The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the boroughs, in whole or in part, of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond, Southwark, Sut ...

forms part of

Inner London Inner London is the name for the group of London boroughs which form the interior part of Greater London and are surrounded by Outer London. With its origins in the bills of mortality, it became fixed as an area for statistics in 1847 and was ...

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, se ...

to the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

and

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, London borough covering much of the traditional East End of London, East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropol ...

. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the

London Government Act 1963 The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...

. All districts of the area are within the

London postal district 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 is the local authority for the London Borough of Southwark in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. History There have previously been a number ...

. The part of the

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...

within the borough is home to

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 ...

terminus station and the attractions of

The Shard The Shard, also referred to as the Shard of Glass, Shard London Bridge, and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a 72-storey skyscraper, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, in Southwark, London, that forms part of The Shard Quarter dev ...

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It ...

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...

and

Borough Market Borough Market is a wholesale and retail market hall in Southwark, London, England. It is one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, with a market on the site dating back to at least the 12th century. The present buildings were b ...

that are the largest of the venues in Southwark to draw domestic and

international tourism International tourism is tourism that crosses national borders. Globalisation has made tourism a popular global leisure activity. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual en ...

. Dulwich is home to the Dulwich Picture Gallery and 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 ...

is in

Elephant and Castle The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground stati ...

History

Southwark 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 ...

is the oldest part of

south London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the boroughs, in whole or in part, of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond, Southwark, Sut ...

. An urban area to the south of the bridge was first developed in the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

period, but subsequently abandoned. The name

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

King Alfred Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who ...

in the 9th century. The London Borough of Southwark was formed in 1965 from the former area of the

Metropolitan Borough of Southwark The Metropolitan Borough of Southwark (''Br'' �sʌðɨk was a metropolitan borough in the County of London from 1900 to 1965. It was created to cover the western section of the ancient borough of Southwark and the parish of Newington. In common ...

, the Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell, and the

Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey The Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London, created in 1900 by the London Government Act 1899. It was abolished and its area became part of the London Borough of Southwark in 1965. Formation and b ...

Toponymy

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

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

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 county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

folk's fort" or "the defensive work of the men of Surrey". Southwark is recorded in the 1086

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

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

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

''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 and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, its

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

and preventing waterborne attackers from travelling further up the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

Geography

The borough borders the

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 Frazier S ...

to the west and the

London Borough of Lewisham Lewisham () is a London borough in south-east London; it forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham. The local authority is Lewisham London Borough Council, based in Catford. The Prime Meridian passes thr ...

to the east. To the south the borough tapers giving a brief border with the

London Borough of Bromley The London Borough of Bromley () is the southeasternmost of the London boroughs that make up Greater London, bordering the ceremonial county of Kent, which most of Bromley was part of before 1965. The borough's population is an estimated 332, ...

. The northwest part of the borough is part of Central London and is densely developed. To the east, the Rotherhithe peninsula has lower-density modern housing and open space formed around the former docks. The southern part of Southwark includes the Victorian suburbs of Camberwell, Peckham and Nunhead, and the prosperous "village" of Dulwich with some very large houses forms the far south of the borough.

Landmarks

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames clos ...

, the Millennium Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge, Southwark Bridge and

all connect the

to the borough. The

art gallery, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, the

and

are also within the borough. At wide,

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

is Southwark's largest green space.

Hills and watercourses

The borough's boundary, save for around its broad northern third, forms the

Norwood Ridge The Norwood Ridge is a rectangular upland which occupies the geographical centre of south London, centred south of London Bridge. Beneath its topsoil it is a ridge of London Clay that is capped on all sides (including as isolated knolls in the ...

. Along these crests, against the extreme of the borough's southern narrow taper, is the highest point of the borough, Sydenham Hill. 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, 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-engineered reform to enable general urbanisation; all combined and public foul sewers drain far to the east – to the Crossness works. Similarly reformed, into all three types of drainage (foul, combined, surface), are the Neckinger and Peck catchments of the borough.

Demographics

At the 2001 census Southwark had a population of 244,866. Southwark was ethnically 63% white, 16% black African and 8% black Caribbean. By 2018 the population was 317,256, with 53% white, 16% black African and 6% black Caribbean. 31% of householders were owner–occupiers. The area is the home of many Nigerian (Peckham is largely regarded as the heart of London's Nigerian community), Jamaican, South African, South American, Polish, and French immigrants.

Ethnicity

Religion

Southwark was per the last census about 50% Christian. It has many notable places of Christian worship and ceremony: Anglican, Roman Catholic and other denominations. These include

Charles Spurgeon Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19 June 1834 – 31 January 1892) was an English Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the "Prince of Preachers". He wa ...

's Metropolitan Tabernacle,

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark ...

