119-648: Borough High Street is a road in Southwark , London , running south-west from London Bridge , forming part of the A3 route which runs from London to Portsmouth , on the south coast of England. Borough High Street continues southwest as Newington Causeway , here co-inciding with ancient Stane Street , the Roman road between London and Chichester. Another important connection is with the Dover Road (the modern A2 route ) which diverges in
238-501: A business improvement district . The abutments of modern London Bridge rest several metres above natural embankments of gravel, sand and clay. From the late Neolithic era the southern embankment formed a natural causeway above the surrounding swamp and marsh of the river's estuary ; the northern ascended to higher ground at the present site of Cornhill . Between the embankments, the River Thames could have been crossed by ford when
357-498: A pontoon type bridge at the site during the conquest period (AD 43). A bridge of any kind would have given a rapid overland shortcut to Camulodunum from the southern and Kentish ports, along the Roman roads of Stane Street and Watling Street (now the A2 ). The Roman roads leading to and from London were probably built around AD 50, and the river-crossing was possibly served by
476-562: A 'cross building' above the roadway, linking the houses either side and extending from the first floor upwards. All the houses were shops, and the bridge was one of the City of London's four or five main shopping streets. There seems to have been a deliberate attempt to attract the more prestigious trades. In the late fourteenth century more than four-fifths of the shopkeepers were haberdashers , glovers, cutlers , bowyers and fletchers or from related trades. By 1600 all of these had dwindled except
595-435: A Dutchman, Peter Morris, created a waterworks at the north end of the bridge. Water wheels under the two northernmost arches drove pumps that raised water to the top of a tower, from which wooden pipes conveyed it into the city. In 1591 water wheels were installed at the south end of the bridge to grind corn. In 1633 fire destroyed the houses on the northern part of the bridge. The gap was only partly filled by new houses, with
714-655: A channel following a similar course was used to drain the Thames to allowing building work on London Bridge. Southwark and in particular the Bridge, proved a formidable obstacle against William the Conqueror in 1066. He failed to force the bridge during the Norman conquest of England , but Southwark was devastated . At Domesday, the area's assets were: Bishop Odo of Bayeux held the monastery (the site of modern Southwark Cathedral ) and
833-433: A flock of sheep across the bridge, supposedly by ancient right. On 3 June 2017, three pedestrians were killed by a van in a terrorist attack . Altogether, eight people died and 48 were injured in the attack. Security barriers were installed on the bridge to help isolate the pedestrian pavement from the road. The nearest London Underground stations are Monument , at the northern end of the bridge, and London Bridge at
952-463: A formal City ward, Bridge Without . The urban area expanded over the years and Southwark was completely separated administratively from the City in 1900. Local points of interest include Southwark Cathedral , Borough Market , Shakespeare's Globe theatre, The Shard , Tower Bridge , Butler's Wharf and the Tate Modern museum. The name Suthriganaweorc or Suthringa geweorche is recorded for
1071-642: A large number of buildings between Tooley Street and the Thames, including those around Hays Wharf (later replaced by Hays Galleria ) and blocks to the west almost as far as St Olave's Church . The first deep-level underground tube line in London was the City and South London Railway , now the Bank branch of the Northern line , opened in 1890, running from King William Street south through Borough to Stockwell . Southwark, since 1999,
1190-508: A later legend that London Bridge was built on wool packs . In 1202, before Colechurch's death, Isembert, a French monk who was renowned as a bridge builder, was appointed by King John to complete the project. Construction was not finished until 1209. There were houses on the bridge from the start; this was a normal way of paying for the maintenance of a bridge, though in this case it had to be supplemented by other rents and by tolls. From 1282 two bridge wardens were responsible for maintaining
1309-655: A link, having paid for a memorial chapel within Southwark Cathedral (his family's parish church), and where its UK-based alumni hold services. John Harvard's mother's house is in Stratford-upon-Avon . In 1836 the first railway in the London area was created, the London and Greenwich Railway , originally terminating at Spa Road and later extended west to London Bridge . In 1861, another great fire in Southwark destroyed
SECTION 10
#17328526604841428-600: A new stone bridge in place of the old, with a chapel at its centre dedicated to Becket as martyr . The archbishop had been a native Londoner, born at Cheapside , and a popular figure. The Chapel of St Thomas on the Bridge became the official start of pilgrimage to his Canterbury shrine ; it was grander than some town parish churches, and had an additional river-level entrance for fishermen and ferrymen. Building work began in 1176, supervised by Peter of Colechurch. The costs would have been enormous; Henry's attempt to meet them with taxes on wool and sheepskins probably gave rise to
1547-572: A new, purpose-built hollow core steel-reinforced concrete structure, ensuring the bridge would support the weight of modern traffic. The bridge was reconstructed by Sundt Construction at Lake Havasu City, Arizona , and was re-dedicated on 10 October 1971 in a ceremony attended by London's Lord Mayor and celebrities. The bridge carries the McCulloch Boulevard and spans the Bridgewater Channel, an artificial, navigable waterway that leads from
1666-467: A permanent timber bridge. On the relatively high, dry ground at the northern end of the bridge, a small, opportunistic trading and shipping settlement took root and grew into the town of Londinium . A smaller settlement developed at the southern end of the bridge, in the area now known as Southwark . The bridge may have been destroyed along with the town in the Boudican revolt (AD 60), but Londinium
