London Borough of Southwark#Courts and judiciary

{{about|the London borough|the district within the wider borough|Southwark}}

{{Use British English|date=July 2015}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}

{{Infobox settlement

| official_name = London Borough of Southwark

| settlement_type = London borough

| image_skyline = {{multiple images|align=center|perrow=2|total_width=250|image1=HMS Belfast, The Shard and the River Thames - geograph.org.uk - 4168359.jpg|image2=Borough Market (geograph 6006777).jpg|image3=Shakespeare's Globe 01.jpg|image4=View of Tate Modern from Millennium Bridge.jpg|image5=Southwark Cathedral (7327489932).jpg|image6=Imperial War Museum, London - north view.jpg}}

| image_caption = {{ubl|From the top left;|Top: The Shard and Borough Market|Middle: Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern and Millennium Bridge|Bottom: the Anglican cathedral and Imperial War Museum}}

| image_shield = Coat of arms of the London Borough of Southwark.svg

| shield_size = 100px

| image_blank_emblem = Southwark London Borough Council.svg

| blank_emblem_type = Council logo

| blank_emblem_size = 180px

| blank_emblem_alt =

| blank_emblem_link =

| motto = United to Serve

| image_map = Southwark in Greater London.svg

| map_caption = Southwark shown within Greater London

| coor_pinpoint =

| coordinates = {{coord|51|28|N|0|05|W|region:GB-SWK_type:adm1st|display=title,inline}}

| coordinates_footnotes =

| subdivision_type = Sovereign state

| subdivision_name = United Kingdom

| subdivision_type2 = Constituent country

| subdivision_name2 = England

| subdivision_type3 = Region

| subdivision_name3 = London

| subdivision_type4 = Ceremonial county

| subdivision_name4 = Greater London

| established_title = Created

| established_date = 1 April 1965

| established_date1 =

| named_for =

| seat_type = Admin HQ

| seat = Tooley Street, Southwark

| government_footnotes =

| government_type = London borough council

| governing_body = Southwark London Borough Council

| leader_title2 = London Assembly

| leader_name2 = Marina Ahmad (Labour) AM for Lambeth and Southwark

| leader_title3 = MPs

| leader_name3 = Miatta Fahnbulleh (Labour Co-op)
Neil Coyle (Labour)
Helen Hayes (Labour)
Florence Eshalomi (Labour Co-op)

| leader_title4 =

| leader_name4 =

| total_type =

| unit_pref =

| area_footnotes =

| area_magnitude =

| area_total_km2 = 28.85

| area_total_sq_mi =

| area_land_km2 =

| area_land_sq_mi =

| area_water_km2 =

| area_water_sq_mi =

| area_water_percent =

| area_urban_footnotes =

| area_urban_km2 =

| area_urban_sq_mi =

| area_rural_footnotes =

| area_rural_km2 =

| area_rural_sq_mi =

| area_metro_footnotes =

| area_metro_km2 =

| area_metro_sq_mi =

| area_rank = {{English district area rank|ONS=00BE|GSS=E09000028}} (of {{English district total}})

| area_blank1_title =

| area_blank1_km2 =

| area_blank1_sq_mi =

| area_blank2_title =

| area_blank2_km2 =

| area_blank2_sq_mi =

| population_footnotes =

| population_total = {{English district population|ONS=00BE|GSS=E09000028}}

| population_as_of = {{United Kingdom statistics year}}

| population_rank = {{English district rank|ONS=00BE|GSS=E09000028}} (of {{English district total}})

| population_density_km2 = auto

| population_density_sq_mi =

| population_blank1_title = Ethnicity[http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rft-table-ks201ew.xls 2011 Census: Ethnic group, local authorities in England and Wales], Office for National Statistics (2012). See Classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom for the full descriptions used in the 2011 Census.

| population_blank1 = 54.3% White
6.2% Mixed
9.5% Asian
26.8% Black
0.8% Arab
2.4% Other

| population_blank2_title =

| population_blank2 =

| population_demonym =

| timezone = GMT

| utc_offset = ±00:00{{!}}UTC

| timezone_DST = BST

| utc_offset_DST = +1

| postal_code_type = Postcodes

| postal_code = SE

| area_code_type =

| area_code =

| iso_code = GB-SWK

| registration_plate =

| blank1_name = ONS code

| blank1_info = 00BE

| blank2_name = GSS code

| blank2_info = E09000028

| blank_name_sec2 = Police

| blank_info_sec2 = Metropolitan Police

| website = http://www.southwark.gov.uk/

}}

The London Borough of Southwark ({{IPAc-en|audio=En-uk-LBSouthwark.ogg|ˈ|s|ʌ|ð|ə|k}} {{respell|SUDH|ərk}}){{cite web|url=https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/southwark?q=Southwark|title=Southwark|publisher=Oxford Learner's Dictionaries}}"Southwark", in The Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World (1952), New York: Columbia University Press. in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas were amalgamated under the London Government Act 1963. All districts of the area are within the London postal district. It is governed by Southwark London Borough Council.