(Church of England), Saint George's Cathedral (Roman Catholic), and Saint Mary's Cathedral (Greek Orthodox). London's Norwegian Church, Finnish Church and the Swedish Seamen's Church are all in

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of D ...

. Saint George the Martyr is the oldest church in London dedicated to England's patron saint. Southwark has the most British-Nigerian churches in the country and the highest concentration of African churches outside the continent. Places of worship for Sunni

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

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The ter ...

and

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

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

non-religious Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and ant ...

, or chose not to state their faith. The following table shows the religious identity of residents residing in Southwark according to the 2001, 2011 and the 2021 censuses.

Repurposed places of worship

Ex- St Thomas's Church is the Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret. The other redundant church in public use is Francis Bedford's in Trinity Church Square, as recording studio Henry Wood Hall.

Literature and theatres

Southwark has many literary associations.

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

set several of his novels in the old borough where he lived as a young man. The site of The Tabard inn (featured in Chaucer's

Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's '' magnum opu ...

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

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and ...

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 be ...

remind us of the area's being the birthplace of classical theatre. There is also the remains of the Rose Theatre. In 2007 the Unicorn Theatre for Children was opened on Tooley Street. The Southwark Playhouse 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 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 ...

combines a theatre and exhibition space, whilst the newly opened Bridge Theatre 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, designed by

Will Alsop William Allen Alsop (12 December 1947 – 12 May 2018) was a British architect and Professor of Architecture at University for the Creative Arts's Canterbury School of Architecture. He was responsible for several distinctive and controversia ...

won the

Stirling Prize The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The S ...

for modern architecture. Another architecturally innovative library designed by Piers Gough opened in

Canada Water Canada Water is an area of the Docklands in south-east London. It is named after a freshwater lake and wildlife refuge. Canada Water tube, Overground and bus station is immediately north of the lake, along with Canada Water Library which ov ...

in 2011. The

is also based at Bankside. The Livesey Museum for Children was a free children's museum housed in the former Camberwell Public Library No.1, which was given to the people of Southwark by the industrialist Sir George Livesey. The museum was closed by Southwark council in 2008. MOCA, London, as curated by the artist

Michael Petry 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 ...

, is a free museum in Peckham Rye that exposes and showcases new, cutting-edge artists and their work.

Economy

The northern end of the borough opposite the Square Mile includes the

More London More London, part of an area known as London Bridge City, is a development on the south bank of the River Thames, immediately south-west of Tower Bridge in London. It is owned by the Kuwaiti sovereign wealth fund. It includes the City Hall, a ...

and

London Bridge City Tooley Street is a road in central and south London connecting London Bridge to St Saviour's Dock; it runs past Tower Bridge on the Southwark/Bermondsey side of the River Thames, and forms part of the A200 road. (.) St Olave The earliest ...

developments accommodating the offices of major professional service firms. Notable such businesses include

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounti ...

, Norton Rose,

Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewat ...

, Lawrence Graham and Actis. The

Greater London Authority The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the metonym "City Hall", is the devolved regional governance body of Greater London. It consists of two political branches: the executive Mayoralty (currently led by Sadiq Khan) and t ...

is based at

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

. The press and publishing industry is also well represented in Southwark; the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' has its head office in Southwark Bridge Road, and IPC Magazines in Southwark Street.

Campus Living Villages Campus Living Villages (CLV) is a global student accommodation provider with services in finance, design, development, project management and operation of student housing.Campus Living Villages." Campus Living Villages'. Retrieved on 15 March 201 ...

UK also has its head office in the borough. Some of the old industrial and wharfside heritage remains at the now defunct

Surrey Commercial Docks The Surrey Commercial Docks were a large group of docks in Rotherhithe, South East London, located on the south bank (the Surrey side) of the River Thames. The docks operated in one form or another from 1696 to 1969. Most were subsequently fi ...

now Surrey Quays, including

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

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 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 galle ...

hosts restaurants, shops and housing. There are major retail concentrations at Surrey Quays, Old Kent Road, Elephant & Castle/Walworth Road and central Peckham. Southwark is currently home to three Opportunity Areas (areas with capacity for significant economic development) as designated in the Mayor of London's London Plan. These are Elephant and Castle, Canada Water and Old Kent Road.

Educational establishments

London South Bank University London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough ...

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

site. The Chancellor is the entrepreneur newscaster

Richard Farleigh Richard Bruce Farleigh (born ''Richard Buckland Smith'', 9 November 1960) is an Australian private investor and reality television personality. He is currently a member of the ''Business Review Weekly'' Rich 200 list, a list of the 200 wealth ...

. The

University of the Arts London University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea ...

has two of its colleges in the borough – at Elephant and Castle is the London College of Communication and on Peckham Road is the

Camberwell College of Arts Camberwell College of Arts is a public tertiary art school in Camberwell, in London, England. It is one of the six constituent colleges of the University of the Arts London. It offers further and higher education programmes, including postgrad ...

