London Borough of Southwark

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

London Borough of Southwark
Southwark
Shown within Greater London
Geography
Status London borough
Area
— Total		 Ranked 340th
28.85 km² (11.1 sq mi)
ONS code 00BE
Admin HQ Peckham Road, Camberwell
Demographics
Population
— Total (2006 est.)
— Density		 Ranked 31st (of 354)
269,200
9,331 /km² (24,167 /sq mi)
Ethnicity
White British
White Irish
Other White
White & Black Caribbean
White & Black African
White & Asian
Other Mixed
Indian
Pakistani
Bangladeshi
Other Asian
Black Caribbean
Black African
Other Black
Chinese
Other		 (2005 estimates)[1]
52.6%
2.6%
9.1%
1.2%
0.8%
0.7%
1.1%
2.6%
0.6%
1.6%
0.9%
6.9%
13.3%
1.7%
2.6%
1.6%
Politics
Southwark London Borough Council
Logo of Southwark London Borough Council
Leadership Leader & Cabinet
Mayor —(non-political)
Executive Liberal Democrat / Conservative
MPs Harriet Harman
Simon Hughes
Tessa Jowell
London Assembly
— Member		 Lambeth and Southwark
Valerie Shawcross
Coat of Arms
Coat of arms of Southwark London Borough Council
Official website http://www.southwark.gov.uk/

The London Borough of Southwark (pronunciation (help·info)) is a London borough in south east London, England. It is located directly south of the River Thames and the City of London forms part of Inner London.

Contents

[edit] History

Further information: Southwark

Southwark got its "Southwark" name in the 9th century but was first settled in the Roman period. Southwark is pronounced /ˈsʌðək/. The London Borough of Southwark was formed in 1965 from the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Southwark, the Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell, and the Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey.

[edit] Geography

The borough borders the City of London and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to the north, the London Borough of Lambeth to the west and the London Borough of Lewisham to the east. To the south is the London Borough of Bromley and the London Borough of Croydon.

[edit] Demographics

The 2001 census gives Southwark a population of 244,866. Southwark is ethnically 63% white, 16% black African and 8% black Caribbean. 31% of householders are owner–occupiers.

[edit] Landmarks

City Hall, taken from the high walkway on Tower Bridge
City Hall, taken from the high walkway on Tower Bridge
The rebuilt Globe Theatre
The rebuilt Globe Theatre

Southwark has a number of old churches, most notably Charles Spurgeon's Metropolitan Tabernacle, Southwark Cathedral and St Thomas Church. The Salvation Army maintains the William Booth Memorial College near Denmark Hill railway station. London's Norwegian Church and Finnish Church are both located in Rotherhithe. On the other hand, it is also famous for a number of historic public houses, starting with the site of The Tabard inn featured in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The George Inn and the the White Hart inn are also notable.

The old theatre district of Southwark leaves the remains of the old Rose Theatre and the rebuilt Globe Theatre. Art galleries include the oldest public gallery in Britain, Dulwich Picture Gallery and one of the most modern, the Tate Modern, situated in the shell of the 1930s Bankside Power Station. In the centre of the borough is Camberwell College of Arts and south, in Dulwich has been a centre for public schooling for centuries, containing Alleyn's School and the Charles Barry designed Dulwich College.

There are many museums, including the Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret, Britain's Imperial War Museum built on the site of the Bethlem Royal Hospital, The Clink and Livesey Museum for Children. The site of the medieval Winchester Palace can be seen.

Some of the old industrial and wharfside heritage can be seen at the now defunct Surrey Commercial Docks including Greenland Dock, where areas were also cleared and new residential buildings erected; such as Baltic Quay. Near Tower Bridge old warehouses have been converted at to new uses at Butler's Wharf and Hay's Wharf. Similarly, the Oxo Tower now hosts restaurants shops and housing. Visitors are allowed on board at HMS Belfast moored nearby.