The part of the South Bank within the borough is home to London Bridge terminus station and the attractions of The Shard, Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe and Borough Market that are the largest of the venues in Southwark to draw domestic and international tourism. Dulwich is home to the Dulwich Picture Gallery and the Imperial War Museum is in Elephant and Castle. Major districts include Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Peckham, Camberwell, and Dulwich.

Toponymy

The name Suthriganaweorc{{cite book |last=Mills |first=D. |year=2000 |title=Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names |publisher=Oxford University Press}} or Suthringa geweorche{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=David J. |title=Southwark and the City |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=1969 |page=7 |isbn=978-0-19-711630-2}} is recorded for the place in the early 10th-century Anglo-Saxon document known as the Burghal Hidage and means "Surrey folk's fort" or "the defensive work of the men of Surrey". Southwark is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as Sudweca. The name means "southern defensive work" and is formed from the Old English sūþ (south) and weorc (work). In Old English, Surrey means "southern district (or the men of the southern district)",Concise Oxford Dictionary of Place Names, Eilert Erkwall, 4th edition so the change from "southern district work" to the latter "southern work" may be an evolution based on the elision of the single syllable ge element, meaning district.

The strategic context of the defences would have been in relation to London, its bridge and preventing waterborne attackers from travelling further up the Thames.

History

{{further|Southwark}}

Southwark is the oldest part of south London. An urban area to the south of the bridge was first developed in the Roman period, but subsequently abandoned. The name Southwark dates from the establishment of a defensive position in the area by King Alfred in the 9th century.

Southwark was an ancient borough, being described as a borough from at least the 12th century. The area historically formed part of the county of Surrey. Southwark had a complicated administrative relationship with the neighbouring City of London. There was a parliamentary borough (constituency) of Southwark from 1295 onwards. London was given various manorial and judicial rights over parts of Southwark, notably in 1327 and 1550, when Southwark was brought within the city boundaries as the ward of Bridge Without. However, the city's authority over Southwark was not as complete as it was for the older part of the city north of the Thames; certain judicial powers over the borough were still exercised by the Surrey authorities.{{cite book |title=A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4 |date=1912 |publisher=Victoria County History |location=London |pages=135–141 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/surrey/vol4/pp135-141 |access-date=27 April 2024}}

From 1856 the area was also governed by the Metropolitan Board of Works, which was established to provide services across the metropolis of London. In 1889 the Metropolitan Board of Works' area was made the County of London. From 1856 until 1900 the lower tier of local government within the metropolis comprised various parish vestries and district boards. The parishes of Bermondsey, Camberwell, Newington, Rotherhithe and Southwark St George the Martyr were governed by their individual vestries, whilst other smaller parishes and liberties were grouped into the St Olave District and St Saviour's District.Metropolis Management Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c. 120)

In 1900 the lower tier was reorganised into metropolitan boroughs. Bermondsey, Rotherhithe and the St Olave District merged to become the Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey, the parish of Camberwell was made the Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell, and Newington, Southwark St George the Martyr, and the St Saviour's District merged to become the Metropolitan Borough of Southwark. The City of London's Bridge Without ward which had covered parts of Southwark was effectively abolished as part of the reforms, losing all its territory.London Government Act 1899 (62 & 63 Vict. c. 14)

The larger London Borough of Southwark was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963, covering the combined area of the former metropolitan boroughs of Southwark, Bermondsey and Camberwell.{{cite legislation UK|type=act|act=London Government Act 1963|chapter=33|access-date=16 May 2024}}{{cite book |last=Youngs |first=Frederic |title=Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England |publisher=Royal Historical Society |location=London |volume=I: Southern England |year=1979 |isbn=0901050679}}

Geography

The borough borders the City of London and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to the north (the River Thames forming the boundary), the London Borough of Lambeth to the west and the London Borough of Lewisham to the east. To the south the borough tapers giving a brief border with the London Borough of Bromley.

The northwest part of the borough is part of Central London and is densely developed. To the east, the Rotherhithe peninsula has lower-density modern housing and open space around the former Surrey Commercial Docks. The southern part of Southwark includes the Victorian suburbs of Camberwell, Peckham and Nunhead, and the prosperous "village" of Dulwich with some very large houses forms the far south of the borough.

=Landmarks=

Tower Bridge, the Millennium Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge, Southwark Bridge and London Bridge all connect the City of London to the borough. The Tate Modern art gallery, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, the Imperial War Museum and Borough Market are also within the borough. At {{convert|1|mi|km|spell=in}} wide, Burgess Park is Southwark's largest green space.

=Hills and watercourses=

{{main|Norwood Ridge|Pool of London|Tideway|River Effra}}

The Norwood Ridge, save for around its broad northern third, forms the borough's boundary. Along these crests, against the extreme of the borough's southern narrow taper, is the highest point of the borough, Sydenham Hill. This is the fifteenth-highest peak in London.

The main watercourse is the Thames bounding the north of the borough into which the area drains.