1785-525: A single iron arch span of 600 feet (180 m), with 65 feet (20 m) centre clearance beneath it for masted river traffic. His design was accepted as safe and practicable, following expert testimony. Preliminary surveys and works were begun, but Telford's design required exceptionally wide approaches and the extensive use of multiple, steeply inclined planes, which would have required the purchase and demolition of valuable adjacent properties. A more conventional design of five stone arches, by John Rennie ,
1904-481: A single parish in 1896. The ancient borough of Southwark, was traditionally known simply as The Borough – or Borough – to distinguish it from 'The City', and this name has persisted as an alternative name for the area. The medieval heart of Southwark was also, simultaneously, referred to as the ward of Bridge Without when administered by the city (from 1550 to 1900) and as an aldermanry until 1978. The local government arrangements were reorganised in 1900 with
2023-553: A single wider span, the Great Arch, in 1759. Demolition of the houses was completed in 1761 and the last tenant departed after some 550 years of housing on the bridge. Under the supervision of Dance the Elder, the roadway was widened to 46 feet (14 m) and a balustrade was added "in the Gothic taste" together with 14 stone alcoves for pedestrians to shelter in. However, the creation of
2142-459: A south-east direction from Borough High Street at a junction of five roads adjacent to Borough Underground station as Great Dover Street . The Dover Road mostly follows the alignment of Roman Watling Street , though, here, the original Roman route was along Tabard Street closely parallel with Great Dover Street to the north. The stretch of Borough High Street south of the junction with Long Lane , Marshalsea Road , and Tabard Street, where stands
2261-577: A way that allowed his boats to avoid the heavily defended London Bridge. In so doing he hoped to cut London off from river borne resupply from upstream. The Dane's efforts to recapture London were in vain, until he defeated Ethelred at the Battle of Assandun in Essex later that year, and became King of England. It is thought that the section of the Kent Road, at Lock Bridge, was Canute's Trench . In May, 1016, In 1173,
2380-425: A wooden drawbridge. Above and below the water-level, the piers were enclosed and protected by ' starlings ', supported by deeper piles than the piers themselves. The bridge, including the part occupied by houses, was from 20 to 24 feet (6.1 to 7.3 metres) wide. The roadway was mostly around 15 feet (4.6 metres) wide, varying from about 14 feet to 16 feet, except that it was narrower at defensive features (the stone gate,
2499-527: 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 due to its position at the southern end of the early versions of London Bridge , for centuries the only dry crossing on the river. Around 43 AD, engineers of the Roman Empire found
SECTION 20
#17328526604842618-529: Is a well-developed visitor attraction and has grown in size. The adjacent units have been converted and form a gastronomic focus for London. Borough High Street runs roughly north to south from London Bridge towards Elephant and Castle . The Borough runs further to the south than realised; both St George's Cathedral and the Imperial War Museum are within the ancient boundaries, which border nearby Lambeth . Its entertainment district, in its heyday at
2737-451: Is actually Montague Close. The earliest recorded name for the street is simply 'The Borough' which was the part between the fork of the street and London Bridge. South of the fork it was called 'St. Margaret's Hill'. These names were subsumed in the Tudor period as 'Longe Southwark' (differentiated from 'Short Southwark' now Tooley Street ) and by the late Georgian era as simply 'High Street' and
2856-508: Is also now served by Southwark , Bermondsey and London Bridge stations on the Jubilee line . Southwark is thought to have become a burh in 886. The area appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 within the hundred of Brixton as held by several Surrey manors . The ancient borough of Southwark, enfranchised in 1295, initially consisted of the pre-existing Surrey parishes of St George
2975-591: Is close to the Borough Underground station and the main campus of London South Bank University on Borough Road north of Elephant and Castle . The building is named after the English painter David Bomberg (1890–1957), who was a teacher at London South Bank University when it was known as Borough Polytechnic . He was the leading artist of the Borough Group during the 1940s and 1950s. A portrait of him hangs in
3094-501: Is in easy walking distance of the City and the West End . As such it has become a major business centre with many national and international corporations, professional practices and publishers locating to the area. London's tallest skyscraper , the Shard , is next to London Bridge Station . To the north is the River Thames , London Bridge station and Southwark Cathedral . Borough Market
3213-459: Is now Borough High Street . For centuries London Bridge was the only Thames bridge in the area, until a bridge was built upstream more than 10 miles (16 km) to the west. In February 2022, archaeologists from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) announced the discovery of a well-preserved massive Roman mosaic which is believed to date from A.D. 175–225. The dining room ( triclinium ) mosaic
3332-425: Is supported upon twenty piers of square stone, sixty feet high and thirty broad, joined by arches of about twenty feet diameter. The whole is covered on each side with houses so disposed as to have the appearance of a continued street, not at all of a bridge. Upon this is built a tower, on whose top the heads of such as have been executed for high treason are placed on iron spikes: we counted above thirty. The last head
3451-495: Is the area known as Borough , which has an eclectic covered and semi-covered market and numerous food and drink venues as well as the skyscraper The Shard . The Borough is generally an area of mixed development, with council estates, major office developments, social housing and high value residential gated communities side by side with each other. London Bridge#⁘New⁘ London Bridge (1831–1967) The name " London Bridge " refers to several historic crossings that have spanned