Southwark is the home to the Greater London Authority at City Hall and contains Guy's Hospital with its roots in the Middle Ages. Peckham Library, designed by Will Alsop has won architecture awards. For shopping, Borough Market near London Bridge is probably London's most famous general food market.

The planned Shard London Bridge will be London's tallest building when completed.

[edit] Civic affairs

Butler's Wharf, Shad Thames
Butler's Wharf, Shad Thames

[edit] Mayor

The Mayor of Southwark for 2007/2008 is Cllr Bob Skelly (Grange ward).

[edit] Executive

The council is run by a Leader and Cabinet Executive, chaired by council leader Nick Stanton. Following the election in 2006 the Executive is a coalition, with Liberal Democrat councillors holding 8 seats on the Executive and Conservative councillors holding 2.

[edit] Coat of arms

The two supporters on the coat of arms are an Elizabethan player dressed to play Hamlet to the left, indicating the theatrical heritage of the area, and the youth on the right side is the Esquire from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The well in the centre of the shield is a 'canting' reference to Camberwell, while the ship on the top left refers to the maritime history of Bermondsey and the rose on the right is for St Mary Newington.

[edit] Twinning

Southwark is twinned with Langenhagen in Germany and Clichy in France.

[edit] Politics

[edit] Southwark London Borough Council

Main article: Southwark local elections

Summary of council election results:

Overall control Labour Lib Dem Conservative Others
2006 No overall control 28 28 6 1
2002 No overall control 28 30 5 -
1998 Labour/No overall control 33(31)* 27 4 0(2)*
1994 Labour - - - -
1990 Labour - - - -
1986 Labour - - - -
1982 Labour - - - -
1978 Labour - - - -
1974 Labour - - - -
1971 Labour - - - -
1968 Labour - - - -
1964 Labour - - - -
  • Labour won 33 seats in 1998, but 2 members subsequently resigned the whip, leaving no overall control.

[edit] Westminster parliament

The borough is covered by three parliamentary constituencies:

[edit] Transport

The Tabard Inn, around 1850
The Tabard Inn, around 1850
Borough Market, circa 1860
Borough Market, circa 1860
Borough Market, Borough High Street entrance
Borough Market, Borough High Street entrance

[edit] Bridges and tunnels

[edit] "A" Roads

  • Many roads leading to bridges across the Thames meet at St. Georges Circus
  • The A2 runs along Old Kent Road through the north of the borough and is London's main artery from the centre out to Kent.
  • The A202 runs along Peckham High Street and passes the town hall.
  • The boundary with Bromley at Crystal Palace Parade is part of the A212.

[edit] Tube stations

[edit] Railway stations

[edit] Riverbus piers

[edit] Places

[edit] Parks and open spaces

Further information: Southwark parks and open spaces

[edit] Localities

Areas of Southwark
Areas of Southwark

[edit] Postcode areas

SE1 (part), SE4 (part), SE5 (part), SE11 (part), SE15 (part), SE16 (part), SE17 (all), SE19 (part), SE21 (part), SE22 (all), SE24 (part)

[edit] Education

[edit] Community schools

Many state schools are operated under the umbrella of the borough council [1] as Local Education Authority (LEA) for the area.

Community secondary schools include:

[edit] Independent state schools

A particularly large proportion of schools operate outside the LEA, as Foundation schools or City Academies, including:

[edit] Public schools

Dulwich in the southern part of the borough has a number of public schools with a long history:

[edit] Notable current and former residents

[edit] References

  1. ^ Data Management and Analysis Group, Greater London Authority, Demography Update October 2007, (2007)

[edit] External links

v • d • e
London Borough of Southwark
Districts
Attractions
Street markets
Bridges
Constituencies
Parks and open spaces in Southwark
v • d • e
Flag of the City of London City of London · Greater London · London
Upper tier
Lower tier
Historical
Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) 1855–1889 · London County Council (LCC) 1889–1965 · Greater London Council (GLC) 1965–1986
* not a London Borough

Coordinates: 51°27′N, 0°05′W