The southern {{frac|2|3}} of the borough is the valley catchment of a present sewerage and surface water drainage basin, once a large stream with complex mouths across the north of the borough, the Effra. It is in very large part converted to a combined sewer under a Joseph Bazalgette-engineered reform to enable general urbanisation; all combined and public foul sewers drain far to the east – to the Crossness works.

Similarly reformed, into all three types of drainage (foul, combined, surface), are the Neckinger and Peck catchments of the borough.

Governance

{{main|Southwark London Borough Council}}

File:Southwark Council Offices (geograph 2727779).jpg, the headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark]]

The local authority is Southwark Council, based at 160 Tooley Street.{{cite web |title=About Southwark Council |url=https://www.southwark.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/about-southwark-council?chapter=2 |website=Southwark Council |access-date=27 April 2024}}

=Greater London representation=

Since 2000, for elections to the London Assembly, the borough forms part of the Lambeth and Southwark constituency.

=Westminster Parliament=

Following the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the borough has been covered by five parliamentary constituencies since the 2024 general election, three of which extend into neighbouring boroughs.{{Cite web |last=Russell |first=Herbie |date=6 July 2023 |title=Southwark to have five MPs under constituency boundary shake-up – Southwark News |url=https://southwarknews.co.uk/area/southwark/southwark-to-have-five-mps-under-constituency-boundary-shake-up/ |access-date=2023-09-25 |website=southwarknews.co.uk/ |language=en-GB}} In the 2024 election, all five elected MPs were Labour Party candidates.

Demographics

File:Southwark population pyramid.svg

{{Historical populations

| title= Population census

| percentages =

| 1801 |114901

| 1811 |138644

| 1821 |172699

| 1831 |204734

| 1841 |146922

| 1851 |167045

| 1861 |283723

| 1871 |400401

| 1881 |517080

| 1891 |576786

| 1901 |578059

| 1911 |579338

| 1921 |556520

| 1931 |534615

| 1941 |425088

| 1951 |338003

| 1961 |297132

| 1971 |261203

| 1981 |209724

| 1991 |227060

| 2001 |244867

| 2011 |288283

|footnote=Note:{{cite web |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TPop&u_id=10057346&c_id=10001043&add=N|title=Southwark: Total Population |access-date=6 September 2011 |work=A Vision of Britain Through Time |publisher=Great Britain Historical GIS Project }}

}}

At the 2001 census Southwark had a population of 244,866. Southwark was ethnically 63.04% white, 5.9% Asian or Asian British, and 25.9% black or black British. By 2021 the population was 307,640, with 51.5% white, 9.9% Asian or Asian British, and 25.1% black or black British. 31% of householders were owner–occupiers.

The area is the home of many Nigerian (Peckham is largely regarded as the heart of London's Nigerian community), Jamaican, South African, South American, Polish, and French immigrants.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

=Ethnicity=

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"

! rowspan="3" |Ethnic Group

! colspan="14" |Year

colspan="2" |1966 estimations{{cite web |title=Ethnic minorities in Britain |url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/659921 |access-date=15 June 2024 |website=search.worldcat.org |page=42}}

! colspan="2" |1971 estimations{{cite web |title=Migration and London's growth |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/74375221.pdf#page=94 |publisher=LSE}}

! colspan="2" |1981 estimations{{cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/ethnicityin1991c0000unse |title=Ethnicity in the 1991 census: Vol 3 – Social geography and ethnicity in Britain, geographical spread, spatial concentration and internal migration |date=1996 |publisher=HMSO |location=London |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-11-691655-6}}

! colspan="2" |1991 census{{cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/ethnicityin1991c0000unse |title=Ethnicity in the 1991 census: Vol 3 - Social geography and ethnicity in Britain, geographical spread, spatial concentration and internal migration |date=1996 |publisher=HMSO |location=London |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-11-691655-6}}

! colspan="2" |2001 census{{cite web |title=Office of National Statistics; 2001 Census Key Statistics |url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/census-2001-key-statistics/local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/local-authorities-ks06--ethnic-group.xls |access-date=2021-09-07 |website=webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk}}

! colspan="2" |2011 census{{cite web |title=2011 Census: Ethnic Group, local authorities in England and Wales |url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rft-table-ks201ew.xls |access-date=15 December 2021 |website=webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk}}

! colspan="2" |2021 census{{cite web |title=Ethnic group – Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS021/editions/2021/versions/1/filter-outputs/d2f0a39a-75b6-4995-b4bd-a5b68ff79027#get-data |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=www.ons.gov.uk}}

Number

!%

!Number

!%

!Number

!%

!Number

!%

!Number

!%

!Number

!%

!Number

!%

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

White: Total

!–

!96.3%

!–

!91.2%

!181,995

!82.9%

!170,847

!75.2%

!154,316

!63.04%

!156,349

!54.09%

!158,220

!51.5%

style="text-align:left" | White: British

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

127,75252.2%114,53439.7%

|109,253

|35.5%

style="text-align:left" | White: Irish

|–

|4%

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

7,6743.1%6,2222.1%

|6,024

|2.0%

style="text-align:left" | White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

