of the city north of the Thames; certain judicial powers over the borough were still exercised by the Surrey authorities. From 1856 the area was also governed by the

Metropolitan Board of Works The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the upper tier of local government for London between 1856 and 1889, primarily responsible for upgrading infrastructure. It also had a parks and open spaces committee which set aside and opened up severa ...

, which was established to provide services across the

metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...

of London. In 1889 the Metropolitan Board of Works' area was made the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

. From 1856 until 1900 the lower tier of local government within the metropolis comprised various parish vestries and district boards. The parishes of

, Newington,

and

Southwark St George the Martyr Southwark St George the Martyr was a civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England and part of the ancient Borough of Southwark. In 1855 the parish vestry became a local authority within the area of responsibility of the Metropolita ...

were governed by their individual vestries, whilst other smaller parishes and liberties were grouped into the St Olave District and St Saviour's District. In 1900 the lower tier was reorganised into

metropolitan boroughs A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropol ...

. Bermondsey, Rotherhithe and the St Olave District merged to become the

Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey The Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey was a Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, 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 B ...

, the parish of Camberwell was made 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 Newington, Southwark St George the Martyr, and the St Saviour's District merged to become 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 City of London's Bridge Without ward which had covered parts of Southwark was effectively abolished as part of the reforms, losing all its territory. The larger London Borough of Southwark was created in 1965 under the

, covering the combined area of the former metropolitan boroughs of Southwark, Bermondsey and Camberwell.

Geography

The borough borders the

and the

to the north (the

forming the boundary), the

London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazi ...

to the west and the

London Borough of Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is a London boroughs, London borough in south-east London, England. 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 ...

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 a London Borough, borough in London, England. It is the largest and southeasternmost borough in London, and borders the county of Kent, of which it formed part until 1965. The borough's population in the 2021 ...

. 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 around the former

Surrey Commercial Docks The Surrey Commercial Docks were a large group of docks in Rotherhithe, South East (London sub region), 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 ...

. 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 Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule, Suspension bridge, suspension, and, until 1960, Cantilever bridge, cantilever bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones ...

, the Millennium Bridge,

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 C ...

Southwark Bridge Southwark Bridge ( ) is an arch bridge in London, for traffic linking the district of Southwark and the City of London, City across the River Thames. Besides when others are closed for temporary repairs, it has the least traffic of the List of ...

and

all connect the

to the borough. The

art gallery,

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse first built in 1599 for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays. Like the original, it is located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Southwark, Lon ...

, the

and

are also within the borough. At wide,

Burgess Park Burgess Park is a public park situated in Camberwell in the London Borough of Southwark. It is close to Walworth to the north, Bermondsey to the east and Peckham to the south. At , it is the largest park in the borough. Unlike most other park ...

is Southwark's largest green space.

Hills and watercourses

The

Norwood Ridge The Norwood Ridge is an elevated area of south London contained within the London boroughs of Croydon, Bromley, Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham. It aligns approximately south-southeast to north-northwest. Historically, it was part of the area cove ...

, save for around its broad northern third, forms the borough's boundary. 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 Norwood Ridge, a longer ridge and is an affluent Human settlement, 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 ...

. This is the fifteenth-highest peak in London. The main watercourse is the

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 A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

, 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 (; 28 March 1819 – 15 March 1891) was an English civil engineering, civil engineer. As Chief Engineer of London's Metropolitan Board of Works, his major achievement was the creation of the London Main Drainage, t ...

-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 The River Neckinger is a reduced subterranean river that rises in Southwark and flows approximately through south London to St Saviour's Dock where it enters the Thames. What remains of the river is enclosed and runs underground and most of its ...

and

Peck A peck is an imperial and United States customary unit of dry volume, equivalent to 8 dry quarts or 16 dry pints. An imperial peck is equivalent to 9.09218 liters and a US customary peck is equivalent to 8.80976754172 liters. Four pecks ma ...

catchments of the borough.

Governance

The local authority is Southwark Council, based at

160 Tooley Street 160 Tooley Street is a municipal facility in Tooley Street, Bermondsey, London. It is the headquarters of Southwark London Borough Council. History The proposed development combined the refurbishment of some Victorian warehouses with the constr ...

Greater London representation

Since 2000, for elections to the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...

