130-521: Spa Road railway station in Bermondsey , south-east London , was the original terminus of the capital's first railway, the London and Greenwich Railway (L&GR). It was located on and takes its name from Spa Road . It was also the first railway terminus in what is now Greater London. First opened in 1836, the station went through several changes of ownership, was rebuilt several times, changed its name and
260-647: A LCDR service from Queenborough to Flushing, Netherlands in 1876, the SER was allowed to build the Hundred of Hoo Railway from its line near Gravesend to a new port on the across the Medway from Queenborough, called Port Victoria . The line opened in September 1882. In 1860 the LCDR had a more direct route to Dover than the SER, and both the company's rivals had access to a London terminus in
390-531: A branch from Corbett's Lane to a new temporary passenger terminus and goods station at Bricklayers Arms railway station , for use by both railways, removing the need to use the Greenwich Railway. This opened 1 May 1844. According to Charles Vignoles , 'the making of Bricklayers Arms station was a matter of compulsion in driving the Greenwich people to reasonable terms'. Plans to extend from Bricklayers Arms to
520-472: A centre for manufacturing, particularly in relation to tanning . More recently it has experienced regeneration including warehouse conversions to flats and the provision of new transport links. Bermondsey may be understood to mean Beornmund ' s island; but, while Beornmund represents an Old English personal name, identifying an individual once associated with the place, the element "-ey" represents Old English eg , for "island", "piece of firm land in
650-467: A connecting line between their stations at Reading. The line now (2015) forms part of the North Downs Line . During the first years, relations between the SER, L&CR and L&BR were cordial, with the companies pooling locomotives and forming a joint locomotive committee. However, all three considered they were disadvantaged by this arrangement and in 1845 gave notice of withdrawal. The merger of
780-459: A day from the station. Perhaps not surprisingly given the station's physical limitations, only a month after it was opened there was a fatal accident when passenger Daniel Holmes was run over by a train. The other passengers had been waiting with others on the track when the Deptford train arrived. They climbed up on to the platform but Holmes remained on the track. The engine driver, Thomas Millender,
910-574: A fen", or simply a "place by a stream or river". Thus Bermondsey need not have been an island as such in the Anglo-Saxon period, and is as likely to have been a higher, drier spot in an otherwise marshy area. Though Bermondsey's earliest written appearance is in the Domesday Book of 1086, it also appears in a source which, though surviving only in a copy written at Peterborough Abbey in the 12th century, claiming "ancient rights" unproven purporting to be
1040-524: A high street ribbon (the modern Bermondsey Street), leading from the southern bank of the Thames, at Tooley Street, up to the abbey close. The Knights Templar also owned land here and gave their names to one of the most distinctive streets in London: Shad Thames (a corruption of "St John at Thames"). Other ecclesiastical properties stood nearby at Tooley Street (a corruption of " St Olave's "), owned by
1170-508: A late stage when Parliament sought to limit the fares charged by the SER to those of the LB&;SCR, and the SER withdrew. A further attempt to merge the SER and LCDR in 1875 failed when the latter withdrew after shareholders felt it favoured the SER. Watkin had long-term ambitions for the SER to become one link in a chain of 'Watkin' railways from the industrial north of England to the Continent via
1300-525: A line connecting the London to Brighton main line at Redhill with the Great Western Railway (GWR) main line at Reading , and agreed to operate its services. The new line was completed 4 July 1849, and in 1852 was absorbed by SER. Both the LB&SCR and London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) regarded this line as a significant incursion into their areas of operation. Likewise the acquisition of
1430-587: A line so remote from its main area of operation, and of doubtful profitability, caused heated discussion and the resignation of several directors, who felt that the company should rather secure its territory and develop services in Kent, as the LB&SCR was doing in Sussex. It would also ultimately bring about Macgregor's downfall. Nevertheless, in 1858 the GWR, L&SWR, and SER made a three-year agreement to share traffic and provide
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#17328476225211560-680: A line to Brighton , and the LB&SCR had inherited plans for a line into mid-Kent from the L&;CR, and from Bulverhythe (St Leonards) to Ashford via Hastings from the L&BR. Matters were further complicated in 1846 when the SER was empowered to build a line from its existing branch at Tunbridge Wells to Hastings. Unsuccessful discussions took place regarding a merger of the two companies, but eventually an agreement on 10 July 1848 (ratified in Parliament in 1849) abolished tolls for using each other's lines and prevented further eastward expansion by
1690-544: A man named Birmingham suffered a fatal injury in the station. The station was upgraded in August 1843 when signals were erected there, and in May 1844 the platforms were extended. The South Eastern Railway took over the L&GR the following year and rebuilt the whole station again. The reconstruction work, which took place in March 1845, saw the demolition of the stairway and the building of
1820-486: A new SER terminus at Hungerford Bridge , nearer the centre of London, were rejected by Parliament. Similarly, a revised proposal to extend the line to Waterloo Road in 1846 was rejected by a committee of Parliament . The L&GR was nearly bankrupt in 1844 and the SER leased its line from 1 January 1845. It became the Greenwich branch of that railway. Thereafter further developments were at London Bridge, and following
1950-458: A new internal stair approach from an arch in West Street (now Marine Street) next to the arch occupied by the booking office. The tracks were relaid to make them diverge slightly, providing room for an island platform about 10 feet (3.0 m) wide. A small shelter was constructed there with a roof 12 feet (3.7 m) above track level and projecting about 8 inches (20 cm) outwards, level with
2080-531: A proposed Channel Tunnel . His plans for a Channel Tunnel were ultimately blocked by the War Office , and suspicion fell on James Staats Forbes , chairman of the LCDR for having urged the decision. One result of improved relations between the SER and the LB&SCR during the 1870s was that the two collaborated in construction of a line between South Croydon on the main Brighton line and Oxted . The completion of
2210-458: A public meeting at Rochester in 1850. Following Macgregor's resignation in 1854, there followed a decade of factionalism among the directors and equally poor management, described by Samuel Smiles the company Secretary as 'not so much business as speech-making, that seemed to be the work of the Board.' It was during this period that there was a continuing failure to deal with underlying problems in
