Borough and Bankside

Borough is one of the oldest parts of London. It was settled by the Romans, who built the first London Bridge. For many centuries Borough was outside the jurisdiction of London. It became known for its inns and bawdy behaviour and as a haven for law breakers.

Bankside was once an area of playhouses such as the Rose, Swan and Globe. It was also known for its brothels and the Clink Prison. In 1666 the diarist Samuel Pepys watched the Great Fire of London from a riverside tavern in Bankside.

The area had prestigious religious institutions such as Winchester Palace and the church of St Mary Overie - later St Saviour and then Southwark Cathedral.

Famous people

Borough and Bankside has been home to many famous people. Charles Dickens and Shakespeare both had strong links to the area. Dickens' father was in the debtors' jail Marshalsea and his novel Little Dorrit explores this theme.

In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer's pilgrims set out from the Tabard Inn in Borough. This literary history lives on in the street names - Dickens Square, Pilgrimage Street, Manciple Street, Sumner Street and Prioress Street among others.

Two women philanthropists were also linked to the area. Elizabeth Newcomen in the 17th century funded schooling for poor boys and girls from the parish and also clothing for poor women.

Her legacy endures today in the Newcomen Collett Foundation whose work includes help for children with learning difficulties, grants to schools and efforts to promote education of Southwark residents under the age of 25.

Octavia Hill was a well known Victorian campaigner for decent housing and free open spaces for the poor, particularly in London, and she was a co-founder of the National Trust. She died in 1912. There are Southwark Blue Plaques to both these women.

Changes

Up until the bombing during the Second World War the Elephant and Castle was a maze of terraced streets and had shops lining every approach to the junction. This lively area was known as the Piccadilly of South London, with its music and dance halls and theatres.

Badly damaged during the Blitz, the area was completely transformed over the next two decades. High density estates and office blocks replaced the terraced streets.

The Faraday monument, housing an electricity substation for the Tube, was built in the middle of the roundabout.

In the early 1960s the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre was built, the first of its kind in Europe.