2630.09%

|156

|0.1%

White: Roma

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|1,579

|0.5%

style="text-align:left" | White: Other

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

18,8907.7%35,33012.2%

|41,208

|13.4%

style="text-align:left" | Asian or Asian British: Total

!–

!0.4%

!–

!–

!6,343

!2.9%

!11,418

!5%

14,4435.9%27,5749.3%

!30,540

!9.9%

style="text-align:left" | Asian or Asian British: Indian

|–

|–

|–

|–

|1,919

|

|2,736

|

3,6551.5%5,8192.1%

|6,145

|2.0%

style="text-align:left" | Asian or Asian British: Pakistani

|–

|–

|–

|–

|620

|

|814

|

1,1180.5%1,6230.5%

|2,006

|0.7%

style="text-align:left" | Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi

|–

|–

|–

|–

|1,208

|

|2,284

|

3,6421.5%3,9121.3%

|5,547

|1.8%

style="text-align:left" | Asian or Asian British: Chinese

|–

|–

|–

|–

|1,433

|

|2,914

|

4,4921.8%8,0742.8%

|8,405

|2.7%

style="text-align:left" | Asian or Asian British: Other Asian

|–

|–

|–

|–

|1,163

|

|2,670

|

1,5360.6%7,7642.6%

|8,437

|2.7%

style="text-align:left" | Black or Black British: Total

!–

!3.3%

!–

!–

!28,590

!13%

!41,089

!18.1%

63,41625.9%77,51126.8%

!77,299

!25.1%

style="text-align:left" | Black or Black British: African

|–

|0.4%

|–

|–

|8,289

|3.8%

|16,783

| 7.4%

39,34916.1%47,41316.4%

|48,320

|15.7%

style="text-align:left" | Black or Black British: Caribbean

|–

|2.9%

|–

|–

|16,257

|7.4%

|19,145

| 8.4%

19,5558.0%17,9746.2%

|18,156

|5.9%

style="text-align:left" | Black or Black British: Other Black

|–

|–

|–

|–

|4,044

|

|5,161

|

4,5121.8%12,1244.2%

|10,823

|3.5%

style="text-align:left" | Mixed or British Mixed: Total

!–

!–

!–

!–

!–

!–

!–

!–

9,1463.7%17,7785.94%

!22,151

!7.2%

style="text-align:left" | Mixed: White and Black Caribbean

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

3,3501.4%5,6771.9%

|6,401

|2.1%

style="text-align:left" | Mixed: White and Black African

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

1,9540.8%3,6871.2%

|3,569

|1.2%

style="text-align:left" | Mixed: White and Asian

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

1,3430.5%3,0031.4%

|4,653

|1.5%

style="text-align:left" | Mixed: Other Mixed

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

2,4991.0%5,4111.8%

|7,528

|2.4%

Other: Total

!–

!–

!–

!–

!2,580

!

!3,845

!

!3,545

!1.4%

!9,453

!3.2%

!19,430

!6.3%

style="text-align:left" | Other: Arab

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

2,4400.8%

|3,123

|1.0%

style="text-align:left" | Other: Any other ethnic group

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

|–

3,5451.4%7,0132.1%

|16,307

|5.3%

style="text-align:left" | Ethnic minority: Total

!–

!3.7%

!–

!8.8%

!37,513

!17.1%

!56,353

!24.8%

90,55036.98%131,93445.91%

!149,420

!48.5%

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

style="text-align:left" | Total

!–

!100%

!–

!100%

!219,508

!100%

!227,200

!100%

244,866100.00%288,283100.00%

!307,640

!100%

{{Annotated image

| image = Greater_London_UK_relief_location_map.jpg

| image-width = 500

| image-left = -210

| image-top = -180

| width = 90

| height = 90

| float = right

| annotations =

| caption = Extract from London's relief map showing how relief, the Norwood Ridge covers the south of the Borough overspills with crests to all other three sides and is the main feature for many miles.

}}

= Religion =

According to the last census, Southwark was at the time about 50% Christian. It has many notable places of Christian worship and ceremony: Anglican, Roman Catholic and other denominations. These include Charles Spurgeon's Metropolitan Tabernacle, Southwark Cathedral (Church of England), Saint George's Cathedral (Roman Catholic), and Saint Mary's Cathedral (Greek Orthodox). London's Norwegian Church, Finnish Church and the Swedish Seamen's Church are all in Rotherhithe. Saint George the Martyr is the oldest church in London dedicated to England's patron saint. Southwark has the most British-Nigerian churches in the country and the highest concentration of African churches outside the continent.

Places of worship for Sunni Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Jews exist.[http://www.thelondonarea.co.uk/southwark/religion.html Religion in Southwark : London] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113031923/http://www.thelondonarea.co.uk/southwark/religion.html |date=13 January 2012}}. theLondonArea. Retrieved on 17 July 2013.