3570-686: Is therefore actually in the High Street. Southwark Street continues properly at the junction with the 'west side' of the 'fork' as No 3 Southwark Street, but this number appears on its side door situated next to 36 and so is also in the west fork of the High Street. Borough is a cosmopolitan area of London, with many restaurants, bars and Borough Market . The street also has many cafés and food shops including Sainsbury's Local. Public Houses include: North to south - The Post Office (dated 1913) opposite Borough tube station closed in 2008. The main Post Office at
3689-484: The River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman times . The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It replaced a 19th-century stone-arched bridge, which in turn superseded a 600-year-old stone-built medieval structure. In addition to the roadway, for much of its history, the broad medieval bridge supported an extensive built up area of homes and businesses, part of
Borough High Street - Misplaced Pages Continue
3808-598: The Roman Empire . With the end of Roman rule in Britain in the early 5th century, Londinium was gradually abandoned and the bridge fell into disrepair. In the Anglo-Saxon period , the river became a boundary between the emergent, mutually hostile kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex . By the late 9th century, Danish invasions prompted at least a partial reoccupation of the site by the Saxons. The bridge may have been rebuilt by Alfred
3927-542: The Thames to London, which lay on the north bank. As a major communications node for traffic between London and Portsmouth, Dover, south-east England generally and also travellers from Europe, Borough High Street had many coaching inns . These were of considerable size, with courtyard and surrounding multi-tier galleries. There were twenty-three in total, including the Bear, the Queen's Head,
4046-600: The Trinovantes , who held the region northeast of the Thames Estuary from a capital at Camulodunum , nowadays Colchester in Essex. Claudius imposed a major colonia at Camulodunum, and made it the capital city of the new Roman province of Britannia . The first London Bridge was built by the Romans as part of their road-building programme, to help consolidate their conquest. It is possible that Roman military engineers built
4165-414: The garrets as a storey); three houses had six storeys. Two-thirds of the houses were rebuilt from 1477 to 1548. In the seventeenth century, the usual plan was a shop on the ground floor, a hall and often a chamber on the first floor, a kitchen and usually a chamber and a waterhouse (for hauling up water in buckets) on the second floor, and chambers and garrets above. Approximately every other house shared in
4284-553: The 12th century Southwark had been incorporated as an ancient borough , and this historic status is reflected in the alternative name of the area, as Borough . The ancient borough of Southwark's river frontage extended from the modern borough boundary, just to the west of the Oxo Tower , to St Saviour's Dock (originally the mouth of the River Neckinger ) in the east. In the 16th century, parts of Southwark near London Bridge became
4403-463: The 1920's. St Olaf House (part of London Bridge Hospital ), named after the church and its saint, stands on the spot. Tooley Street , being a corruption of St Olave's Street , also takes its name from the former church. Cnut returned in 1016, but capturing the city was a great challenge. To cut London off from upstream riverborne supplies, Cnut dug a trench around Southwark, so that he could sail or drag his ships around Southwark and get upstream in
4522-698: The Alderman was appointed by the Court of Aldermen and no Common Councilmen were ever elected. This ward was constituted of the original Guildable Manor and the properties previously held by the church, under a charter of Edward VI , latterly called the King's Manor or Great Liberty. These manors are still constituted by the City under a Bailiff and Steward with their Courts Leet and View of Frankpledge Juries and Officers which still meet—their annual assembly being held in November under
4641-570: The Borough Gaol) and eventually at Horsemonger Lane Gaol . One other local family is of note, the Harvards. John Harvard went to the local parish free school of St Saviour's and on to Cambridge University . He migrated to the Massachusetts Colony and left his library and the residue of his will to the new college there, named after him as its first benefactor. Harvard University maintains
4760-461: The City from London Bridge Station (south to north). An example of this is actor Hugh Grant crossing the bridge north to south during the morning rush hour, in the 2002 film About a Boy . On 11 July 2008, as part of the annual Lord Mayor 's charity appeal and to mark the 800th anniversary of Old London Bridge's completion in the reign of King John, the Lord Mayor and Freemen of the City drove
4879-566: The City freemen or by the Southwark electorate but appointed by the Court of Aldermen. The Borough and Bankside Community Council corresponds to the Southwark electoral wards of Cathedrals and Chaucer. They are part of the Bermondsey and Old Southwark Parliament constituency whose Member of Parliament is Neil Coyle . It is within the Lambeth and Southwark London Assembly constituency. Until 2022 Southwark
Borough High Street - Misplaced Pages Continue
4998-472: The City's Bridge ward, and its southern end in Southwark was guarded by a large stone City gateway. The medieval bridge was preceded by a succession of timber bridges, the first of which was built by the Roman founders of London ( Londinium ) around AD 50. The current bridge stands at the western end of the Pool of London and is positioned 30 metres (98 ft) upstream from previous alignments. The approaches to
5117-525: The Clink manor, which was never controlled by the city, but was held under the Bishopric of Winchester 's nominal authority. This lack of oversight helped the area become the entertainment district for London, with a concentration of sometimes disreputable attractions such as bull and bear-baiting , taverns, theatre and brothels . In the 1580s, Reasonable Blackman worked as a silk weaver in Southwark, as one of
5236-464: The George. On the west side of the street, the modern office block called Brandon House at 180 Borough High Street (opposite Borough Underground station) marks the site of a mansion called Suffolk Place , demolished in 1557. It is depicted by Anthony van den Wyngaerde 's sixteenth century Panorama of London , which features Borough High Street prominently in the foreground of the picture. After demolition
