Marshalsea Road (classified A3201) is a major street 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 ...

, south

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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. At the northwest end is the

Southwark Bridge Road Southwark Bridge Road is a road in Southwark, London, England, between Newington Causeway near Elephant and Castle and Southwark Bridge across the River Thames, leading to the City of London, in a meandering route. The road was created by co ...

. At the southeast end is

Borough tube station Borough () is a London Underground station. It is located in the Borough, London, Borough area of the London Borough of Southwark in central London. The station is on the Bank and Monument stations, Bank branch of the Northern line, between Lon ...

Borough High Street Borough High Street is a road in Southwark, London, running south-west from London Bridge, forming part of the A3 road, A3 route which runs from London to Portsmouth, on the south coast of England. Overview Borough High Street continues sout ...

. Continuing across the street are Long Lane and Great Dover Street. At the northeast corner is the historic

St George the Martyr Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the R ...

church, where the

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 ...

character

Little Dorrit ''Little Dorrit'' is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, originally published in Serial (literature), serial form between 1855 and 1857. The story features Amy Dorrit, youngest child of her family, born and raised in the Marshalsea pris ...

was married in Dickens' book of the same name. The area around Marshalsea Road has many Dickens associations. Opposite Borough tube station, on the corner of Marshalsea Road and Borough High Street, is Brandon House. This is now the headquarters of

Acas The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) is a non-departmental public body of the Her Majesty's Government, Government of the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to improve organisations and working life through the promotion and fa ...

(the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service), an independent non-departmental public body of the

UK Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

for resolving industrial relations disputes. The

Christian Medical Fellowship The Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF), founded in 1949, is an evangelical, interdenominational organisation for Christian doctors, medical students, nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom. The organisation campaigns for and promotes tradition ...

(CMF) is located at 6 Marshalsea Street and the Tara Bryan Gallery is at No 10. BCH Architects, specialists in church restoration projects and ecclesiastical architecture, are located at 16–18 Marshalsea Road.

History

The area was previously known as The Mint. It was a slum area with privileges for

debtor A debtor or debitor is a legal entity (legal person) that owes a debt to another entity. The entity may be an individual, a firm, a government, a company or other legal person. The counterparty is called a creditor. When the counterpart of this ...

s until

The Mint in Southwark Act 1722 The Mint in Southwark Act 1722 is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain ( 9 Geo. 1. c. 28). It was passed to remove certain legal privileges of The Mint, a location in Southwark which had become the haunt of debtors, and to allow the Sherif ...

removed these rights. The area remained a slum until the 19th century. The only reminder of The Mint is Mint Street off Marshalsea Road, where there used to be a

workhouse In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as Scottish poorhouse, poorh ...

. 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, ...

prison, associated with the

Marshalsea Court The Marshalsea Court (or Court of the Marshalsea, also known as the Court of the Verge or the Court of the Marshal and Steward) was a court associated with the Royal Household in England. Associated with, but distinct from, the Marshalsea Court ...

, was located close to the southeast end of what is now Marshalsea Road, just north of St George's Church. The area has Dickensian connections and the prison was mentioned in the works of

. The Marshalsea was very significant to Dickens since his father was imprisoned at the prison for debt from 2 February 1824 to 28 May 1824. At the time, Dickens lived nearby in

Lant Street Lant Street is a street south of Marshalsea Road in Southwark, south London, England.Lant Street Association

, just south of Marshalsea Road, in a house that belonged to the Vestry Clerk of St George's Church. The prison was closed in the 19th century and only a fragment of wall now remains, forming the north part of St George's churchyard. In 1875, it was suggested that a new road to connect with Southwark Bridge Road would be beneficial to the traffic congestion on

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 ...

. Powers to create such a road were granted to 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 ...

by the 1877 Metropolitan Street Improvements Act. Subsequently, Marshalsea Road was opened in 1888, named after the former prison. In 1902, a small public open space, known as

Little Dorrit's Playground Little Dorrit's Playground, named after Little Dorrit, the eponymous Charles Dickens character, is a public playground and small park just north of Marshalsea Road in Southwark, south London, England. History The site was previously called ...

, after the Charles Dickens character, was opened north of Marshalsea Road.London County Council. Parks Committee,
Ceremony of opening Little Dorrit's playground, Southwark, on … 25th January, 1902
', 1902. Much of the area became derelict as a result of air raid damage during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. North of Marshalsea Road is Little Dorrit's Court, also named after the Dickens character.

Gallery

File:Peabody Trust housing, Marshalsea Road - geograph.org.uk - 1750102.jpg,

Peabody Trust The Peabody Trust was founded in 1862 as the Peabody Donation Fund and now brands itself simply as Peabody.

housing on Marshalsea Road. File:St. George The Martyr (1).jpg,

church opposite the southeast end of Marshalsea Road. File:Borough tube station london.jpg,

at the southeast end of Marshalsea Road.

References

External links

LondonOnline information

Marshalsea Road house prices
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