Bankside (Tudor Entertainment Centre) – This area of Southwark was the Tudor entertainment centre with 22 inns, bear-baiting pits, theatres and other distractions. It was also the location of Winchester Palace, the Clink prison and St Thomas’s Hospital. Today, its landmarks include Guy’s Hospital, Southwark Cathedral (left) and Borough Market.
Dickens’ Southwark – Charles Dickens had a very unhappy time in Southwark. His father John was incarcerated in the Marshalsea Prison and young Charles was billeted close by, while still working at the blacking factory. As ever, Dickens later used the locations and the characters he got to know in. his novels. This walk you past the sites that Dickens knew.
Bermondsey – This area first came to prominence with the founding of the Cluniac (Benedictine) Abbey in 1082. The abbey was dissolved in the 1530s and the large estate was broken up. The oldest building in Bermondsey is the church of St Mary Magdalen (left), originally built for the ordinary folk of the Abbey, but rebuilt twice since. The oldest part is the medieval tower.
There is also a long industrial past in Bermondsey including brewing, and particularly the leather trade. This walk will explore the religious and industrial heritage in Bermondsey.