5355-617: The Great soon after the Battle of Edington as part of Alfred's redevelopment of the area in his system of burhs , or it may have been rebuilt around 990 under the Saxon king Æthelred the Unready to hasten his troop movements against Sweyn Forkbeard , father of Cnut the Great . A skaldic tradition describes the bridge's destruction in 1014 by Æthelred's ally Olaf , to divide the Danish forces who held both
5474-403: The Great Arch had weakened the rest of the structure and constant expensive repairs were required in the following decades; this, combined with congestion both on and under bridge, often leading to fatal accidents, resulted in public pressure for a modern replacement. In 1799, a competition was opened to design a replacement for the medieval bridge. Entrants included Thomas Telford ; he proposed
5593-652: The King's Head, the Catherine Wheel, the Tabard , the White Hart , and the George . Many of them dated back originally to the mediæval period, and were in use as coaching inns up to the mid-nineteenth century, when this mode of transport was superseded by the railway. These inns were very famous and receive mention in the work of such literary giants as Chaucer , Shakespeare and Charles Dickens , though are now all gone - apart from
5712-523: The Martyr , St Olave , St Margaret and St Mary . St Margaret and St Mary were abolished in 1541 and their former area combined to create Southwark St Saviour . Around 1555 Southwark St Thomas was split off from St Olave, and in 1733 Southwark St John Horsleydown was also split off. In 1855 the parishes came into the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works . The large St George
5831-616: The Martyr . William Hogarth depicted this fair in his engraving of Southwark Fair (1733). Southwark was also the location of several prisons , including those of the Crown or Prerogative Courts, the Marshalsea and King's Bench prisons, those of the local manors' courts, e.g., Borough Compter , The Clink and the Surrey county gaol originally housed at the White Lion Inn (also informally called
5950-528: The Martyr parish was governed by its own administrative vestry, but the smaller St John Horsleydown, St Olave and St Thomas parishes were grouped together to form the St Olave District . St Saviour was combined with Southwark Christchurch (the former liberty of Paris Garden) to form the St Saviour's District . In 1889 the area became part of the new County of London . St Olave and St Thomas were combined as
6069-693: The Rose. In 1599 the Globe Theatre , in which Shakespeare was a shareholder, was erected on the Bankside in the Liberty of the Clink. It burned down in 1613, and was rebuilt in 1614, only to be closed by the Puritans in 1642 and subsequently pulled down not long thereafter. A modern replica, called Shakespeare's Globe , has been built near the original site. The impresario in the later Elizabethan period for these entertainments
SECTION 50
#17328526604846188-463: The Thames in Roman Britain , it determined the position of Londinium ; without London Bridge there is unlikely to have been a settlement of any importance in the area; previously the main crossing had been a ford near Vauxhall Bridge . Because of the bridge and the establishment of London, the Romans routed two Roman roads into Southwark: Stane Street and Watling Street which met in what in what
6307-486: The Uptown area of Lake Havasu City. The current London Bridge was designed by architect Lord Holford and engineers Mott, Hay and Anderson . It was constructed by contractors John Mowlem and Co from 1967 to 1972, and opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 16 March 1973. It comprises three spans of prestressed-concrete box girders , a total of 833 feet (254 m) long. The cost of £4 million (£71.4 million in 2023),
6426-407: The ancient church of St. George the Martyr , was formerly called Blackman Street after a long resident family there. Borough Market was once held on the street, but has been moved to the west with its main entrance on Southwark Street. Southwark Cathedral , prominent on the west side of the street near London Bridge, can be reached by a small pedestrian bridge and stairs, though its postal address
6545-401: The approach to the Bridge, Borough High Street northeast-side numbering starts at No 7 which is a vault shop within the railway viaduct, the lower numbers' disappearance was caused by the 1990s developments on the river side north of Duke Street Hill, the main office block north of this is actually 'No 1 London Bridge' and the pedestrian only 'London Bridge Walk' leading to Colechurch House and
6664-523: The area in the 10th-century Anglo-Saxon document known as the Burghal Hidage and means "fort of the men of Surrey " or "the defensive work of the men of Surrey". Southwark is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as Sudweca . The name means "southern defensive work" and is formed from the Old English sūþ (south) and weorc (work). The southern location is in reference to the City of London to
6783-518: The bridge itself. The total costs, around £2.5 million (£287 million in 2023), were shared by the British Government and the Corporation of London . Rennie's bridge was 928 feet (283 m) long and 49 feet (15 m) wide, constructed from Haytor granite. The official opening took place on 1 August 1831; King William IV and Queen Adelaide attended a banquet in a pavilion erected on
6902-508: The bridge making it all but impregnable to the modest Royalist force. On 26 May 1676, ten years after the Great Fire of London , a great fire broke out, which continued for 17 hours before houses were blown up to create fire breaks. King Charles II and his brother, James , Duke of York , oversaw the effort. There was also a famous fair in Southwark which took place near the Church of St George
7021-464: The bridge on the market and began to look for potential buyers. On 18 April 1968, Rennie's bridge was purchased by the Missourian entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch of McCulloch Oil for US$ 2,460,000. The claim that McCulloch believed mistakenly that he was buying the more impressive Tower Bridge was denied by Luckin in a newspaper interview. Before the bridge was taken apart, each granite facing block
7140-494: The bridge was sinking an inch (about 2.5 cm) every eight years, and by 1924 the east side had sunk some three to four inches (about 9 cm) lower than the west side. The bridge would have to be removed and replaced. Common Council of the City of London member Ivan Luckin put forward the idea of selling the bridge, and recalled: "They all thought I was completely crazy when I suggested we should sell London Bridge when it needed replacing." Subsequently, in 1968, Council placed