2340-626: A pudding mixer at Peek Freans . He is usually credited as the first British rock and roll player. The first 'Bermondsey' is that known as the location of an Anglo-Saxon monastery , and known from later charters to be the area around the post-Conquest Bermondsey Abbey and its manor, which was in turn part of the medieval parish. References in the Parliamentary Rolls describe it as "in Southwark".[ ] A later, Victorian civil parish of Bermondsey did not include Rotherhithe or St Olave's; this
2470-405: A shunting accident during August 1850 which caused the collapse of a large part of the station roof, the SER closed Bricklayers Arms terminus to passenger traffic in 1852 converting it into a goods facility. Over the next two decades the SER system spread throughout Kent and Surrey, building lines to connect towns to its main line or acquiring those already in existence. In 1844 the SER took over
2600-507: A southerly route to Dover via Tonbridge , Ashford and Folkestone . This was less direct than the northerly route but passed through easier country. It involved one significant 1,387-yard (1,268 m) tunnel through the Shakespeare Cliff near Dover. This was the route first chosen by the SER at its inauguration. During parliamentary discussions on the proposed route of the London and Brighton Railway (L&BR) during 1837, pressure
2730-469: A train resumed its journey [the children] would play about in the neighbourhood until the next drew up. In 1867 the station was resited further along the viaduct about 200 yards (180 m) to the east, with an entrance accessed via what is now Priter Road. It was renamed as Spa Road & Bermondsey in October 1877 (though a photograph of about 1900 shows that it was still advertised as "Spa Road Station"). When
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#17328476225212860-456: A transcription of a letter of Pope Constantine (708–715), in which he grants privileges to a monastery at Vermundesei , then in the hands of the abbot of Medeshamstede , as Peterborough was known at the time. Bermondsey appears in the Domesday Book as Bermundesy and Bermundesye , in the Hundred of Brixton within the County of Surrey. It was then held by King William , though a small part
2990-564: Is St Mary Magdalen Church in Bermondsey Street , completed in 1690 (although a church has been recorded on this site from the 13th century). This church survived the 19th-century redevelopment phase and the Blitz unscathed. It is an unusual survivor for Bermondsey as buildings of this period are relative rarities in Inner London in general. In the 18th century, the discovery of a spring from
3120-623: Is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark , England, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) southeast of Charing Cross . To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark , to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford , to the south Walworth and Peckham , and to the north is Wapping across the River Thames . It lies within the historic county boundaries of Surrey . During the Industrial Revolution Bermondsey became
3250-402: Is also a substantial surviving building of the leather trade. The Exchange building had a fine private club, effectively a gentlemen's club for the leading merchants and manufacturers. In 1703 they had acquired a royal charter from Queen Anne to gain a monopoly of trading and training of apprentices for within 30 miles (50 kilometres) of the ancient parish, similar to a City livery company ,
3380-416: Is also an interchange served by London Overground, Southeastern, Thameslink and Southern, with direct trains to London Victoria station . While Queens Road Peckham station is in-between Peckham Rye and South Bermondsey stations providing London Overground and Southern services. London Buses routes 1 ; 42 ; 47 ; 78 ; 188 ; 381 ; C10 and P12 and night routes N1 ; N47 ; N199 and N381 all serve
3510-400: Is maintained by both Transport for London (TfL) and Southwark Council. Most routes run through Bermondsey in an east–west direction. Terminus: Fishguard , West Wales Terminus: Greenwich , London Terminus: Galway, Ireland Terminus: Moscow, Russia Terminus: Waterloo Bridge Terminus: Greenwich South Eastern Railway (UK) The South Eastern Railway ( SER )
3640-551: Is served by Southern trains from London Bridge to South London , with direct connections to Beckenham Junction , Crystal Palace and Croydon . Rotherhithe , Canada Water and Surrey Quays are all served by London Overground trains. These stations link Bermondsey with Dalston and Highbury & Islington to the north. To the south, Bermondsey is linked directly to New Cross , West Croydon , Crystal Palace, and Clapham Junction . Queens Road Peckham & Peckham Rye stations, just south of Bermondsey, Peckham Rye
3770-582: The Speaker of the House of Commons had said no further pathways would be permitted. The SER therefore considered routes to Dover from the proposed London and Southampton Railway line at Wimbledon , or from the existing London and Greenwich Railway (L&GR) at Greenwich. The former left London in the wrong direction and then on a roundabout route. The latter provided a useful way for a northern route via Gravesend , Rochester , and Canterbury , except that lengthening
3900-545: The Bermondsey tanners . Peek, Frean and Co was established in 1857 at Dockhead, Bermondsey by James Peek and George Hender Frean. They moved to a larger plant in Clements Road in 1866, leading to the nickname 'Biscuit Town' for Bermondsey, where they continued baking until the brand was discontinued in 1989. Bermondsey, specifically Blue Anchor Lane, was also the location of the world's first food canning business, established in 1812, by Donkin , Hall and Gamble. To
4030-679: The Borough of Lewisham . The nearest railway station is at South Bermondsey , which is a five-minute walk away. There are several railway stations in and around Bermondsey. Bermondsey is in London Zone 2, but nearby London Bridge and Borough stations are in travelcard Zone 1. Oyster Cards can be used for travel from stations in Bermondsey to other stations in the London region. The Jubilee line passes through Bermondsey, calling at Bermondsey and Canada Water stations. London Bridge station on
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4160-467: The Bricklayers Arms goods facility). Further difficulties between occurred at East Croydon railway station in 1862. With completion of the LB&SCR line to Victoria station , extra platforms were needed to accommodate the service. The platforms were treated by the LB&SCR as a separate station, named "New Croydon", with its own ticket office, and ran exclusively LB&SCR services. This enabled
4290-624: The Gravesend and Rochester Canal and a single track railway had been added to form the Gravesend and Rochester Railway. The SER offered to buy the canal and railway in 1845, filled in the canal through the Higham to Strood tunnel and doubled the track. The first section (built by the SER) connected Woolwich and Dartford to the railway network. In 1852 a freight branch was constructed from this line at Charlton to