Per the 2011 Census, 35.6% of the borough's resident respondents identified as non-religious, or chose not to state their faith.{{cite news |last=Philby |first=Charlotte |title=Less religious and more ethnically diverse: Census reveals a picture of Britain today |url=http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200568/public_sector_equality_duty/3859/religion_and_belief |date=12 December 2012 |location=Southwark}}

{{Pie chart

|thumb = right

|caption = Religion in Southwark (2021 census){{cite web |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/bulletins/religionenglandandwales/census2021#how-religious-affiliation-varies-across-england-and-wales |title=Religion, England and Wales – Office for National Statistics}}

|label1 = Christianity

|value1 = 43.3

|color1 = DodgerBlue

|label2 = No religion

|value2 = 36.4

|color2 = DarkGray

|label3 = Islam

|value3 = 9.6

|color3 = MediumSeaGreen

|label4 = Not stated

|value4 = 7.3

|color4= Gray

|label5 = Hinduism

|value5 = 1.3

|color5 = Orange

|label6 = Buddhism

|value6 = 1.0

|color6 = Yellow

|label7 = Other religions

|value7 = 0.7

|color7 = GreenYellow

|label8 = Judaism

|value8 = 0.4

|color8 = DarkBlue

|label9 = Sikhism

|value9 = 0.2

|color9 = DarkKhaki

}}

The following table shows the religious identity of residents residing in Southwark according to the 2001, 2011 and the 2021 censuses.

class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"

! rowspan="2" |Religion

! colspan="2" |2001{{Cite web |title=KS007 – Religion – Nomis – 2001 |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/datasets/ks007 |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=www.nomisweb.co.uk}}

! colspan="2" |2011{{Cite web |title=KS209EW (Religion) – Nomis – 2011 |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks209ew |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=www.nomisweb.co.uk}}

! colspan="2" | 2021{{cite web |date=29 Nov 2022 |title=Religion – 2021 census |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS030/editions/2021/versions/1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129115419/https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS030/editions/2021/versions/1 |archive-date=29 Nov 2022 |access-date=16 Dec 2022 |website=Office of National Statistics}}

Number

!%

!Number

!%

!Number

!%

|

|

|

|

|

Holds religious beliefs

!175,313

!71.6

!186,574

!66.7

!173,427

!56.3

Christian

| align="right" |150,781

| align="right" |61.6

| align="right" |151,562

| align="right" |52.6

| align="right" |133,298

| align="right" |43.3

Muslim

| align="right" |16,774

| align="right" |6.9

| align="right" |24,551

| align="right" |8.5

| align="right" |29,633

| align="right" |9.6

Jewish

| align="right" |1,011

| align="right" |0.4

| align="right" |1,006

| align="right" |0.3

| align="right" |1,243

| align="right" |0.4

Hindu

| align="right" |2,664

| align="right" |1.1

| align="right" |3,668

| align="right" |1.3

| align="right" |3,444

| align="right" |1.1

Sikh

| align="right" |578

| align="right" |0.2

| align="right" |653

| align="right" |0.2

| align="right" |632

| align="right" |0.2

Buddhist

| align="right" |2,621

| align="right" |1.1

| align="right" |3,884

| align="right" |1.3

| align="right" |2,965

| align="right" |1.0

Other religion

| align="right" |884

| align="right" |0.4

| align="right" |1,350

| align="right" |0.5

| align="right" |2,149

| align="right" |0.7

No religion

! align="right" |45,325

! align="right" |18.5

! align="right" |77,098

! align="right" |26.7

! align="right" |111,935

! align="right" |36.4

Religion not stated

! align="right" |24,228

! align="right" |9.9

! align="right" |24,611

! align="right" |8.6

! align="right" |22,338

! align="right" |7.3

Total population

! align="right" |244,866

! align="right" |100.0

! align="right" |288,283

! align="right" |100.0

! align="right" |307,700

! align="right" |100.0

Repurposed places of worship

Ex-St Thomas's Church is the Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret. The other redundant church in public use is Francis Bedford's in Trinity Church Square, as recording studio Henry Wood Hall.

Literature and theatres

Image:Globe theatre london.jpg]]

Southwark has many literary associations. Charles Dickens set several of his novels in the old borough where he lived as a young man. The site of The Tabard inn (featured in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales), the White Hart inn and the George Inn which survives.

The rebuilt Globe Theatre and its exhibition on the Bankside remind us of the area's being the birthplace of classical theatre. There is also the remains of the Rose Theatre. In 2007 the Unicorn Theatre for Children was opened on Tooley Street. The Southwark Playhouse is in Elephant and Castle and the Union Theatre is on Union Street near Southwark station. The Menier Chocolate Factory combines a theatre and exhibition space, whilst the newly opened Bridge Theatre is next to Tower Bridge and City Hall.