7259-412: The bridge, but according to Snorri Sturleson's saga, Edgar and Olaf tied ropes from the bridge's supporting posts and pulled it into the river, together with the Danish army, allowing Ethelred to recapture London. This may be the origin of the nursery rhyme " London Bridge Is Falling Down ". There was a church, St Olave's Church , dedicated to St Olaf before the Norman Conquest and this survived until
SECTION 60
#17328526604847378-459: The bridge, heading the organization known as the Bridge House. The only two collapses occurred when maintenance had been neglected, in 1281 (five arches) and 1437 (two arches). In 1212, perhaps the greatest of the early fires of London broke out, spreading as far as the chapel and trapping many people. The bridge was about 926 feet (282 metres) long, and had nineteen piers, supported by timber piles. The piers were linked above by nineteen arches and
7497-420: The bridge. The northern approach road, King William Street, was renamed after the monarch and statue of the king subsequently installed. In 1896 the bridge was the busiest point in London, and one of its most congested; 8,000 pedestrians and 900 vehicles crossed every hour. To designs by engineer Edward Cruttwell , it was widened by 13 feet (4.0 m), using granite corbels. Subsequent surveys showed that
7616-436: The connection with the City of London. In 1327 the city acquired from Edward III the original vill of Southwark and this was also described as "the borough". In 1536 Henry VIII acquired the Bermondsey Priory properties and in 1538 that of the Archbishop. In 1550 these were sold to the city. After many decades of petitioning, in 1550 Southwark was incorporated into the City of London as the ward of Bridge Without . However,
7735-433: The creation of the Metropolitan Borough of Southwark . It comprised the parishes of Southwark Christchurch, Southwark St Saviours, Southwark St George the Martyr and Newington . The Metropolitan Borough of Southwark was based at the former Newington Vestry Hall, now known as Walworth Town Hall . The eastern parishes that had formed the St Olave District instead became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey . In 1965
7854-481: The drawbridge and the drawbridge tower) and wider south of the stone gate. The houses occupied only a few feet on each side of the bridge. They received their main support either from the piers, which extended well beyond the bridge itself from west to east, or from 'hammer beams' laid from pier to pier parallel to the bridge. It was the length of the piers which made it possible to build quite large houses, up to 34 feet (10 metres) deep. The numerous starlings restricted
7973-443: The epic poem The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot . The modern bridge is owned and maintained by Bridge House Estates , an independent charity of medieval origin overseen by the City of London Corporation . It carries the A3 road , which is maintained by the Greater London Authority . The crossing also delineates an area along the southern bank of the River Thames, between London Bridge and Tower Bridge , that has been designated as
8092-402: The first people of African heritage to work as independent business owners in London in that era. In 1587, Southwark's first playhouse theatre, The Rose , opened. The Rose was set up by Philip Henslowe , and soon became a popular place of entertainment for all classes of Londoners. Both Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare , two of the finest writers of the Elizabethan age, worked at
8211-427: The geographic features of the south bank here suitable for the placement and construction of the first bridge. London's historic core, the City of London , lay north of the bridge and for centuries the area of Southwark just south of the bridge was partially governed by the City, while other areas of the district were more loosely governed. The section known as Liberty of the Clink became a place of entertainment. By
8330-519: The ground floor of the building in the former Costcutter space, opposite Southwark Police Station , obtained planning permission after a four-month deferral, despite opposition by the building's owner, London South Bank University. From South to North on east-side: From North to South on west-side:- 51°30′12″N 0°05′30″W / 51.50333°N 0.09167°W / 51.50333; -0.09167 Southwark Southwark ( / ˈ s ʌ ð ər k / SUDH -ərk )
8449-417: The haberdashers, and the spaces were filled by additional haberdashers, by traders selling textiles and by grocers. From the late seventeenth century there was a greater variety of trades, including metalworkers such as pinmakers and needle makers, sellers of durable goods such as trunks and brushes, booksellers and stationers. The three major buildings on the bridge were the chapel, the drawbridge tower and
8568-462: The junction with Stoney Street further along to the west. Between Bedale Street and No 28 there is no 'west-side' of the High Street as this is Southwark Street 'west-side'. The High Street's numbers continue at No 28, the HSBC Bank branch, which also seems to be on the south-side of Southwark Street, but that street's south-side numbers do not start until after the junction with the 'fork' going west. On
8687-407: The last decade. Declining wharfage trade, light industry and factories have given way to residential development, shops, restaurants, galleries, bars and most notably major office developments housing international headquarters of accountancy, legal and other professional services consultancies, most notably along London Bridge City and More London between Tooley Street and the riverside. The area
8806-401: The main settlement of London to the north of the bridge, had been more or less abandoned, a little earlier, by the end of the fourth century. {{{annotations}}} Southwark appears to recover only during the time of King Alfred and his successors. Sometime about 886, the burh of Southwark was created and the Roman city area reoccupied. It was probably fortified to defend the bridge and hence
8925-417: The mainline Station concourse. To compound the eccentric numbering, the building that appears first at the northwest side of Borough High Street (Hibernia Chambers/ Glaziers Hall No 9 Montague Close at its ground floor) had its first floor level connected to the Bridge level pavement in 2000 and was given the address 'No 2 London Bridge'. On the northwest side, the street numbers of the High Street start after