4420-671: The Great Eastern Railway (GER), the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR), the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR), the Metropolitan Railway , and the District Railway . Over the next four years it was converted to railway use and connected with existing lines. The line was principally used for freight across London but the SER introduced a service between Addiscombe and Liverpool Street from April 1880 until March 1884. From March to September 1884
4550-471: The House of Commons and the difficult terrain between Westerham and Oxted. During the 1880s and 1890s the SER was accused of only caring about Continental travellers and of neglecting the interests of its other customers. A series of letters to The Times in London in 1883 demonstrated how unpopular the railway had become with its regular commuters. Ernest Foxwell, also writing in 1883, stated 'The great blots on
4680-554: The London Docklands Development Corporation during the 1980s. They have now been converted into a mixture of residential and commercial accommodations and have become some of the most upmarket and expensive properties in London. In 1997, US President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Tony Blair visited the area to dine at the Le Pont de la Tour restaurant at Butler's Wharf. At the same time more everyday housing
4810-502: The Orpington cut-off in 1866 reduced services to and from the growing town of Croydon . The LB&SCR had supported a plan to build the Surrey and Sussex Junction Railway along this route in 1865, but its involvement had been opposed by the SER as being contrary to their agreement, and the scheme was abandoned during the 1867 financial crisis. However, following a revised agreement, the scheme
4940-519: The South Eastern and Chatham Railway was formed in 1899 from the South Eastern Railway and its bitter competitor, the London, Chatham and Dover Railway , the station was given another makeover. The current appearance of the station frontage dates from 1900. On 15 March 1915, the station was closed, along with Southwark Park and Deptford stations, as a wartime economy measure. Only Deptford
5070-566: The railways . London's first passenger railway terminus was built by the London to Greenwich Railway in 1836 at London Bridge . The first section to be used was between the Spa Road Station and Deptford High Street. This local station had closed by 1915. The industrial boom of the 19th century was an extension of Bermondsey's manufacturing role in earlier eras. As in the East End , industries that were deemed too noisome to be carried on within
5200-445: The river Neckinger in the area led to the development of Bermondsey Spa , as the area between Grange and Jamaica Roads called Spa Road commemorates. A new church was built for the growing population of the area, and named St John Horsleydown . It was from the Bermondsey riverside that the painter J. M. W. Turner executed his famous painting of The Fighting "Temeraire" Tugged to her Last Berth to be Broken Up (1839), depicting
5330-537: The 2010 changes). Millwall Football Club was originally formed in 1885, in Millwall on the Isle of Dogs , East London . They retained the name, even though they moved across the river to New Cross , South East London in 1910. In 1993 they moved to their current stadium, The Den . The team has a strong local following, but has never been based in Bermondsey. The stadium lies right on the border of Southwark , but falls under
Spa Road railway station - Misplaced Pages Continue
5460-706: The A2; the A200; the A202. The local authority say that vehicle exhaust fumes are the main source of air pollution in Southwark. Roadside air pollution levels are monitored by the local authority in Bermondsey. Results from 2017 suggest that Bermondsey has some of the highest nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) levels in the Borough. NO 2 concentration was particularly high near the Rotherhithe Tunnel, along Jamaica Road and on Old Kent Road: All
5590-531: The Bermondsey Community Council area. Bermondsey's parliamentary representation has fluctuated with its population. Since at least the 13th century, it had formed part of the Surrey County seat until the 1868 Reform Act when it became part of Southwark constituency . From 1885 to 1918, a separate Bermondsey constituency existed, which included part of the older Southwark constituency. 1918 saw
5720-465: The Bermondsey and South Bermondsey area. Several of London's arterial routes pass through Bermondsey, including: Bricklayer's Arms is a busy road junction between the London Inner Ring Road (A100/A202) and the A2, where routes from London Bridge meet with routes towards the East End , Surrey and Kent . The southern portal of the Rotherhithe Tunnel (A101) is in Bermondsey. The Tunnel
5850-449: The Board in 1855. Macgregor's lack of accountability, his opaque and at times dubious working methods led to a number of strategic errors in the building of new lines and in the company's relations with its neighbours, which would have an adverse impact on the company for decades to come. In 1846 the SER supported the formation of the Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway, a scheme to build
5980-546: The Continental Traffic Agreement. A new and protracted dispute with the LB&SCR took place between 1855 and 1862 over the Caterham branch line , which was built by an independent company in SER territory but connected to the railway network at the former LB&SCR station at Purley . The SER refused to allow the line to be leased to the LB&SCR, which in turn refused to re-open its station, delayed opening of
6110-579: The Greater London reorganisation of 1965. For elections to the Greater London Council, Bermondsey was part of the Southwark electoral division until 1973 and then the Bermondsey electoral division until 1986. Southwark London Borough Council has divided the borough into a number of community council areas. The wards of London Bridge and West bermondsey, North Bermondsey and South Bermondsey form
6240-559: The Jubilee and Northern lines, and Borough on the Northern line are also nearby. The Jubilee line provides a direct link from Bermondsey to Canary Wharf and Stratford in London's East End , and to Waterloo , the West End , Baker Street and north west London towards Willesden and Stanmore . The Northern line from London Bridge links the area to Kennington , Clapham and Morden in
6370-446: The L&BR and L&CR to form the LB&SCR in July 1846 created a powerful rival to the SER in areas of east Sussex and east Surrey not yet connected to the railway. Relations between the two companies were bad from the outset, especially at those sites where they shared facilities, such as the approaches to London Bridge, East Croydon , and Redhill . Also the SER had long wanted to build