Museums and galleries

The borough hosts the main site of the Imperial War Museum at the south end of Borough High Street.{{cite web |last=Tate |title=Imperial War Museum (London, UK) |url=https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/imperial-war-museum-3490 |access-date=15 January 2023 |website=Tate |language=en-GB}}

Peckham Library, designed by Will Alsop won the Stirling Prize for modern architecture. Another architecturally innovative library designed by Piers Gough, Canada Water Library opened in 2011.{{cite news |title='Super library' in Southwark opens its doors |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-15912616 |publisher=BBC News |date=28 November 2011}}

South London Gallery between Camberwell and Peckham is split across two buildings on Peckham Road. The Tate Modern is also based at Bankside.{{cite web |url=https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/tate-exchange/workshop/grand-southwark-showcase |title=The Grand Southwark Showcase |publisher=Tate Modern |access-date=11 May 2020}} MOCA, London, as curated by the artist Michael Petry, and Flat Time House are both contemporary art galleries on Bellenden Road.{{cite web |title=About us |url=https://www.moca.london/about.html |access-date=11 May 2020 |publisher=MOCA London}} Dulwich Picture Gallery also is in Dulwich. Bold Tendencies is an annual exhibition space in a former car park on Rye Lane in Peckham which has shown work by Simon Whybray, Jenny Holzer, Derek Jarman, Rene Matić, and Gray Wielebinski.{{cite web |title=Bold Tendencies {{!}} About |url=https://boldtendencies.com/about/ |access-date=15 January 2023}}{{cite web |title=Galleries |url=https://www.southwark.gov.uk/events-culture-and-heritage/explore-culture-in-southwark/museums-and-galleries-in-southwark |access-date=15 January 2023 |website=Southwark Council}}

Another museum is the Old Operating Theatre.{{cite web |title=The Old Operating Theatre |url=https://oldoperatingtheatre.com/ |access-date=15 January 2023 |website=Old operating theatre |language=en-GB}}

One former museum include the Cuming Museum and the Livesey Museum for Children was a free children's museum housed in the former Camberwell Public Library No.1, which was given to the people of Southwark by the industrialist Sir George Livesey. The museum was closed by Southwark council in 2008.{{cite web|last1=Whittle|first1=Adrian|last2=Long Srikrotiam|first2=Naomi|title=Livesey Building FAQ|url=https://www.southwark.gov.uk/downloads/download/3307/livesey_building_faqs|website=www.southwark.gov.uk|publisher=Southwark Council|access-date=1 August 2014|page=2}}

Economy

Image:City.hall.london.arp.jpg, taken from the high walkway on Tower Bridge]]

The northern end of the borough opposite the Square Mile includes the More London and London Bridge City developments accommodating the offices of major professional service firms. Notable such businesses include PricewaterhouseCoopers, Norton Rose, Ernst & Young, Lawrence Graham and Actis."[https://web.archive.org/web/20090213213815/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=9070628 Company Overview of Actis Capital, LLP]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20100930100526/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=9070628 Archive]). Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved on 1 September 2014. "2 More London Riverside London, SE1 2JT United Kingdom" The Greater London Authority is based at City Hall.

The press and publishing industry is also well represented in Southwark; the Financial Times has its head office in Southwark Bridge Road,"[http://www.careersatft.com/where/europe.aspx London, United Kingdom]." Financial Times. Retrieved on 28 October 2009."[https://web.archive.org/web/20070303102442/http://213.86.249.173/planaccessgui/southwark.html Map]." London Borough of Southwark. Retrieved on 28 October 2009. and IPC Magazines in Southwark Street. Campus Living Villages UK also has its head office in the borough."[http://www.campuslivingvillages.com/Global/Contact.html Contact]." Campus Living Villages. Retrieved on 5 October 2011. "Campus Living Villages UK Woolyard, 56 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3UD, United Kingdom"

File:Butlers Wharf.JPG]]

Some of the old industrial and wharfside heritage remains at the now-defunct Surrey Commercial Docks now Surrey Quays, including Greenland Dock and Baltic Quay, where major residential schemes were developed in the 1980s and 1990s. Near Tower Bridge, old warehouses have been converted to new mixed uses at Butler's Wharf and Hay's Wharf. Similarly, further west, the Oxo Tower hosts restaurants, shops and housing.

There are major retail concentrations at Surrey Quays, Old Kent Road, Elephant & Castle/Walworth Road and central Peckham.

Southwark is currently home to three Opportunity Areas (areas with capacity for significant economic development) as designated in the Mayor of London's London Plan.{{cite web|url=https://www.london.gov.uk//what-we-do/planning/implementing-london-plan/opportunity-areas/what-are-opportunity-areas|title=What are Opportunity Areas?|date=20 November 2015|website=London City Hall |access-date=21 January 2019}} These are Elephant and Castle,{{cite web|url=https://www.elephantandcastle.org.uk/|title=Elephant & Castle Partnership|website=Elephant and Castle |access-date=21 January 2019}} Canada Water{{cite web|url=https://www.southwark.gov.uk/regeneration/canada-water|title=Canada Water|website=Southwark Council|access-date=21 January 2019}} and Old Kent Road.{{cite web|url=https://oldkentroad.org.uk/|title=Old Kent Road Regeneration – Home|website=Old Kent Road |access-date=21 January 2019}}

Educational establishments

{{see also|List of schools in Southwark}}

File:John Keats Primary School.jpg

London South Bank University (LSBU) has over 23,000 students and 1,700 staff at its principal Elephant and Castle site. The Chancellor is the entrepreneur newscaster Richard Farleigh.