9044-429: The medieval bridge were marked by the church of St Magnus-the-Martyr on the northern bank and by Southwark Cathedral on the southern shore. Until Putney Bridge opened in 1729, London Bridge was the only road crossing of the Thames downstream of Kingston upon Thames . London Bridge has been depicted in its several forms, in art, literature, and songs, including the nursery rhyme " London Bridge Is Falling Down ", and
9163-536: The north, Southwark being at the southern end of London Bridge . In Old English , Surrey 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. Recent excavation has revealed pre-Roman activity including evidence of early ploughing , burial mounds and ritual activity. The natural geography of Southwark (now much altered by human activity),
9282-657: The northern end of the street originated as the Women's Ward of the 1852 development of St Thomas's Hospital . When London Bridge Station services were extended by a viaduct to Charing Cross Station in 1868 the Hospital relocated and was partly demolished. This building remains as having been used as a goods office for the railway company. David Bomberg House is a hall of residence at 282–302 Borough High Street for London South Bank University students. The building comprises 289 single en-suite bedrooms , divided into five blocks. It
9401-515: The northern section from the junction with Duke Street Hill was renamed 'Wellington Street' to commemorate the Duke of Wellington. From the 1890s the London County Council started to rationalise all metropolitan street names and 'Borough High Street' became the name for the current route. Before the building of Westminster Bridge , Borough High Street was the only connection from the south bank of
9520-522: The practice of traffic in Britain driving on the left . A fire in September 1725 destroyed all the houses south of the stone gate; they were rebuilt. The last houses to be built on the bridge were designed by George Dance the Elder in 1745, but these buildings had begun to subside within a decade. The London Bridge Act 1756 ( 29 Geo. 2 . c. 40) gave the City Corporation the power to purchase all
9639-633: The present High Steward (the Recorder of London ). The Ward and Aldermanry were effectively abolished in 1978, by merging it with the Ward of Bridge Within. These manorial courts were preserved under the Administration of Justice Act 1977. Therefore, between 1750 and 1978 Southwark had two persons (the Alderman and the Recorder) who were members of the city's Court of Aldermen and Common Council who were elected neither by
9758-496: The properties on the bridge so that they could be demolished and the bridge improved. While this work was underway, a temporary wooden bridge was constructed to the west of London Bridge. It opened in October 1757 but caught fire and collapsed in the following April. The old bridge was reopened until a new wooden construction could be completed a year later. To help improve navigation under the bridge, its two centre arches were replaced by
9877-511: The reception area. David Bomberg is considered to be London South Bank University's most famous teacher. In 2009, it was announced that the University had received a gift of a collection of works by Bomberg. In 2009, a late night licence was granted for premises on the ground floor ( Costcutter ), despite a significant number of objections from residents. In February 2011, the Chaze bar and restaurant on
9996-490: The reemerging City of London to the north. This defensive role is highlighted by the role of the bridge in the 1014-1016 war between King Ethelred the Unready and his ally Olaf II Haraldsson (later King of Norway, and afterwards known as St Olaf , or St Olave ) on one side, and Sweyn Forkbeard and his son Cnut (later King Cnut), on the other. London submitted to Swein in 1014, but on Swein's death, Ethelred returned, with Olaf in support. Swein had fortified London and
10115-643: The regulation of the city's Livery Companies . In 1327 the City obtained control from King Edward III of the manor next to the south side of London Bridge known as the Town of Southwark (called latterly the Guildable Manor —i.e., the place of taxes and tolls). The Livery Companies also ensured that they had jurisdiction over the area. From the Norman period manorial organisation obtained through major lay and ecclesiastic magnates. Southwark still has vestiges of this because of
10234-410: The reign of Stephen . Henry II created a monastic guild, the "Brethren of the Bridge", to oversee all work on London Bridge. In 1163, Peter of Colechurch , chaplain and warden of the bridge and its brethren, supervised the bridge's last rebuilding in timber. After the murder of his former friend and later opponent Thomas Becket , Archbishop of Canterbury , the penitent King Henry II commissioned
10353-409: The result that there was a firebreak that prevented the Great Fire of London (1666) spreading to the rest of the bridge and to Southwark. The Great Fire destroyed the bridge's waterwheels, preventing them from pumping water to fight the fire. For nearly 20 years, only sheds replaced the burnt buildings. They were replaced In the 1680s, when almost all the houses on the bridge were rebuilt. The roadway
10472-489: The river upstream was more susceptible to freezing. The number of houses on the bridge reached its maximum in the late fourteenth century, when there were 140. Subsequently, many of the houses, originally only 10 to 11 feet wide, were merged, so that by 1605 there were 91. Originally they are likely to have had only two storeys , but they were gradually enlarged. In the seventeenth century, when there are detailed descriptions of them, almost all had four or five storeys (counting
10591-481: The river's tidal ebb and flow. The difference in water levels on the two sides of the bridge could be as much as 6 feet (1.8 m), producing ferocious rapids between the piers resembling a weir . Only the brave or foolhardy attempted to "shoot the bridge" – steer a boat between the starlings when in flood – and some were drowned in the attempt. The bridge was "for wise men to pass over, and for fools to pass under." The restricted flow also meant that in hard winters
