Bankside is an

area Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-di ...

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 ...

, 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 the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council ...

. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the

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

, east of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

, running from a little west of Blackfriars Bridge to just a short distance before

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 ...

at St Mary Overie Dock. It is part of a business improvement district known as 'Better Bankside'.

History

Toponymy

The 'banke' was reclaimed by the

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...

who owned the manor of the

Clink Clink may refer to: * The Clink, a historic prison in Southwark, England * The Clink (restaurant), British restaurants employing prisoners for rehabilitation * Prison, in general * CLINK, an algorithm for hierarchical clustering * Channel Link ...

of which this is part. There is a map plan in the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is an estate of the British sovereign. The estate has its origins in the lands held by the medieval Dukes of Lancaster, which came under the direct control of the monarch when Henry Bolingbroke, the then duke of Lancast ...

archive showing 'the way to the banke'. The name is recorded in 1554 as ''the Banke syde'' and means 'street along the bank of the Thames'. In 1860 Southwark Street was created to connect the Blackfriars and London bridge crossings here and that can be regarded as the area's informal southern perimeter.

Urban development

Bankside is the riverside of the former liberties of the

and Paris Garden. In the Elizabethan period, because it was outside 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 its authority, the area of the Clink and Paris Garden became occupied by the bear baiting pits and playhouses, including the

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

, the Hope Theatre, the

Swan Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

and the

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 ...

of which a replica was constructed in the late 1990s. The history of the area is traced in a study that traces the earliest known history of a particular building on Bankside until the present day. It has experienced regeneration in recent decades, becoming a significant tourist destination, and forms a business improvement district. The skyline of Bankside is dominated by the former Bankside Power Station, which now houses the

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 ...

. A major new development in the area is the Bankside 1/2/3 complex on Southwark Street. Together, these three buildings house about 5,000 employees. Bankside 1, also known as the Blue Fin Building, was built for and partially occupied by

IPC Media 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 ...

, while Bankside 2 and 3 are occupied by The Omnicom Group Ltd. The architect for the buildings was

Allies and Morrison Allies and Morrison LLP is an architecture and urban planning practice based in London and Cambridge. Founded in 1984, the practice is now one of Britain's largest architectural firms. The practice's work ranges from architecture and interio ...

Governance

It is part of the Borough and Bankside Community Council which corresponds to the Southwark electoral wards of

Cathedrals A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

and

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 ...

. They are part of the Bermondsey and Old Southwark Parliament constituency and the Member of Parliament is Labour's Neil Coyle. It is within the Lambeth and Southwark London Assembly constituency.

Transport

Since 1754 the Blackfriars Bridge has formed a connection to the north and in 1819

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 ...

has connected the area into the City. In 2000 a direct pedestrian connection was opened between the Tate Modern and

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

via the Millennium Bridge, which also hosts two Cycle Hire stations. Blackfriars station on the City side north bank of the river was redeveloped as part of the

Thameslink Programme The Thameslink Programme, originally Thameslink 2000, was a £6billion project in south-east England to upgrade and expand the Thameslink rail network to provide new and longer trains between a wider range of stations to the north and to the so ...

and opened a Bankside entrance in 2012.

and

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 ...

are the other stations closest to Bankside, located to the east and south of it respectively. It is served by bus routes 381 and RV1 which are hydrogen powered.

References

External links

Bankside page on London SE1 community website

Better Bankside - official Business Improvement District website

Bankside Mix - local promotion and tourism website
{{Authority control Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Southwark Districts of London on the River Thames Art gallery districts Business improvement districts in London