6500-543: The LB&SCR beyond Hastings and westward further expansion by the SER. Under this agreement the LB&SCR, would share the line from Bulverhythe to Hastings and transfer to the SER its rights to build a line to Ashford but at the same time it retained the right to use the Bricklayers Arms branch and construct its own 15-acre (61,000 m ) goods depot on the site for a rent of one shilling (£0.05) per year. The 1848/9 agreement did not prevent further squabbling between
6630-448: The LB&SCR lines into Pimlico and, after 1860, to Victoria Station . The EKR became the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) in 1859 and completed its rival route to Dover on 22 July 1861. By July 1863 the LCDR had its own independent route to Victoria, and in 1864 its own terminus on the edge of the City of London at Ludgate Hill . For 36 years it would be an important competitor of
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#17328476225216760-405: The LB&SCR was also on the brink of bankruptcy. The directors and shareholders saw that constant quarrelling between the three companies had damaged their interests and began talks to merge or to work together. In 1868 a Bill was presented to Parliament to allow for co-operative working of railways of southern England (the SER, the LCDR, the LB&SCR and the L&SWR). However this failed at
6890-431: The LCDR agreed to pool Continental traffic receipts between Hastings and Margate , together with local receipts to Dover and Folkestone. It then re-allocated them to a formula which gave the SER two-thirds of the receipts in 1863, gradually reducing to one half in 1872. The agreement appeared to unduly favour the LCDR, particularly after 1870. It did not prevent competition as the railways could claim additional funds from
7020-566: The London and Greenwich Railway from 1 January 1845 gave the company control of its main line into London and provided a branch line to Greenwich . Further eastward extension was not possible due to opposition from the Greenwich Hospital , but it was eventually opened in 1878 when the line joined the North Kent Line at Charlton . A secondary main line from Tonbridge to the outskirts of Tunbridge Wells opened 20 September 1845. It
7150-534: The SER agreed with the LCDR to share operation of the two railways, work them as a single system (marketed as the South Eastern and Chatham Railway ) and pool receipts: but it was not a full amalgamation. The SER and LCDR remained separate companies until becoming constituents of the Southern Railway on 1 January 1923. There had been proposals for a railway between London and Dover in 1825, 1832 and 1835, but they came to nothing due to opposition from landowners or
7280-429: The SER both for Continental and also local traffic in Kent. A further serious strategic mistake was the refusal of the SER to accept the terms of the contract for the cross-channel carriage of mails in 1862, as this stipulated the use of Dover rather than Folkestone. This enabled the LCDR, which had only reached Dover in 1861, to secure the contract and the following year would give it leverage when it came to negotiating
7410-447: The SER built a new bridge over the Thames and a city terminus at Cannon Street railway station , which opened 1 September 1866. These extensions were difficult to operate and were congested at peak times. On 16 August 1866 the SER agreed with the London and North Western Railway to build a joint line between Euston railway station and Charing Cross, with interchange of traffic, but
7540-610: The SER line into London: instead the SER reluctantly agreed to handle London traffic from the line. Many SER directors were convinced the line would never be built, or would go bankrupt, and so took no interest in the scheme or in suggestions that the line should amalgamate with their railway. They were proved wrong. In 1856 the EKR again unsuccessfully sought running powers over the SER into London, and then obtained powers to build its own route via St Mary Cray railway station and Bromley South railway station . The EKR secured running powers over
7670-521: The SER opened another secondary main line from Ashford to Ramsgate with a branch from there to Margate on 1 December 1846. A further branch from this line from Minster to Deal was opened 7 July 1847. As the SER was prevented from extending its Greenwich line, it opened a secondary main line from Lewisham to Gravesend and then to Strood on the banks of the Medway on 30 July 1849. The second half between Gravesend and Strood had been built as
7800-546: The SER opened its lines from Tunbridge Wells, reducing the distance by rail to Hastings from London. Macgregor's greatest strategic mistake was his failure to address the concerns of the proposers of the East Kent Railway , which ultimately led to the creation of an important rival in northern Kent and also for the Continental rail traffic. Between 1844 and 1858, the SER had a monopoly of rail transport in Kent, but served
7930-482: The Shakespeare Tunnel was complete by May 1841 . The L&BR line to Redhill opened on 12 July 1841 and the SER line from Redhill to Tonbridge on 26 May 1842, when SER train services began. The main line reached Ashford on 1 December 1842; the outskirts of Folkestone by 28 June 1843; and Dover by 7 February 1844. On the same day the SER offered to lease the L&BR for 21 years at £100,000 per year, but
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#17328476225218060-724: The South Eastern are its unpunctuality, its fares, its third class carriages, and the way in which local interests are sacrificed to Continental traffic.' Hamilton Ellis later described both the SER and the LCDR at this time as 'bywords of poverty stricken inefficiency and dirtiness'. In spite of these criticisms the shareholders stuck with their chairman, until they eventually realised that their own interests were suffering as well. A scathing article in The Investors Review for June 1894 demonstrated how poorly Watkin's railways had performed financially compared to others, and referred to
8190-426: The Thames at Angerstein's Wharf , used for landing coal. A line opened on 18 June 1856 up the Medway valley to Maidstone West . In September 1845 the SER appointed James Macgregor (sometimes spelled McGregor or M'Gregor) to a new post combining the roles of Chairman and Managing Director. He exercised absolute power over the company for the next nine years, until he was ultimately forced to resign in 1854 and leave
8320-632: The UK, with 48.5 million passenger entries and exits in 2017–18. Services from London Bridge are provided by Southeastern , Thameslink and Southern . London Bridge connects Bermondsey directly to destinations in Central London, including Waterloo , Charing Cross , Cannon Street , Farringdon and St Pancras International . Beyond London, trains travel direct to Gatwick and Luton airports, and destinations including Bedford , Brighton , Cambridge , Dover , Peterborough and Sevenoaks . South Bermondsey
8450-449: The above sites failed to meet national air quality objectives. A monitoring site on Old Kent Road registered an annual mean 22 μg/m-3 in 2017 for PM10 (particulates often found in exhaust), which meets national air quality objectives. Bermondsey is well connected to the London and National Cycle networks, with several signed routes passing through the area. With several routes passing through Bermondsey, cycling infrastructure