10710-409: The section which is a store has been provided with the number '16' which means that the foyer could be numbered 18 and 20. This means the numbering is now 4, 6 - 8, 10 actually accessed as a side stairway of 6-8 (gap stairs down to Cathedral and Borough Market) 14 (vault unit within the viaduct) 16 and (Southwark Street junction) 28. Continuing along the 'east side' of the 'fork' along the main part of
10829-437: The ship and the bridge. On Remembrance Day 2004, several bridges in London were furnished with red lighting as part of a night-time flight along the river by wartime aircraft. London Bridge was the one bridge not subsequently stripped of the illuminations, which are regularly switched on at night. The current London Bridge is often shown in films, news and documentaries showing the throng of commuters journeying to work into
10948-416: The site of the mansion and the area to the west of Borough High Street here became notorious as the criminal enclave of The Mint . The Marshalsea and King's Bench Prisons were also located on Borough High Street on the east side between Newcomen Street and Tabard Street. The present numbering of the buildings on the street is confusing because of piecemeal alteration over the past 150 years:- The street
11067-405: The small bridge crossing over Tooley Street as No 4 Borough High Street 'Bridge House'. With the extension of the railway viaduct in 2010 the buildings between it and the junction with Bedale Street an attempt was made to simplify the numbering system. The Victorian buildings were replaced in 2013 but this is a glazed 'foyer' facility of Borough Market and is not actually numbered as premises but
11186-452: The stone gate, all of which seem to have been present soon after the bridge's construction. The chapel was last rebuilt in 1387–1396, by Henry Yevele , master mason to the king. Following the Reformation , it was converted into a house in 1553. The drawbridge tower was where the severed heads of traitors were exhibited. The drawbridge ceased to be opened in the 1470s and in 1577–1579 the tower
11305-440: The street is numbered 30, 32, 34. Then returning to the 'west side' of the 'fork', is numbered 36 (this is north of 34 and adjacent to 28) continuing south as 38 to 42. The building immediately next to 28 (i.e. south of Counter Court), north of the side door of 34, opposite 36 and behind 30 (to its east) is numbered '1b Southwark Street', presumably the side door of 28 is taken as '1 Southwark Street' although not numbered as such; it
11424-401: The tide was low, or ferry when it was high. Both embankments, particularly the northern, would have offered stable beachheads for boat traffic up and downstream – the Thames and its estuary were a major inland and Continental trade route from at least the 9th century BC. There is archaeological evidence for scattered Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age settlement nearby, but until a bridge
11543-407: The tideway, which still exists as St Mary Overie dock; the King owned the church (probably St Olave's ) and its tidal stream (St Olave's Dock); the dues of the waterway or mooring place were shared between King William I and Earl Godwin ; the King also had the toll of the strand; and "men of Southwark" had the right to "a haw and its toll". Southwark's value to the King was £ 16. Much of Southwark
11662-494: The time of Shakespeare 's Globe Theatre (which stood 1599–1642) has revived in the form of the post-1997 reinvention of the original theatre, Shakespeare's Globe , incorporating other smaller theatre spaces, an exhibition about Shakespeare's life and work and which neighbours Vinopolis and the London Dungeon . The Southbank area, primarily in Lambeth but shared with Southwark also hosts many artistic venues. At its heart
11781-553: The two boroughs were combined with the Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell to form the current London Borough of Southwark . A new Diocese of Southwark was established in 1905 from parts of the Diocese of Rochester ; the diocese serves large parts of south London and Surrey. Southwark was outside of the control of the City of London and was a haven for criminals and free traders, who would sell goods and conduct trades outside
11900-550: The two branches of the 'fork' is named 'Counter Court' (see Borough Compter ) but is not an address for any premises. The railway viaduct across the street was also erected in 1864 and this cut across a quadrant of both the main streets. This led to the numbering on the west-side of the street ceasing at the junction with Bedale Street, at which the Southwark Street numbers begin as number '6'. However, these appear continuous with Borough High Street which only becomes apparent at
12019-425: The walled City of London and Southwark. The earliest contemporary written reference to a Saxon bridge is c. 1016 , when chroniclers mention how Cnut 's ships bypassed the crossing during his war to regain the throne from Edmund Ironside . Following the Norman conquest in 1066, King William I rebuilt the bridge. It was repaired or replaced by King William II , destroyed by fire in 1136, and rebuilt in
12138-481: Was Shakespeare's colleague Edward Alleyn , who left many local charitable endowments, most notably Dulwich College . During the Second English Civil War , a force of Kentish Royalist Rebels approached London, hoping the lightly defended city might fall to them, or that the citizens would rise in their favour, however their hopes were quashed when Philip Skippon , in charge of the defence swiftly fortified
12257-459: Was built there, London did not exist. A few miles upstream , beyond the river's upper tidal reach, two ancient fords were in use. These were apparently aligned with the course of Watling Street , which led into the heartlands of the Catuvellauni , Britain's most powerful tribe at the time of Caesar's invasion of 54 BC . Some time before Claudius 's conquest of AD 43, power shifted to
12376-475: Was chosen instead. It was built 100 feet (30 m) west (upstream) of the original site by Jolliffe and Banks of Merstham , Surrey , under the supervision of Rennie's son . Work began in 1824 and the foundation stone was laid, in the southern coffer dam , on 15 June 1825. The old bridge continued in use while the new bridge was being built, and was demolished after the latter opened in 1831. New approach roads had to be built, which cost three times as much as
