Puneet Varma (Editor)

Bankside

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OS grid reference
  
TQ319805

Region
  
London

Sovereign state
  
United Kingdom

Dialling code
  
020

Post town
  
London

London borough
  
Southwark

Country
  
England

Postcode district
  
SE1

Ceremonial county
  
Greater London

Bankside wwwfrankharriscoukpicturesbanksidemainmgjpg

UK parliament constituency
  
Bermondsey and Old Southwark

Similar
  
Tate Modern - London, Bankside Power Station, The Rose, Elephant and Castle, Bankside Gallery

Bankside is a district of London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the River Thames, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Charing Cross, running from a little west of Blackfriars Bridge to just a short distance before London Bridge at St Mary Overie Dock to the east which marks its distinct status from that of 'the Borough' district of Southwark. It is part of a business improvement district known as Better Bankside.

Contents

Map of Bankside, London SE1, UK

Toponymy

The 'banke' was reclaimed by the Bishop of Winchester who owned the manor of the Clink of which this is part. There is a map plan in the Duchy of Lancaster archive showing 'the way to the banke'. The name is recorded in 1554 as the Banke syde and means 'street along the bank of the Thames'. It is formed from Middle English 'banke' and 'side'. In 1860 Southwark Street was created to connect the Blackfriars and London bridge crossings here and that can be regarded as the area's informal southern perimeter.

Urban development

Bankside is the riverside of the former liberties of the Clink and Paris Garden. In the Elizabethan period, because of its location outside the jurisdiction of the City of London, the area of the Clink and Paris Garden were outside of the City of London's authority and so became occupied by the bear baiting pits and playhouses, including the Rose, the Hope Theatre, the Swan and the Globe Theatre of which a replica was constructed in the late 1990s. It has experienced regeneration in recent decades, becoming a significant tourist destination, and forms a business improvement district. The skyline of Bankside is dominated by the former Bankside Power Station, which now houses the Tate Modern.

A major new development in the area is the Bankside 1/2/3 complex on Southwark Street. Together, these three building house about 5,000 employees. Bankside 1, also known as the Blue Fin Building, was built-for and partially-occupied-by IPC Media, while Bankside 2 and 3 are occupied by The Omnicom Group Ltd. The architect for the buildings was Allies and Morrison.

From 2010 a number of major development schemes have transformed Blackfriars Road from the bridge to the south at St George's Circus and new buildings have replaced the post World War II offices with residential and hotel accommodation along its length especially at the junction with Stamford Street where major high rises have been erected.

Governance

It is part of the Borough and Bankside Community Council which corresponds to the Southwark electoral wards of Cathedrals and Chaucer. They are part of the Bermondsey and Old Southwark Parliament constituency and the Member of Parliament is Labour's Neil Coyle. It is within the Lambeth and Southwark London Assembly constituency and the London European Parliament constituency.

Transport

Since 1754 the Blackfriars Bridge formed a connection to the north and in 1819 Southwark Bridge has connected the area into the City. In 2000 a direct pedestrian connection was opened between the Tate Modern and St Paul's Cathedral via the Millennium Bridge, which also hosts two Cycle Hire stations Blackfriars station on the City side north bank of the river has been redeveloped as part of the Thameslink improvements and opened a Bankside entrance in 2012. London Bridge and Southwark are the other stations closest to Bankside, located to the east and south of it respectively. It is served by bus routes 381 and RV1 which are hydrogen powered.

References

Bankside Wikipedia


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