8580-408: The area until 2015 when he was defeated by the Labour candidate Neil Coyle . At the 1983 general election that took place several months after the by-election, a new Southwark and Bermondsey constituency was created, becoming North Southwark and Bermondsey in 1997, and in 2010 Bermondsey and Old Southwark (although a small part of south east Bermondsey is transferred to Camberwell and Peckham in
8710-407: The bankrupt Canterbury and Whitstable Railway , which had opened in 1830. This continued to be worked as an isolated line until the SER reached Canterbury from Ashford in 1846, with its line to Ramsgate . The first branch built by the SER was the Medway Valley Line on 24 September 1844, from Paddock Wood to Maidstone . This was continued to Strood railway station on 18 June 1856. Leasing
8840-409: The banks of Jacob's Island. Bermondsey vestry hall was built on Spa Road in 1881 but was severely damaged by bombing during the Blitz in 1941. It was demolished soon thereafter. The original vestry hall was extended to create the Bermondsey Town Hall in 1930. The area was extensively redeveloped during the 19th century and early 20th century with the expansion of the river trade and the arrival of
8970-475: The centuries, Bermondsey underwent some striking changes. After the Great Fire of London , it was settled by the well-to-do, and took on the character of a garden suburb especially along the line of Grange Road and Bermondsey Wall East as it became more urbanised. A pleasure garden was constructed during the Restoration period in the 17th century, commemorated by the Cherry Garden Pier. Samuel Pepys once visited here. A rare surviving building from this period
9100-506: The company bought the silted and nearly derelict harbour, built by Thomas Telford in 1809, for £18,000. The SER dredged the harbour and, after a trial with the paddle steamer Water Witch , which also demonstrated that a day excursion from London to Boulogne was feasible, arranged for a packet company to provide a ferry to Boulogne. The following year it established the independent South Eastern & Continental Steam Packet Company , which it absorbed in 1853. James Broadbridge Monger
9230-409: The company's routes were in Kent , eastern Sussex and the London suburbs, with a long cross-country route from Redhill in Surrey to Reading, Berkshire . Much of the company's early history saw attempts at expansion and feuding with its neighbours; the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) in the west and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) to the north-east. However, in 1899
9360-496: The company, and its relationships with its neighbours together with further strategic errors which weakened what might otherwise have been a profitable enterprise. One nickname for the SER in the 1860s was the Rattle and Smash Railway. The East Kent Railway (EKR) from Strood to Canterbury, proposed in 1850 achieved parliamentary approval in 1853, and also for an extension to Dover in 1855, but it failed to secure running powers over
9490-440: The construction costs, although it resulted in a route 20 miles (32 km) longer than by road, running south for 14.5 miles (23 km) and then turning east. It also meant that its trains from London Bridge passed over the lines of three other companies: the L&GR to Corbett's Lane Junction, the L&CR as far as 'Jolly Sailor', and the L&BR to Merstham. Construction began in 1838 at several places simultaneously, and
9620-399: The day and reserved half a carriage for passengers to and from the station on Sundays and holidays. They also took steps to improve access to the station. Despite this, it was little used and in late 1838 the L&GR's directors decided to close the station. It was boarded up at the end of 1838 and remained out of use until 1842. In 1840, the L&GR applied to Parliament for powers to widen
9750-650: The difficulties of bridging the River Medway near its mouth. On 21 June 1836, the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed a local act the South Eastern Railway Act 1836 ( 6 & 7 Will. 4 . c. lxxv) incorporating the South Eastern and Dover Railway , which shortly afterwards changed to the South Eastern Railway. At the time of inauguration there were two potential rail pathways south from London, and
9880-468: The difficulties that his staff experienced in keeping people off the tracks. The L&GR opened the line between London Bridge and Spa Road on 14 December 1836. Usage of Spa Road station dropped significantly after the opening of London Bridge railway station , and drivers began to go straight through without stopping if they had no passenger requests. This changed in March 1838 when the company's directors ordered trains to stop at Spa Road hourly throughout
10010-460: The east of Tower Bridge, Bermondsey's 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 mi (5.6 km) of riverside were lined with warehouses and wharves, of which the best known is Butler's Wharf . They suffered severe damage in World War II bombing and became redundant in the 1960s following the collapse of the river trade. After standing derelict for some years, many of the wharves were redeveloped under the aegis of
10140-452: The field open to rival projects, as would later prove to be the case. As a result, there was no planned service to the north Kent towns to the east of the River Medway . Likewise SER routes to Margate , Deal , and Canterbury were circuitous and other towns had no railway at all. As a result of the railway's unwillingness to act, plans for an independent line from the SER station at Strood to Faversham and Canterbury were made following
10270-492: The first phase of which opened on 7 July 1881. Authorisation for line was first obtained in 1864, but no progress had been made by 1876, when local inhabitants sponsored a bill their own bill, forcing the hand of the SER. In the event only the first phase (from Dunton Green to Westerham) was built, leaving a Branch line rather than a through route. The remaining four miles (6 km) to the new Oxted Line (then still under construction) were never completed due to opposition in
10400-426: The first to open for business. Another consideration was the company's stock price, which stood high at the end of 1835 but was at risk of falling if the line was not soon opened. The board decided to open a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) stretch from Spa Road to Deptford , which served the district of Deptford . The first train left Deptford railway station for Spa Road at 8 am on 8 February 1836. Trains ran hourly on
10530-416: The half-hour from Spa Road, from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm, with a fare to Deptford costing 6 d . There were no services after dark, as there were no signals on the line and it was not illuminated. Spa Road station was within the parish of Bermondsey, which was then an industrial and working class area. From there the line crossed over marshes and market gardens to reach Deptford and Greenwich. The station itself