, the borough forms part of the

Lambeth and Southwark Lambeth and Southwark is a constituency represented in the London Assembly. It consists of the London Borough of Lambeth and London Borough of Southwark. Since the first assembly elections in 2000 it has been represented by the Labour Party, ...

constituency.

Westminster Parliament

Following the completion of the

2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency b ...

, the borough has been covered by five

parliamentary constituencies An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provid ...

since the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

, three of which extend into neighbouring boroughs. In the 2024 election, all five elected MPs were Labour Party candidates. * Bermondsey and Old Southwark –

Neil Coyle Neil Alan John Coyle (born 30 December 1978) is a British Labour politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bermondsey and Old Southwark since 2015. Coyle has at times been the subject of debate during his time in parliam ...

Dulwich and West Norwood Dulwich and West Norwood is a constituency in South London created in 1997. It has been represented by Helen Hayes of Labour since her election in 2015. In the 2016 EU referendum, Dulwich and West Norwood voted to remain in the European Unio ...

(shared with

) –

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur (; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress. Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Theatre", she was the second person and first woman to win EGOT, the EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and ...

Lewisham West and East Dulwich Lewisham West and East Dulwich is a constituency of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Following its creation by the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested in the 2024 general election ...

(shared with

) –

Ellie Reeves Eleanor Claire Reeves, Baroness Cryer (born 11 December 1980), is a British barrister and politician who has served as Chair of the Labour Party and Minister without Portfolio since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she has served as t ...

– Miatta Fahnbulleh *

Vauxhall and Camberwell Green Vauxhall and Camberwell Green is a List of UK Parliament constituencies, constituency of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Following the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster con ...

(shared with

) –

Florence Eshalomi Florence Dauta Eshalomi (''née'' Nosegbe; born 18 September 1980) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green, formerly Vauxhall, since 2019. A Member of the Labour and Co-operative pa ...

Demographics

At the 2001 census Southwark had a population of 244,866. Southwark was ethnically 63.04% white, 5.9% Asian or Asian British, and 25.9% black or black British. By 2021 the population was 307,640, with 51.5% white, 9.9% Asian or Asian British, and 25.1% black or black British. 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

According to the last census, Southwark was at the time 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 – 31st January 1892) was an English Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, to some of whom he is known as the "Prince of Preachers." ...

Metropolitan Tabernacle The Metropolitan Tabernacle is a Reformed Baptist, Reformed Independent Baptist, Independent Baptist Church in the Elephant and Castle area in London. It was the largest Nonconformist (Protestantism), non-conformist church of its day in 1861. ...

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ), formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, is a Church of England cathedral in Southwark, London, near the south bank of the River Thames and close to London Bridge. It is the mother c ...

(Church of England), Saint George's Cathedral (Roman Catholic), and Saint Mary's Cathedral (Greek Orthodox). London's

Norwegian Church Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *Norwegian language, including the two ...

, Finnish Church and the Swedish Seamen's Church are all in

. 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 () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

and

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

exist. Per the 2011 Census, 35.6% of the borough's resident respondents identified as

non-religious Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, ration ...

, 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 Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret at 9a St Thomas Street is a museum of surgical history and one of the oldest surviving operating theatres. It is located in the garret of St Thomas's Church, Southwark, in London, on the origi ...

. 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 in the London Borough of Southwark. Trinity Church, in the centre of the square, has been the classical music rehearsal and recording venue Henry Wood Ha ...

, 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 novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

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'' () is a collection of 24 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. The book presents the tales, which are mostly written in verse (poetry), verse, as part of a fictional storytellin ...

), the White Hart inn and the George Inn which survives. The rebuilt

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

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 The Rose was an Elizabethan playhouse, built by theatre entrepreneur Philip Henslowe in 1587. It was the fifth public playhouse to be built in London, after the Red Lion in Whitechapel (1567), The Theatre (1576) and the Curtain (1577), both i ...

. 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 an ...

for Children was opened on Tooley Street. The

Southwark Playhouse Southwark Playhouse is a theatre in London with two venues, both 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 ident ...

is in

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 bar and theatre offices. It is located at the rear of a former 1870s Menier Chocolate, Menier Chocolate Company factory at 53 Southwark Street, a major street i ...

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 execu ...

is next to Tower Bridge and City Hall.

Museums and galleries

The borough hosts the main site of the

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, United Kingdom. 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 controversial ...

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 ...

for modern architecture. Another architecturally innovative library designed by

Piers Gough Piers Gough (born 24 April 1946) is an English 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. Early life and c ...