. The largest university teaching hospital in Europe

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

is at the

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...

site, merging the teaching activities of the Guy's, St Thomas' and King's College Hospitals here. St Thomas' was founded in the mid-12th Century in the borough and parts of it remain at St Thomas Street; Guy's was founded opposite this in 1725. The

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

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. Designe ...

at Denmark Hill. Founded in 1945, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts moved to

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast 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 vil ...

in 2018.

Housing

Southwark has a wide variety of housing, including

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, 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 so ...

, such as the post- Blitz Aylesbury Estate and the Heygate Estate to provide homes to low-income residents. The aforementioned estates have been turned over to local housing associations 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 London Borough of Camden, 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 organisations benefit many apartment blocks. The council set much housing policy among Housing Association blocks to allocate homes based on need and a renting, rent that residents can afford, based on means testing, via freehold (law), 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 has been exercised and in newer developments.

Courts and judiciary

The old Southwark borough hosted many Courts and Prisons of Royal Prerogative, the Marshalsea and King's Bench. As well as the manorial and borough courts, magistrates met until the 20th century at the Surrey Sessions House which had its own jail for the punitive aspect of its work. The Inner London Sessions House (or now Crown Court) on Newington Causeway descends from these. The Southwark Coroner's Court in Tennis Street dates back to the charter of 1550. In 1964 Southwark Crown Court was opened at English Grounds near London Bridge. Since 1994 the Crown Court for west London Boroughs, was rehoused from Knightsbridge to Southwark as Blackfriars Crown Court. When the decision was taken to separate the judiciary and legislature, in 2007, by transforming the House of Lords Judicial Committee of Law Lords into the Supreme Court took over the court occupying the Middlesex Guildhall, whose City of Westminster judges transferred to Southwark Crown Court, hence the senior judge holds the honorific title of the Recorder (judge), Recorder 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 Crime and Courts Act 2013, unlawful to film save for sentencing with judicial permission, enables their British press, media coverage: Southwark has seven jurisdictions, six of which are London's criminal courts and which commonly receive offences committed in public office or in businesses based in Westminster and several other London boroughs.

Civic affairs

Southwark Council Offices (geograph 2727779)

Mayor

The Mayors in England, Mayor of Southwark for 2009–2010 was Tayo Situ (Peckham Ward), who was elected on 19 May 2010. He replaced Jeff Hook who served from 2009 to 2010. Tayo Situ died in office on 9 May 2011 from cancer. Under the civic and legal protocol he was given a full civic and ceremonial funeral and no replacement could be elected until then which delayed the Annual Council Assembly.
Charlie Smith was elected Mayor and Jamille Mohammed was appointed as Deputy Mayor in a civic celebration at Southwark Cathedral on Saturday 13 May 2017, incorporating The Southwark Civic Awards and Annual Meeting of the council.

Cabinet

The council is run by a Cabinet-style council, Leader and Cabinet Cabinet, chaired by council leader Peter John. Following the election in 2010 the Cabinet is Labour Party (UK), Labour, replacing the previous Liberal Democrat and Conservative Party coalition.

Coat of arms

The two supporters on the coat of arms are an Elizabethan player dressed to play Hamlet to the left, indicating the theatrical heritage of the area, and the youth on the right side is the Esquire from Geoffrey Chaucer, Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, Canterbury Tales. 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 arms, canting' reference to Camberwell and the Charge (heraldry)#Plants, cinquefoils 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 town twinning, twinned with: * Langenhagen, Langenhangen, Germany * Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France * Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, Massachusetts, US"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.

Politics

Southwark London Borough Council

Southwark_London_UK_labelled_ward_map_2002

The borough currently has since 2010 a Labour Party (UK), Labour Party-led council which has been the case in all but eight years since its formation. Previous control saw a four-year coalition of Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrats and Conservative Party (UK), Conservatives, during which as small minority members the latter held 2 of the 10 executive positions, including deputy leader. Summary of council election results: (*) Danny McCarthy (Cathedrals ward) defected from the Lib Dems to Labour after the 2006 election. Ola Oyewunmi (Peckham ward) did the reverse over one month to January 2010. Ade Lasaki (South Bermondsey ward) defected from the Lib Dems to Labour in March 2010. Susan Elan Jones resigned as councillor for The Lane ward to stand for MP to Clwyd South in Wales in the impending 2010 round of coinciding elections.
(**) Labour's candidates won 33 seats in 1998, of whom two resigned the whip to sit as independents, leaving no overall party-political control.