10660-414: The history of relations between the companies since the agreement of 1848–9. This set out the history although from the SER perspective. A branch from Lewisham to Beckenham opened in 1857, becoming the temporary terminus of the East Kent Railway . Following the dispute with the LB&SCR over New Croydon (see below) an extension of this line to Addiscombe (Croydon) was opened in 1864. The SER and
10790-549: The line beyond Greenwich was blocked by opposition from the Admiralty , and this route would involve tunnelling through the North Downs . The engineer of the new line, William Cubitt , was also engineer of the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR), which planned to use L&GR lines as far as Corbett's Lane in Bermondsey before turning south towards Croydon . A new connection on this line near to Norwood could provide access to
10920-546: The line for a year, and made the Caterham company bankrupt. The SER took over the line in 1859, but the LB&SCR made life difficult for passengers to London. The SER objected to the LB&SCR agreement with the East Kent Railway to provide access over its lines to its Pimlico station and later the jointly owned Victoria station (see below), and also for handling that company's freight traffic at 'Willow Walk', (a part of
11050-494: The line reached Tonbridge. Construction of the main line provided the opportunity to build an improved route to Dartford from Hither Green via Sidcup . This opened 1 September 1866. In 1865 the SER joined a consortium of six railways to form the East London Railway , which used the existing Thames Tunnel to connect Wapping on the north bank of the Thames with Rotherhithe on the south. The other partners were:
11180-462: The line was widened. This involved moving the access staircase to the north side of the viaduct, building a waiting and booking office room in the arches and constructing a shed over the line. A local contractor, Thomas Jackson, began work on the new station in June 1842 and it opened in September, with the work costing £450 (£33,000 at 2010 prices). The following February another life was lost at Spa Road when
11310-614: The narrow confines of the City of London had been located here – one such that came to dominate central Bermondsey, away from the riverfront, was the processing and trading of leather and hides . Many of the warehouse buildings from this era survive around Bermondsey Street, Tanner Street, Morocco Street and Leathermarket Street including the huge Leather Market of 1833 and the Leather, Hide and Wool Exchange of 1878; virtually all are now residential and small work spaces or offices. Hepburn and Gale's tannery (disused as of early 2007) on Long Lane
11440-607: The next year, following London government reorganisation, this was merged with Rotherhithe and part of Deptford to form, with Bermondsey civil parish, the Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey . The Borough's first Mayor was Samuel Bourne Bevington (1832–1907), leather producer and one of the area's largest employers; his statue still stands in Tooley Street. This borough was incorporated into the London Borough of Southwark, in
11570-461: The north of the county poorly. The SER line from Strood into London had opened in 1849. A plan to continue this line as far as Chilham where it would join the Ashford to Canterbury Line , was rejected by Parliament in 1847 due to financial considerations and never resurrected. One group of SER directors were anxious to 'close the capital account' and build no more lines, even though this might leave
11700-469: The offer was turned down. Later that year, the SER refunded to the L&BR £430,000 and took ownership of the southern half of the Croydon-Redhill line . Trains ran toll-free to both companies on this stretch but still had pay on the L&CR from Norwood Junction railway station to Corbett's Lane Junction, and the L&GR into London Bridge. In 1843, when the railway reached the edge of Folkestone,
11830-487: The old station. Monmouth Coffee Company , Neal's Yard Dairy and the property company Matching Green formed Spa Terminus Limited to take a lease on a stretch of railway arches around Spa Road station in Bermondsey to provide accommodation for food manufacturers and wholesalers. Monmouth Coffee Company and Neal's Yard Dairy moved their headquarters into arches at Spa Terminus in 2018. Bermondsey Bermondsey ( / ˈ b ɜːr m ə n d z i / BUR -mənd-zee )
11960-416: The parapet wall and perfectly visible from street level. One regular traveller, Alfred Rosling Bennett, later recalled, Gangs of children made it a practice, especially on summer evenings, without any apparent hindrance from the police, to attend every train and, standing at the junction of Rouel Road with Frean Street, to shout in chorus with a sort of cadence, "Throw down your mouldy coppers!" ... The chorus
12090-454: The pool if they carried more than their proportion of customers. Both companies sought to get round the agreement – the LCDR by establishing a Continental service from Queenborough on the Isle of Sheppey , which was outside the scope of the agreement. Similarly, the SER built a local station at Shorncliffe on the edge of Folkestone, which it claimed was not part of Folkestone, and from which it charged lower fares. Following establishment of
12220-504: The priors of Lewes , St Augustine's , and Canterbury , as well as the abbot of Battle . These properties are located within the Archbishop of Canterbury's manor of Southwark , where wealthy citizens and clerics had their houses. King Edward III built a manor house close to the Thames in Bermondsey in 1353. The excavated foundations are visible next to Bermondsey Wall East, close to the famous Angel public house. As it developed over
12350-412: The prosperous West End of London while the SER only had its terminal on the south side of the river Thames at London Bridge . The SER converted part of London Bridge to through platforms and extended to near Waterloo , over Hungerford Bridge to a station at Charing Cross which opened on 11 January 1864. When the LCDR built a line to Ludgate Hill railway station in the City of London in 1865,
12480-406: The railway to offer cheaper fares from New Croydon to London than the SER which only had use of East Croydon station. The SER responded by gaining parliamentary approval to build its own line from New Beckenham to a new station at Croydon ( Addiscombe Road ), which opened 1 April 1864. Relations with the LB&SCR reached a low point in 1863, when the general manager and secretary had to report
12610-627: The rest of London poorer in the late Twentieth Century. This was improved in 2000 with the opening of Bermondsey Underground station on the London Underground 's Jubilee Line Extension and the East London Line extension as part of the London Overground . The Blue serves as the central market place for Bermondsey as a whole. Wee Willie Harris , known as "Britain's wild man of rock 'n' roll ", came from Bermondsey and had worked as