, Canada Water Library opened in 2011.

South London Gallery The South London Gallery, founded 1891, is a public-funded gallery of contemporary art in Camberwell, London. Until 1992, it was known as the South London Art Gallery, and nowadays the acronym SLG is often used. Margot Heller became its direct ...

between Camberwell and Peckham is split across two buildings on Peckham Road. The

is also based at Bankside. MOCA, London, as curated by the artist

Michael Petry Michael Petry (born 1960) is an American multi-media artist and author who lives and works in London. He is director of MOCA, London (Museum of Contemporary Art London), and co-founder of the Museum of Installation, also in London. He was former ...

, and

Flat Time House Flat Time House was the studio home of British conceptual artist John Latham (1921–2006) and is now open as a contemporary art gallery, centre for alternative learning and artist residency space, housing the John Latham archive. It is locate ...

are both contemporary art galleries on Bellenden Road.

also is in Dulwich. Bold Tendencies is an annual exhibition space in a former car park on Rye Lane in Peckham which has shown work by Simon Whybray,

Jenny Holzer Jenny Holzer (born July 29, 1950) is an American neo-conceptual artist, based in Hoosick, New York. Her work focuses on the delivery of words and ideas in public spaces and includes large-scale installations, advertising billboards, projectio ...

Derek Jarman Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, poet, gardener, and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing ...

, Rene Matić, and Gray Wielebinski. Another museum is the

Old Operating Theatre The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret at 9a St Thomas Street, Southwark, St Thomas Street is a museum of History of surgery, surgical history and one of the oldest surviving operating theatres. It is located in the garret of St. Thom ...

. One former museum include the

Cuming Museum The Cuming Museum in Walworth Road in Elephant and Castle, within the London Borough of Southwark, London, England, was a museum housing the collection of the Cuming family and later collections on Southwark's history. As of 2021, its collection ...

and 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.

Economy

The northern end of the borough opposite the Square Mile includes the More London and London Bridge City developments accommodating the offices of major professional service firms. Notable such businesses include

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, alon ...

Norton Rose Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) is a British-American business law firm. It is the thirteenth-largest by headcount and 21st by revenue, with revenues of more than $2 billion. The British law firm Norton Rose originated in 1794 when it was establ ...

Ernst & Young EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...

, Lawrence Graham and

Actis Actis may refer to: *Actis (mythology), a Heliadae in Greek mythology * Actis, California, an unincorporated community in Kern County, California, United States *''Actis'', a synonym of the butterfly genus '' Pilodeudorix'' *Actis Capital Actis ...

. The

Greater London Authority The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the Metonymy, metonym City Hall, is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved Regions of England, regional governance body of Greater London, England. It consists of two political ...

is based at

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

. 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 also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' has its head office in Southwark Bridge Road, and

IPC Magazines TI Media Ltd. (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 it ...

in Southwark Street. Campus Living Villages UK also has its head office in the borough. Butlers Wharf

Some of the old industrial and wharfside heritage remains at the now-defunct

now

Surrey Quays Surrey Quays is a largely residential area of Rotherhithe in south-east London, occupied until 1970 by the Surrey Commercial Docks. The precise boundaries of the area are somewhat amorphous, but it is generally considered to comprise the southe ...

, including

Greenland Dock Greenland Dock is the oldest of London's riverside wet docks, located in Rotherhithe area of the London Borough of Southwark. It used to be part of the Surrey Commercial Docks, most of which have by now been filled in. Greenland Dock is now ...

and Baltic Quay, where major residential schemes were developed in the 1980s and 1990s. Near

, 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 overl ...

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 Po ...

(LSBU) has over 23,000 students and 1,700 staff at its principal

site. The Chancellor is the entrepreneur newscaster Richard Farleigh. The

University of the Arts London The University of the Arts London is a public collegiate university in London, England, United Kingdom. It specialises in arts, design, fashion, and the performing arts. The university is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of ...

has two of its colleges in the borough: the

London College of Communication The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. Its origins are in education for the printing and retail industries; it now specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation ...

is at Elephant and Castle, and

Camberwell College of Arts Camberwell College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. The college offers further and higher education programmes, including postgraduate and PhD awards. ...

is on Peckham Road. Its Creative Computing Institute is also on Peckham Road. The largest university teaching hospital in Europe,

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, is at the

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy in 1721, located 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 Kin ...