12495-526: Was controlled by the city's officers—it was later removed in order to improve traffic to the Bridge, under a separate Trust by Act of Parliament of 1756 as the Borough Market on the present site. The area was renowned for its inns, especially The Tabard , from which Geoffrey Chaucer 's pilgrims set off on their journey in The Canterbury Tales . The continuing defensive importance of London Bridge
12614-550: Was demonstrated by its important role in thwarting Jack Cade's Rebellion in 1450; Cade's army tried to force its way across the bridge to enter the City, but was foiled in a battle which cost 200 lives. The bridge was also closed during the Siege of London in 1471, helping to foil attempts by the Bastard of Fauconberg to cross and capture the City. Just west of the Bridge was the Liberty of
12733-434: Was installed in 1661; subsequently heads were placed on Temple Bar instead, until the practice ceased. There were two multi-seated public latrines , but they seem to have been at the two ends of the bridge, possibly on the riverbank. The one at the north end had two entrances in 1306. In 1481, one of the latrines fell into the Thames and five men were drowned. Neither of the latrines is recorded after 1591. In 1578–1582
12852-573: Was marked for later reassembly. The blocks were taken to Merrivale Quarry at Princetown in Devon , where 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 in) were sliced off the inner faces of many, to facilitate their fixing. (Stones left behind were sold in an online auction when the quarry was abandoned and flooded in 2003. ) 10,000 tons of granite blocks were shipped via the Panama Canal to California , then trucked from Long Beach to Arizona . They were used to face
12971-603: Was met entirely by the Bridge House Estates charity. The current bridge was built in the same location as Rennie's bridge, with the previous bridge remaining in use while the first two girders were constructed upstream and downstream. Traffic was then transferred onto the two new girders, and the previous bridge demolished to allow the final two central girders to be added. In 1984, the British warship HMS Jupiter collided with London Bridge, causing significant damage to both
13090-399: Was mostly made up of a series of often marshy tidal islands in the Thames, with some of the waterways between these island formed by branches of the River Neckinger , a tributary of the Thames. A narrow strip of higher firmer ground ran on a N-S alignment and, even at high tide, provided a much narrower stretch of water, enabling the Romans to bridge the river. As the lowest bridging point of
13209-405: Was originally owned by the church – the greatest reminder of monastic London is Southwark Cathedral , originally the priory of St Mary Overie. During the early Middle Ages , Southwark developed and was one of the four Surrey towns which returned Members of Parliament for the first commons assembly in 1295. An important market occupied the High Street from some time in the 13th century, which
13328-501: Was patterned with knot patterns known as the Solomon's knot and dark red and blue floral and geometric shapes known as guilloche . Archaeological work at Tabard Street in 2004 discovered a plaque with the earliest reference to 'Londoners' from the Roman period on it. Londinium was abandoned at the end of the Roman occupation in the early 5th century and both the city and its bridge collapsed in decay. The settlement at Southwark, like
13447-408: Was rebuilt and eventually, became the administrative and mercantile capital of Roman Britain. The bridge offered uninterrupted, mass movement of foot, horse, and wheeled traffic across the Thames, linking four major arterial road systems north of the Thames with four to the south. Just downstream of the bridge were substantial quays and depots, convenient to seagoing trade between Britain and the rest of
13566-518: Was replaced by Nonsuch House —a pair of magnificent houses. Its architect was Lewis Stockett, Surveyor of the Queen's Works, who gave it the second classical facade in London (after Somerset House in the Strand). The stone gate was last rebuilt in the 1470s, and later took over the function of displaying the heads of traitors. The heads were dipped in tar and boiled to preserve them against the elements, and were impaled on pikes. The head of William Wallace
13685-412: Was the first recorded as appearing, in 1305, starting a long tradition. Other famous heads on pikes included those of Jack Cade in 1450, Thomas More in 1535, Bishop John Fisher in the same year, and Thomas Cromwell in 1540. In 1598, a German visitor to London, Paul Hentzner , counted over 30 heads on the bridge: On the south is a bridge of stone eight hundred feet in length, of wonderful work; it
13804-667: Was the location of City Hall , the administrative headquarters of the Greater London Authority and the meeting place of the London Assembly and Mayor of London . Since 2009, Southwark London Borough Council has its main offices at 160 Tooley Street , having moved administrative staff from the Camberwell Town Hall . In common with much of the south bank of the Thames , the Borough has seen extensive regeneration in
13923-483: Was the principal determining factor for the location of London Bridge, and therefore London itself. Until relatively recent times, the Thames in central London was much wider and shallower at high tide. The natural shoreline of the City Of London was a short distance further back than it is now, and the high tide shoreline on the Southwark side was much further back, except for the area around London Bridge. Southwark
14042-637: Was widened and realigned to the west in the 1820s for the Rennie London Bridge . The 'fork' at the junction with Southwark Street was created when that street was inserted, in 1864, to connect the London Bridge, Southwark Bridge , and Blackfriars Bridge routes together. This new route cut across Stoney Street and isolated its southern end, which section was subsequently renumbered as part of Borough High Street although it actually lies behind numbers 28–32 to their west-side. The small alleyway connecting
14161-459: Was widened to 20 feet (6.1 metres) by setting the houses further back, and was increased in height from one storey to two. The new houses extended further back over the river, which would cause trouble later. In 1695, the bridge had 551 inhabitants. From 1670, attempts were made to keep traffic in each direction to one side, at first through a keep-right policy and from 1722, through a keep-left policy. This has been suggested as one possible origin for
#483516