12740-427: The restoration the station frontage and installing two commemorative plaques. The station arches and the land in front of them were redeveloped into a light industrial estate behind a block of flats, accessed via Priter Road. Parts of the station still exist; platform remnants are visible from trains travelling between Deptford or New Cross and London Bridge, and can easily be seen in satellite imagery. The frontage of
12870-431: The rights to build a 4-mile-long (6.4 km) viaduct from the south end of London Bridge to Greenwich and to run trains along it. However, the line was partially opened to the public well before its full length had been completed in order to maximise revenue income as soon as possible. Other companies were in the process of building their own railway lines and the L&GR wished to gain the commercial advantage of being
13000-514: The same year, a small shelter for ticket collectors was erected on the Spa Road platform and trains to London Bridge were stopped there to carry out ticket collections before arriving at their destination. This arrangement continued until Charing Cross railway station was opened in 1864. For some years local children exploited the ticket stops at Spa Road. The ticket collections meant that up trains had to stand there for some considerable time, close to
13130-534: The scheme was abandoned as a result of the 1867 financial crisis. The SER therefore constructed the direct line via Sevenoaks to Tonbridge . It involved crossing the North Downs by summits and long tunnels at Knockholt and Sevenoaks. The latter was the longest tunnel in southern England at 3,451 yards (3,156 m). This cut-off line, 24 miles (39 km) long, reached Chislehurst on 1 July 1865, but took three more years to reach Orpington and Sevenoaks (2 March 1868). The new main line opened on 1 May 1868 when
13260-588: The seat split between two new constituencies: Rotherhithe and Bermondsey West , both of which were in place until the 1950 general election when the old Bermondsey seat was recreated. In 1983, the area played host to a famous Bermondsey by-election in which Labour 's Peter Tatchell lost the previously safe Labour seat to the Liberal Simon Hughes on a swing of 44%, which remains the largest by-election swing in British political history. Hughes represented
13390-578: The service ran from Addiscombe to St Mary's Whitechapel Road. This period of factionalism was eventually ended with the appointment of a new and able Chairman in March 1866. This was Edward (later Sir Edward) Watkin who was also chairman of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway and the Metropolitan Railway , as well as being a director of the Chemins de fer du Nord in France. However his appointment
13520-442: The sides of the carriages. A third-class passenger was killed on 1 April 1850 when he climbed part-way out of his open carriage and hit his head on the shelter's projecting roof as his Greenwich-bound train passed through the station. A subsequent Board of Trade enquiry recommended that steps should be taken to ensure that the "unruly class of passengers" found in third class should not have the "power to injure themselves" in future. In
13650-514: The slime beneath; windows, broken and patched, with poles thrust out, on which to dry the linen that is never there; rooms so small, so filthy, so confined, that the air would seem to be too tainted even for the dirt and squalor which they shelter; wooden chambers thrusting themselves out above the mud and threatening to fall into it—as some have done; dirt-besmeared walls and decaying foundations, every repulsive lineament of poverty, every loathsome indication of filth, rot, and garbage: all these ornament
13780-479: The south west. Northbound services travel through the City of London , King's Cross St Pancras and Camden Town , towards Edgware or High Barnet . The East London line , South London line and South Eastern Main Line all pass through Bermondsey, providing frequent rail connections to Central London and South East England . London Bridge is the busiest station in the locale, and fourth busiest station in
13910-469: The station is extant and displays the signage of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway . The site of the ticket windows is also visible. The disused platforms can still be reached via the old ticket office and have occasionally been used for emergency access. On 8 January 1999, when two commuter trains collided and derailed in the Spa Road Junction rail crash , some passengers had to be evacuated through
14040-417: The steps to wait for the trains. In practice, though, they often queued on the track itself. The company had not originally intended to provide platforms at all and had fitted its carriages with steps to allow passengers to board from track level, but found that low platforms were more convenient. The Commissioner of Pavements required the L&GR to maintain the staircases and to provide at least two services
14170-400: The two companies, notably with the opening of the railway from Ashford to Hastings in 1851. The LB&SCR had originally sought to build it and then had attempted to delay its completion by the SER. In retaliation, the SER attempted to deny LB&SCR access to its station at Hastings. The matter was resolved in court in favour of the LB&SCR, but victory was short-lived as the following year
14300-400: The veteran warship being towed to Rotherhithe to be scrapped. By the mid-19th century factories sprang up, most notably Alaska chocolate , Salt, cheese and Hartley's Jam. Parts of Bermondsey, especially along the riverside, had become notorious slums with the arrival of industrial plants, docks and immigrant housing. The area around St. Saviour's Dock, known as Jacob's Island , was one of
14430-497: The viaduct, which was so narrow that the carriages only had a clearance of about 20 inches (51 cm) between their sides and the parapet wall, and about 3 feet (0.91 m) clearance in the centre. There was no room for buildings of any description anywhere on the line. The company came under pressure to reopen Spa Road station, as competition from the railway had caused the demise of a horse-drawn coach service from Bermondsey to Deptford. It agreed to construct an improved station when
14560-458: The worst in London. It was immortalised in Charles Dickens 's novel Oliver Twist , in which the villain, Bill Sikes , meets his end in the mud of 'Folly Ditch', in reference to Hickman's Folly, which surrounded Jacob's Island. Dickens provides a vivid description of what it was like: ... crazy wooden galleries common to the backs of half a dozen houses, with holes from which to look upon
14690-461: Was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover . Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells , Hastings , Canterbury and other places in Kent. The SER absorbed or leased other railways, some older than itself, including the London and Greenwich Railway and the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway . Most of
