Visit Southwark Places

Welcome to Visit Southwark Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Southwark

  

Southwark Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Southwark

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Southwark history

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Toponymy

The name Suthriganaweorc or Suthringa geweorche is recorded for the area in the 10th-century Anglo-Saxon document known as the Burghal Hidage . It means “fort of the men of Surrey” or “the defensive work of the . men of . Surrey . In Old English, Surrey means “southern district (or the men . of the southern district)

Rome

Southwark is sited on a once slightly marshy area south of the River Thames . It was at the lowest bridging point of the Thames in Roman Britain, providing a crossing from Londinium . Archaeological work at Tabard Street in 2004 discovered a plaque with the earliest reference to Londoners from the Roman period on it .

Saxons and Vikings

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 the reemerging City of London to the north . Southwark appears to recover only during the time of King Alfred and his successors .

Medieval period

At Domesday, the area’s assets were: Bishop Odo of Bayeux held the monastery (the site of modern Southwark Cathedral) and the tideway, which still exists as St Mary Overie dock . The area was renowned for its inns, especially The Tabard, from which Geoffrey Chaucer’s pilgrims set off their journey in The Canterbury Tales .

Post-medieval

In 1587, Southwark’s first playhouse theatre, The Rose, opened . In 1599 the Globe Theatre, in which Shakespeare was a shareholder, was erected in the Liberty of the Clink . Southwark was also the location of several prisons, including those of the Crown or Prerogative Courts, the Marshalsea and King’s Bench .

Urbanisation

In 1861, another great fire destroyed a large number of buildings between Tooley Street and the Thames . 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 . 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 .

You can visit Southwark places with Walkfo Southwark to hear history at Southwark’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Southwark has 2746 places to visit in our interactive Southwark map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Southwark, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Southwark places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Southwark & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 2746 audio facts unique to Southwark places in an interactive Southwark map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Southwark Places Map
2746 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Southwark historic spots	Southwark tourist destinations	Southwark plaques	Southwark geographic features
Walkfo Southwark tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Southwark

  

Best Southwark places to visit

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Southwark has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Southwark’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Southwark’s information audio spots:

St James’s Club The St James’s Club was a London gentlemen’s club which operated between 1857 and 1978 . It was first established in Charles Street and moved to 106 Piccadilly by 1868 .

Imitate Modern Imitate Modern is a London-based contemporary photography and art gallery that exhibits work by emerging artists . It is the first of its kind in the UK and is based in London . The gallery is dedicated to contemporary photography, art and art photography .

Cambridge House Cambridge House is a Grade I listed former townhouse in central London . It sits on the northern side of Piccadilly at number 94, in the fashionable district of Mayfair . As of 2021, the property is being converted into a luxury hotel and seven residences .

Mandela Way T-34 Tank The Mandela Way T-34 Tank, nicknamed Stompie, is a decommissioned Soviet-built tank . It is now permanently located on the corner of Mandela Way and Page’s Walk in Bermondsey, London .

Miloco Studios Miloco Studios are a group of recording studios based in London, England . Miloco studios are based in the city of London and London .

Bermondsey Square Bermondsey Square is on Tower Bridge Road in south London . It was the site of the 11th century Bermondsey Abbey . The earliest medieval remains found are a Norman church from around 1080 .

Burgess Park Burgess Park is a public park situated in Walworth the London Borough of Southwark . At 56 hectares (140 acres), it is one of the largest parks in South London .

St John Horsleydown St John Horsleydown was built for the Commission for Building Fifty New Churches to the designs of Nicholas Hawksmoor and John James in 1726–1733 . It was noted for its distinctive spire in the form of a tapering column .

Southwark Park Southwark Park is located in Rotherhithe, in central South East London . It first opened in 1869 by the Metropolitan Board of Works as one of its first parks . It takes its name from being in what was the old Parliamentary constituency of Southwark .

Potters Fields Park Potters Fields Park is a small public park situated in the London Borough of Southwark . The park is located south-west of Tower Bridge and south-east of City Hall, London .

Visit Southwark plaques