Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the

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

. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and

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 ...

to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the Old Kent Road, New Kent Road and

Walworth Road The A215 is an A road in south London, starting at Elephant and Castle and finishing around Shirley. It runs through the London Boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark and Croydon. Beginning as Walworth Road, the A215 becomes Camberwell Road—much o ...

History

The name Walworth is probably derived from

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 c ...

''Wealh'' "

Briton British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...

" and the suffix ''-worth'' "homestead" or "enclosure" and, thus, "British farm". Walworth appears in the

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 manus ...

of 1086 as ''Waleorde''. It was held by Bainiard from Archbishop Lanfranc of

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

. Its domesday assets were: 3½ hides; one church, four ploughs, of

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or arti ...

. It rendered £3. John Smith House is on Walworth Road, and was renamed in memory of John Smith, who was leader of the Labour Party from 1992 up to his sudden death in 1994. A former headquarters of the Labour Party, it was often seen in news reports at election times and in the background as people came and went from meetings of the Labour Party

National Executive Committee National Executive Committee is the name of a leadership body in several organizations, mostly political parties: * National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, in South Africa * Australian Labor Party National Executive * Nationa ...

. It was used by the

as the home for its education department and reopened in July 2012 as a hostel. St Peter's Church, Walworth, built circa 1825, is an excellent example of the neo-classical style of church built by

Sir John Soane Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neoclassical architecture, Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professo ...

. It is an indication of the wealth of the middle-class merchants who then lived in the vicinity that they could afford an architect of such prominence. Manor Place Baths is a former wash house in Manor Place off Walworth Road. It is a grade II

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

. The building was renovated by Kagyu Samye Dzong, Tibetan Buddhist Centre who obtained a five-year lease in 2005. They opened it as their London centre, called ''Manor Place Samye Dzong'' on 17 March 2007. Adjacent is the council's old recycling depot which is now closed and has been replaced by a new facility at 43 Devon Street, off Old Kent Road. Walworth is also home to the Pullens buildings - a mixture of Victorian live/work spaces and yards. Many of the flats are one bedroom, and some of the flats still connect to the Workshops of any of the three yards (Illife Yard, Peacock Yard and one other). Walworth also used to have a zoo, in Royal Surrey Gardens, which was visited by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

Politics

Walworth Town Hall, previously the Vestry Hall of St Mary, Newington, became the headquarters 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 ...

and was renamed "Southwark Town Hall" in 1900. It reverted to the name "Walworth Town Hall" when it ceased to be the local seat of government after the enlarged

was formed in 1965.

Regeneration

Large amounts of regeneration and gentrification are occurring in Walworth, including the proposed demolition of the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, the newly built Strata tower, the demolition and regeneration of the Heygate and

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 ...

s, and redevelopment of St Mary's Churchyard as a new park. The

Bakerloo Line Extension The Bakerloo line extension is a proposed extension of the London Underground Bakerloo line in South London from its current terminus at to Lewisham station. An extension southwards from Elephant & Castle was considered as early as 1913, with ...

is planned to complete in 2028/29; two new stations are being built for it along Old Kent Road.

Mentions in culture

The district of Walworth features in

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 e ...

’ '' Great Expectations''; Mr Wemmick resides here in a small wooden cottage. Walworth is featured in the 2016 novel by Stella Duffy, ''London Lies Beneath'', set in 1912. It is also featured in the 2017 film '' The Foreigner'', as the restaurant of the protagonist Ngoc Minh Quan is based in this district.

Notable residents

* Charles Babbage, polymath * Robert Browning, poet and playwright * Sir Charlie Chaplin, born 1889, actor and director *

Samuel Palmer Samuel Palmer Hon.RE (Hon. Fellow of the Society of Painter-Etchers) (27 January 180524 May 1881) was a British landscape painter, etcher and printmaker. He was also a prolific writer. Palmer was a key figure in Romanticism in Britain and pr ...

, painter * Frank Stubbs, recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, born 3 December 1888 * Charles Upfold, businessman * The Walworth Jumpers, a 19th-century religious movement

Transport and locale

Nearest places

* Newington * Southwark * Kennington * Peckham *

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 ...

* Camberwell * Lambeth *

Borough A borough is an administrative division in various 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 In the Middle A ...

Nearest underground station

Elephant & 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 ...

(Bakerloo and Northern lines)

Nearest National Rail station

References

External links

*
Southwark Notes – whose regeneration?
Regeneration and Gentrification in Southwark, South London {{Areas of London Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Southwark