14820-496: Was better developed than that from Calais. In 1848 the SER served two steam ships a day between Folkestone and Boulogne, one a day between Dover and Calais, and one between Dover and Ostend. During 1843, before the main line was complete, the SER and the L&CR became anxious about the charges imposed by the L&GR for the use of the terminus at London Bridge and its approaches. Parliament had relaxed restrictions on new railways into London and so SER sought authority to construct
14950-704: Was completed in 1908 and carries vehicle traffic from Bermondsey directly to the East End. In 2003, the Tunnel was rated the tenth most dangerous tunnel in Europe , owing in parts to its age and lack of safety features. The London Borough of Southwark maintains most roads, particularly residential streets, but Transport for London (TfL) manages certain routes: the A100; the A101 (Rotherhithe Tunnel);
15080-512: Was constructed in the areas north of the Old Kent Road, including several council estates. Bermondsey was served by London's first railway, from Spa Road railway station , as part of the London Bridge to Greenwich line, and the junction of lines from Croydon and Kent at South Bermondsey . However, reorganisation of lines and temporary closure of stations left Bermondsey's transport links with
15210-451: Was distracted by Holmes and collided with the waiting southbound train. A number of passengers who had already boarded the southbound train were injured and Holmes was killed instantly when Millender's runaway engine struck him. The duty policeman only just escaped also being struck and was dismissed for failing to warn the passengers in time. The accident was witnessed by George Walker, the L&GR's Resident Director, who subsequently wrote of
15340-401: Was extended to Tunbridge Wells Central on 25 November 1846. By 1 September 1851 the line had reached Robertsbridge and was extended to Battle , Bopeep Junction and Hastings on 1 February 1852. By this time Hastings had already been reached by the SER in a roundabout route from Ashford , which opened 13 February 1851. From this line was a short branch to Rye Harbour . During 1846
15470-510: Was in the hands of Robert, Count of Mortain , the king's half brother, and younger brother of Odo of Bayeux , then earl of Kent. Its Domesday assets were recorded as including 13 hides , 'a new and handsome church', 5 ploughs , 20 acres (8 hectares) of meadow , and woodland for 5 pigs. It rendered £15 in total. It also included interests in London, in respect of which 13 burgesses paid 44d (£0.18). The church mentioned in Domesday Book
15600-410: Was originally a terminus, but in 1860 the line was continued to Admiralty Pier. Thereafter the SER concentrated most of its resources into developing Folkestone Harbour, which became its principal base for cross-channel ferries. The company had complete control of Folkestone whereas at Dover it had to negotiate with both the Admiralty and the local town council, and the rail route from Boulogne to Paris
15730-466: Was presumably the nascent Bermondsey Abbey , which was founded as a Cluniac priory in 1082, and was dedicated to St Saviour. Monks from the abbey began the development of the area, cultivating the land and embanking the riverside. They turned an adjacent tidal inlet at the mouth of the River Neckinger into a dock, named St Saviour's Dock after their abbey. But Bermondsey then was little more than
15860-482: Was put on the SER to divert its proposed route so it could also share the L&BR mainline between Jolly Sailor (Norwood) and Earlswood Common , and then travel eastwards to Tonbridge . Under the scheme proposed by Parliament, the railway from Croydon to Redhill would be built by the L&BR but the SER would have the right to refund half the construction costs and own that part of the line between Merstham and Redhill. The SER gave way to this proposal as it reduced
15990-467: Was quickly followed by the collapse of bankers Overend, Gurney and Company on 10 May 1866 and the subsequent financial crisis during the following year. This had a severe effect on expansion plans of several railways. No new lines were built by the SER until the opening of the Sandling to Hythe branch line on 9 October 1874. The LCDR went bankrupt and was taken into administration 12 July 1866, and in 1867
16120-458: Was relocated a couple of hundred yards away from its original site before it closed in 1915 due to cost-saving measures during the First World War . The disused station building is today part of a light industrial estate. A number of elements of the original station – including the ticket office and remnants of the platforms – are still visible. In 1833 an Act of Parliament granted the L&GR
16250-411: Was repeated incessantly until the train moved on, unless coppers, mouldy or otherwise, arrived and then there would be a glorious tussle of boys and girls in desperate strife for the prize. Coppers were often thrown; if one passenger started and so afforded others a specimen battle, another was almost certain to follow and he, very likely, would be joined by a third, all perhaps in different carriages. When
16380-459: Was revived as a joint venture. Beyond Oxted the LB&SCR linked with its lines to East Grinstead and Tunbridge Wells , while the SER joined its original main line to Tonbridge Tunbridge Wells and Hastings . Authority for construction of these lines was granted in 1878 and they opened in 1884. As a part of the same scheme, the SER at last began to implement plans for the a line from Dunton Green on its new main line to Oxted via Westerham ,
16510-504: Was subsequently reopened. Spa Road continued to be used by railwaymen until September 1925, when it ceased to be used by the railway. By the mid-1980s the old station had fallen into dereliction. It was left empty for many years, and the vacant land around it became a site for fly tipping of waste and rubbish . In 1986, British Rail , the Southwark Environment Trust and the London Borough of Southwark contributed £50,000 to
16640-540: Was the arrangement under the Metropolis Management Act 1855 . The Southwark parishes of St Olave's and St John's Horsleydown (the latter a 'daughter' of the former) with St Thomas's formed a parish union ('District Board of Works') known as 'St Olave's' from that date. This was the arrangement within the London County from 1889. In 1899 St Olave and St Thomas's District was created as a single civil parish and
16770-534: Was the master of the Water Witch from 1839 to 1844. From 1844 on, he was master of three vessels which steamed from Dover and Folkestone to Boulogne, Calais and Ostend with passengers and cargo: Lord Warden , Princess Helena and Princess Maude . In December 1848 it opened a steeply graded branch from the Folkestone station to the harbour . The SER opened Dover (later Dover Town) station on 7 February 1844. This
16900-422: Was very basic. It was squeezed into a narrow space on a two-track viaduct with no room for buildings of any sort. The company did not even refer to it as a station but as a "stopping place." The platforms were accessed via wooden staircases on the outside of the viaduct, the one on the south side having a small wooden hut at the bottom for issuing tickets. If the platform was full, passengers were supposed to queue on
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