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 The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

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 b ...

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. Mountview Academy provides specialist vocational training in acting, musical theatre and actor musicians ...

moved to

in 2018.

Housing

Southwark has a wide variety of housing, including

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

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 *, several ships of the Prussian, Imperia ...

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 organisations that provide low-cost "Public housing in the United Kingdom, social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budget surpl ...

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 ...

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 benefits, assistance or welfare, based upon whether the individual or family possesses the means to do with less or none of that help. Means testing is i ...

, 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 tenancy, secure tenants of Council house, councils and some housing associations the N ...

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 Southwark Coroner's Court is the Coroner's Court for inner south London. It is located at Tennis Street, London. The court covers cases for the London boroughs of Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark.Southwark Crown Court The Crown Court at Southwark, usually referred to as Southwark Crown Court, is a Crown Court venue at 1 English Grounds (off Battlebridge Lane) on the south bank of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge in London. It operates ...

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, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

to Southwark as

Blackfriars Crown Court Blackfriars Crown Court was a Crown Court centre which dealt with criminal cases at 1–15 Pocock Street, London SE1. It is located in Southwark a short distance from Blackfriars Road, from which it takes its name. History The site was used by ...

. 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 The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

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 newsp ...

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 * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

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.

Sport and leisure

The London Borough of Southwark has the following sport clubs: *

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

club

Millwall F.C. Millwall Football Club () is a professional football club in Bermondsey, South East London, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its nam ...

who play at the New Den. *

Non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

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. Th ...

who play at Champion Hill. *

clubs Fisher F.C. & 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

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 ...

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 wide by high and is long, running at a depth of below the river surface measured at high tide. It is the first tunnel known t ...

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

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 Wæcel ...

through the north of the borough and is London's main artery from the centre out to

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. *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 southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

at Crystal Palace Parade is part of the A212.

London Underground (Tube) stations

The Bakerloo,

Jubilee A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...

and

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...

lines all run through the borough, below are the stations called at: *

(Jubilee line) *

Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

(Northern line (Bank Branch) *

Canada Water Canada Water is an area of Rotherhithe in the London Docklands, Docklands of south-east London. It is named after a freshwater lake and wildlife refuge. Canada Water tube station, Canada Water tube, Overground and bus station is immediately n ...

(Jubilee line) *

Elephant & Castle Elephant and Castle is an area of South 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 of the same name. The nam ...

(Bakerloo and Northern line (Bank Branch) *

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between th ...

(Northern line) *

(Jubilee and Northern line (Bank Branch) *

(Jubilee line)

London Overground stations

(All stations listed here are on the

Windrush line The Windrush line is the service operated by London Overground on the East London line and South London line, running north to south through the East and South areas of London. The East London line was previously a line of the London Undergrou ...

) *

(also part of London Underground) *

Denmark Hill Denmark Hill is an area and road in Camberwell, in the London Borough of Southwark, London, England. It is a sub-section of the western flank of the Norwood Ridge, centred on the long, curved Ruskin Park slope of the ridge. The road is part of ...

Peckham Rye Peckham Rye is an open space and road in the London Borough of Southwark, London, England. The roughly triangular open space lies to the south of Peckham and consists of two contiguous areas, Peckham Rye Common to the north and Peckham Rye Park t ...

* Queens Road Peckham

Railway stations

National Rail services in the Borough are operated by Southern, Southeastern and Thameslink. *

(also part of London Overground) *

East Dulwich East Dulwich is an area of South (London sub region), 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. East Dulwich is home to the Dog Kenn ...

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 Sou ...

* North Dulwich *

Nunhead Nunhead () is an inner-city suburb in the London Borough of Southwark, England,Southwark Council Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council southeast of Charing Cross. It is the location of the Nunhead Cemetery.BBC London Nunhead Cemetery/ref> ...

(also part of London Overground) * Queens Road Peckham (also part of London Overground) *

* South Bermondsey *

Riverbus piers

''Operated by

Thames Clippers Uber Boat by Thames Clippers is a set of river bus services on the River Thames in London, England. The company operates both commuter services between eastern and Central London and tourist services under licence from London River Services. ...

'' *

Bankside Pier Bankside Pier is a stop for river services in London. It is located on the south bank of the River Thames, close to the Tate Modern. Three services call at the pier: the river bus routes RB1 (between Battersea Power Station and Barking Rivers ...