The University of the Arts London has two of its colleges in the borough: the London College of Communication is at Elephant and Castle, and Camberwell College of Arts is on Peckham Road. Its Creative Computing Institute is also on Peckham Road.{{ cite web| url=https://www.arts.ac.uk/creative-computing-institute| title = UAL Creative Computing Institute}}>

The largest university teaching hospital in Europe, King's College London, is at the Guy's Hospital site, merging the teaching activities of the Guy's, St Thomas' and King's College Hospitals here. St Thomas' was founded in the mid-12th century in the borough and parts of it remain at St Thomas Street; Guy's was founded opposite this in 1725. The Salvation Army maintains the William Booth Memorial Training College at Denmark Hill.

Founded in 1945, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts moved to Peckham in 2018.{{cite web| url = http://www.mountview.org.uk| title = Home {{!}} Mountview – a leading drama school in Peckham, London.}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/may/17/sir-cameron-mackintosh-peckham-drama-school-mountview-academy-1m-pounds|title = Cameron Mackintosh gives Peckham drama school £1m |website=The Guardian |date=17 May 2019}}

Housing

Southwark has a wide variety of housing, including council housing such as the post-Blitz Aylesbury Estate and the Heygate Estate to provide homes to low-income residents. The aforementioned estates have been turned over to local housing associations to demolish and redevelop as mixed-tenure developments. Southwark Council and the Greater London Authority have invested tens of millions of pounds in supporting the respective housing associations complete these projects, which in both cases will lead to a large increase in the number of properties on the sites, with an almost equal reduction in the amount of social housing: the Aylesbury Estate originally housed 2,403 properties at social rent while post-development there will be 1,323 for social rent and 1,733 for private sale; meanwhile the Heygate Estate had 1,214 properties before demolition, most of which were leased at social rent, while the final plans for the development will see 2,530 homes, of which 500 will be social housing.{{cite web|url=https://www.southwark.gov.uk/news/2017/apr/regeneration-at-elephant-and-castle-and-affordable-homes|title=Regeneration at Elephant and Castle and affordable homes Southwark Council|website=www.southwark.gov.uk|access-date=21 December 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/qkq4bx/every-flat-in-a-new-south-london-development-has-been-sold-to-foreign-investors|title=Every Flat in a New South London Development Has Been Sold to Foreign Investors|last=Jones|first=Andy|date=13 April 2017|website=Vice|language=en-GB|access-date=21 December 2018}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/sep/12/london-council-aylesbury-estate-development-southwark-financial-risk|title=Revealed: London council took on financial risk of estate development|last=Turner|first=George|date=12 September 2018|work=The Guardian|access-date=21 December 2018|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}

Southwark's local residents' returns recorded in 2011 that its rented sector comprised 53.4% of its housing, marginally below the highest in England, which was recorded by Camden, at 53.5%. In neighbouring Lambeth this figure was 47.3% and in neighbouring Croydon the figure was 29.7%.

Southwark had the greatest proportion of social housing in England, 43.7% (31.2% owned by the council itself with the other social housing in the hands of housing associations), at the time of the 2011 census.{{cite web |url=http://www.arch-housing.org.uk/list.html |title=Members list |publisher=Association of Retained Council Housing |access-date=20 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904064943/http://www.arch-housing.org.uk/list.html |archive-date=4 September 2011}} Tenant management organisations benefit many apartment blocks. The council set much housing policy among Housing Association blocks to allocate homes based on need and a rent that residents can afford, based on means testing, via headlease and/or by the Housing List. In many blocks a mixture of social, shared-ownership and private sector housing exists, particularly in those where the right to buy has been exercised and in newer developments.{{cite web |url=http://www.leathermarketjmb.org.uk |title=Leathermarket JMB |publisher=Leathermarket JMB |access-date=20 March 2011}}

class="wikitable" style="margin-left: 1em; " cellspacing="5"

|+Ten highest-ranked local authorities by proportion of Social Housing-(2011 Census)[http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk]Office for National Statistics 2011 Census Key Statistics: Tenure.

Local Authority||Socially rented||Privately rented||Shared Ownership
Southwark London Borough43.7

(31.2)

|23.6

2.0
Hackney London Borough

|43.7

(23.8)

|28.9

|2.3

Islington London Borough42.0

(26.7)

|26.9

1.3
Lambeth London Borough

|35.1

(19.6)

|29.3

|1.5

Royal Borough of Greenwich

|34.3

(22.6)

|19.8

|1.6

Barking and Dagenham London Borough33.7

(28.4)

|17.7

1.3
Camden London Borough

|33.1

(23.0)

|32.3

|0.7

South Tyneside Metropolitan District32.6

(25.2)

|9.0

0.4
Norwich Non-Metropolitan District

|32.5

(26.2)

|21.7

|0.7

Harlow Non-Metropolitan District31.2

(26.9)

|10.8

0.9

|+

|colspan=4|Note: First figure is total social rented, the figure in parentheses is council-owned