Westminster Parliament

The borough is covered by three parliamentary constituencies. Two are currently represented by Labour Party (UK), Labour Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MPs; Neil Coyle was suspended from Labour on 11 February 2022 and currently sits as an Independent (politician), independent. * Camberwell and Peckham (UK Parliament constituency), Camberwell and Peckham – Harriet Harman * Dulwich and West Norwood (UK Parliament constituency), Dulwich and West Norwood (shared with

) – Helen Hayes (politician), Helen Hayes * Bermondsey and Old Southwark (UK Parliament constituency), Bermondsey and Old Southwark – Neil Coyle

Sport and leisure

The London Borough of Southwark has the following sport clubs: * Non-League football club Dulwich Hamlet F.C. who play at Champion Hill. * Non-League football 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

* Blackfriars Bridge *

* London Millennium Bridge * Southwark Bridge *

* Rotherhithe Tunnel * Thames Tunnel now part of the London Overground, Overground

"A" Roads

*Roads leading to bridges across the Thames meet at St. George's Circus *The A201 road, A201 Inner Ring Road crosses the north-west of the area from the

and the City. *The A2 road (Great Britain), A2 runs along Old Kent Road through the north of the borough and is London's main artery from the centre out to Kent. *The A202 road, A202 runs along Peckham High Street and passes the town hall. *The A205 London's A205 road, South Circular Road runs east–west along West Dulwich, Dulwich Common and Thurlow Park Road in the south. *The boundary with London Borough of Bromley, Bromley at Crystal Palace Parade is part of the A212 road, A212.

London Underground (Tube) stations

The Bakerloo line, Bakerloo, Jubilee line, Jubilee and Northern line, Northern lines all run through the borough, below are the stations called at: * Bermondsey tube station, Bermondsey (Jubilee line) * Borough tube station, Borough (Northern line (Bank Branch) * Canada Water tube station, Canada Water (Jubilee line) * Elephant & Castle tube station, Elephant & Castle (Bakerloo and Northern line (Bank Branch) * Kennington tube station, Kennington (Northern line) * London Bridge tube station, London Bridge (Jubilee and Northern line (Bank Branch) * Southwark tube station, Southwark (Jubilee line)

London Overground stations

* Surrey Quays station, Surrey Quays * Rotherhithe station, Rotherhithe * Canada Water tube station, Canada Water (also part of London Underground) * Denmark Hill railway station, Denmark Hill * Peckham Rye railway station, Peckham Rye * Queens Road Peckham railway station, Queens Road Peckham

Railway stations

National Rail services in the Borough are operated by Southern, Southeastern and Thameslink. * Gipsy Hill railway station, Gipsy Hill * Denmark Hill railway station, Denmark Hill (also part of London Overground) * East Dulwich railway station, East Dulwich * West Dulwich railway station, West Dulwich * London Bridge railway station, London Bridge * North Dulwich railway station, North Dulwich * Nunhead railway station, Nunhead * Peckham Rye railway station, Peckham Rye (also part of London Overground) * Queens Road Peckham railway station, Queens Road Peckham (also part of London Overground) * Sydenham Hill railway station, Sydenham Hill * South Bermondsey railway station, South Bermondsey * Elephant & Castle railway station, Elephant & Castle

Riverbus piers

''Operated by Thames Clippers'' * Bankside Pier – for

and the

* London Bridge City Pier * Nelson Dock Pier * 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 organisation, which obtained the information about the ban under a Freedom of Information Act 2000, 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 *

, (including trees at New Church Road) *Dulwich Park *Belair *Long Meadow a.k.a. Belle Meadow *Peckham Rye Park *Russia Dock Woodland *Sydenham Hill Wood *Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, 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 *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 scheme for the commemoration of notable residents notably including living people in the awards. The London Borough of Southwark awards Blue Plaques through popular vote following public nomination. Unlike the English Heritage scheme, the original building is not necessary for nomination.

Freedom of the Borough

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

Individuals

* Lance sergeant, Lance Sergeant Johnson Beharry Order of Grenada, COG: 12 May 2012. * Michael Caine, Sir Michael Caine : 12 May 2012. * Tessa Jowell, Rt Hon Dame Tessa Jowell : 12 May 2012. * Harriet Harman, Rt Hon Harriet Harman : 12 May 2012. * Simon Hughes, Rt Hon Sir Simon Hughes: 12 May 2012.

Military units

Source: * 256 (City of London) Field Hospital (Volunteers): 30 June 2013. * Royal Marines Reserve, The Royal Marines Reserve (City of London): 30 June 2013. * London Irish Rifles, D Company The London Regiment (1993), London Regiment: 30 June 2013. * 2nd Battalion The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.

References

External links

Southwark Council websiteHistoric Southwark
{{DEFAULTSORT:London Borough Of Southwark London Borough of Southwark, London boroughs, Southwark Local authorities adjoining the River Thames, Southwark 1965 establishments in the United Kingdom