– for

and the

London Bridge City Pier London Bridge City Pier (also known as London Bridge Pier and London 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, Southwark, ...

Nelson Dock Pier Doubletree Docklands Nelson Dock Pier is a pier on the south bank of the River Thames in Rotherhithe, London, England. It lies to the south of Columbia Wharf. Services The pier is served by the river bus RB4 Canary Wharf - Rotherhithe Ferry, wh ...

* Greenland Pier

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. 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 Big Brother Watch is a non-party British civil liberties and privacy campaigning organisation. It was launched in 2009 by founding director Alex Deane to campaign against state surveillance and threats to civil liberties. It was founded by Ma ...

organisation, which obtained the information about the ban under a Freedom of Information 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 ...

, (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 *

Sydenham Hill Wood Sydenham Hill Wood is a ten-hectare wood on the northern slopes of the Norwood Ridge in the London Borough of Southwark. It is designated as a Local Nature Reserves in Greater London, Local Nature Reserve and Site of Metropolitan Importance fo ...

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 th ...

, Lambeth Road, SE1. This park houses the

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 Saint ...

*Newington Gardens (Previously Horsemonger Jail Park. To locals Jail Park )

Notable residents (past and present)

In 2003, the London Borough of

started a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

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.

Civic affairs

Coat of arms

The two supporters on the coat of arms are, on the left, an Elizabethan player dressed to play

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

, 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 ...

's ''

The Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' () is a collection of 24 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. The book presents the tales, which are mostly written in verse, as part of a fictional storytelling contest held ...

''. 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 ' (International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: , Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, VOS Spelling: , ) is a pen-like tool used to apply liquid hot wax () in the batik-making process in Indonesia, more precisely (). Traditional consists of copper wax-con ...

' reference to Camberwell and the

cinquefoil ''Potentilla'' is a genus containing over 500 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbaceous flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae. Potentillas may also be called cinquefoils in English, but they have also been called five fin ...

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: *

Langenhagen Langenhagen (; Eastphalian: ''Langenhogen'') is a town in the Hanover district of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), Germany. Overview Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine Clichy ( , ; sometimes unofficially Clichy-la-Garenne ) is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located on the Seine, from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris. Located in Clichy are the headquarters ...

, France *

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, USA"A Message from the Peace Commission: Information on Cambridge's Sister Cities,"
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.

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Southwark.

Individuals

Lance Sergeant Lance sergeant (LSgt or L/Sgt) is a military appointment in the armies of the Commonwealth and formerly also a rank in the United States Army. Commonwealth Lance-sergeant in the armies of the Commonwealth was an appointment given to a corporal ...

Johnson Beharry Warrant Officer Class 2 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. Sav ...

: 12 May 2012. * Sir Michael Caine: 12 May 2012. * Dame Tessa Jowell: 12 May 2012. *

Harriet Harman Harriet Ruth Harman, Baroness Harman, (born 30 July 1950), is a British politician and solicitor who served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Chair of the Labour Party (UK), Chair of the Labour Pa ...

: 12 May 2012. *

Sir Simon Hughes Sir Simon Henry Ward Hughes (born 17 May 1951) is a British former politician. He is now the Chancellor of London South Bank University, and a strategic adviser to Talgo, a Spanish manufacturer of trains. Hughes was deputy leader of the Liber ...

: 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 London Regiment may refer to two infantry regiments in the British Army: * London Regiment (1908–1938) The London Regiment was an infantry regiment in the British Army, part of the Territorial Force (renamed the Territorial Army in 1921). Th ...

: 30 June 2013. * 2nd Battalion The

Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (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 Queen ...

References

External links

Southwark Council website

Historic Southwark
{{DEFAULTSORT:London Borough Of Southwark

1965 establishments in the United Kingdom

Toponymy

History

Geography

Landmarks

Hills and watercourses

Governance

Greater London representation

Westminster Parliament

Demographics

Ethnicity

Religion

Repurposed places of worship

Literature and theatres

Museums and galleries

Economy

Educational establishments

Housing

Courts and judiciary

Sport and leisure

Transport

Bridges and tunnels

"A" Roads

London Underground (Tube) stations

London Overground stations

Railway stations

Riverbus piers

Parking and DVLA database ban

Travel to work

Places

Localities

Parks and open spaces

Notable residents (past and present)

Civic affairs

Coat of arms

Twinning

Freedom of the Borough

Individuals

Military units

See also

References

External links