The Place

Bermondsey

The Bermondsey Community Council area is at the heart of Southwark. To the East it borders with Rotherhithe, to the South and West with Peckham, Walworth and Borough and Bankside. To the North it stretches along the Thames from London Bridge to the Cherry Garden Pier passing by Tower Bridge and looks over the river towards the boroughs of Tower Hamlets and City of London. In the South East it shares a border with Lewisham. The three wards it encompasses are Grange, Riverside and South Bermondsey.

Bermondsey's location on the Thames across from the City has bestowed it with a long and rich cultural, commercial and industrial history. From the once powerful 14th Century Bermondsey Abbey to the home of the first chocolate biscuit at the world renowned Peek Frean's factory, there is a bit of history for all tastes.

There are a number of large trading estates in the area including the Tower Bridge Business Complex which hosts a local newspaper, IT companies, record and filming studios, and a whole array of small and medium sized businesses.

People of Bermondsey have been worshipping in historic churches like St Mary Magdelen on Bermondsey Street since 1296 while on the Ilderton Road a vibrant cluster of evangelical churches has emerged in recent years. The Old Kent Road Mosque in Walworth is situated by the border with Bermondsey.

The area hosts some of the finest examples of late 20th Century architecture with Butler's Wharf's finely restored warehouses, the Design Museum on Shad Thames and the Fashion and Textile museum on Bermondsey Street.

The Blue Market is in the heart of Bermondsey and a cluster of small retailers on Southwark Park Road forms a friendly shopping centre in the South Bermondsey area.

The Old Kent Road, a major transport axis of South East London runs between Bermondsey, Peckham and Walworth and serves the area with a number of large retail outlets.

The area is linked to the rest of London and the South East by mainline stations in London Bridge and South Bermondsey. It is served by numerous bus routes, a river boat service and the underground with Northern and Jubilee lines passing through London Bridge and Bermondsey tube stations.

Although its ground is located just over the border with Lewisham, Bermondsey is home to Millwall Football Club’s supporters and beneficiary of the clubs innovative community scheme.

Small well-loved parks such as Paterson Park, Spa Gardens and Leathermarket Gardens are scattered around the area. Southwark Park with its huge variety of flowers and trees, sports facilities, bandstand and art gallery forms part of the border with neighbouring Rotherhithe.

Fashion, art and design flourish in the Bermondsey Street Area and with one eye to the international art scene and one in the local community, small and dynamic galleries such as the Coleman Project Space are becoming established in and around the wider area.

The Discover Bermondsey map will help you locate historical sites, parks and gardens and other places of interest in Bermondsey. The locations and background information are updated in response to user feedback.

Contact us

Darryl Telles, Area Manager
Bermondsey and Rotherhithe Area Office
tel: 020 7525 1787
fax: 020 7237 0616
darryl.telles@southwark.gov.uk
South Bermondsey Children and Parent Centre
Tenda Road
SE16 3PN