{{clear}}

Courts and judiciary

The old Southwark borough hosted many Courts and Prisons of Royal Prerogative, the Marshalsea and King's Bench. As well as the manorial and borough courts, magistrates met until the 20th century at the Surrey Sessions House which had its own jail for the punitive aspect of its work. The Inner London Sessions House (or now Crown Court) on Newington Causeway descends from these. The Southwark Coroner's Court in Tennis Street dates back to the charter of 1550. In 1964 Southwark Crown Court was opened at English Grounds near London Bridge. Since 1994 the Crown Court for west London Boroughs, was rehoused from Knightsbridge to Southwark as Blackfriars Crown Court. When the decision was taken to separate the judiciary and legislature, in 2007, by transforming the House of Lords Judicial Committee of Law Lords into the Supreme Court took over the court occupying the Middlesex Guildhall, whose City of Westminster judges transferred to Southwark Crown Court, hence the senior judge holds the honorific title of the Recorder of Westminster. Southwark's local magistrates sit at two courts in the borough, Tower Bridge and Camberwell Green Magistrates Courts.

The concentration of major courts, which are unlawful to film save for sentencing with judicial permission, enables their media coverage: Southwark has seven jurisdictions, six of which are London's criminal courts and which commonly receive offences committed in public office or in businesses based in Westminster and several other London boroughs.

Sport and leisure

The London Borough of Southwark has the following sport clubs:

Transport

=Bridges and tunnels=

="A" Roads=

=London Underground (Tube) stations=

The Bakerloo, Jubilee and Northern lines all run through the borough, below are the stations called at:

=London Overground stations=

(All stations listed here are on the Windrush line)

=Railway stations=

National Rail services in the Borough are operated by Southern, Southeastern and Thameslink.

=Riverbus piers=

=Parking and DVLA database ban=

In 2012 it was revealed that the Southwark borough council has been permanently banned from accessing information from the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency. This information is normally made available to local authorities for purposes such as enforcing parking fines, but access can be withdrawn if they are found to be mis-using the service. The Big Brother Watch organisation, which obtained the information about the ban under a Freedom of Information request, claimed that "the public are right to be worried that their privacy is at risk across a range of government services."{{citation|title=DVLA bans councils from database over abuses|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20642429|work=BBC News|date=8 December 2012|access-date=10 December 2012}}

=Travel to work=

In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: bus, minibus or coach, 17.5% of all residents aged 16–74; underground, metro, light rail, tram, 8.5%; train, 8.5%; on foot, 8.2%; driving a car or van, 8.1%; bicycle, 4.9%; work mainly at or from home, 2.8%.{{cite web|title=2011 Census: QS701EW Method of travel to work, local authorities in England and Wales|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-and-quick-statistics-for-wards-and-output-areas-in-england-and-wales/rft-qs701ew.xls|publisher=Office for National Statistics|access-date=23 November 2013}} Percentages are of all residents aged 16–74 including those not in employment. Respondents could only pick one mode, specified as the journey's longest part by distance.

Places

=Localities=

{{further|List of districts in Southwark}}

=Parks and open spaces=

{{further|Southwark parks and open spaces}}

Notable residents (past and present)

Image:Edward Turner Blue Plaque.jpg awarded to famous motorcycle designer Edward Turner unveiled in 2009 at his former residence, 8 Philip Walk, Peckham, London SE15]]

{{Main|List of people from Southwark}}

In 2003, the London Borough of Southwark started a blue plaque scheme for the commemoration of notable residents notably including living people in the awards.{{cite web |url=http://www.southwark.gov.uk/DiscoverSouthwark/BluePlaquesSection/blueplaques2007/ |title=Blue Plaque Winners 2007 |publisher=Southwark Borough Council |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913030453/http://www.southwark.gov.uk/DiscoverSouthwark/BluePlaquesSection/blueplaques2007/ |archive-date=13 September 2008}} The London Borough of Southwark awards Blue Plaques through popular vote following public nomination. Unlike the English Heritage scheme, the original building is not necessary for nomination.

Civic affairs

=Coat of arms=

The two supporters on the coat of arms are, on the left, an Elizabethan player dressed to play Hamlet, indicating the theatrical heritage of the area, and the youth on the right side is the Esquire from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. The coat of arms is an amalgam of elements of the three constituent Metropolitan Boroughs arms. The chequered band represents the three boroughs together. The cross was a common feature of Southwark and Camberwell. The well in the centre of the shield is a 'canting' reference to Camberwell and the cinquefoils represent the Dulwich area of Camberwell, while the ship on the top left refers to the maritime history of Bermondsey and was part of the Rotherhithe insignia. The rose on the right is from the Southwark arms where it represented St Saviour's parish, i.e. the cathedral.

=Twinning=

Southwark is twinned with:

  • Langenhagen, Germany
  • Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France
  • Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA[http://www.cambridgema.gov/deptann.cfm?story_id=1597 "A Message from the Peace Commission: Information on Cambridge's Sister Cities,"] 15 February 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2008.Richard Thompson. [http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/10/12/looking_to_strengthen_family_ties_with_sister_cities/?page=full "Looking to strengthen family ties with 'sister cities',"] Boston Globe, 12 October 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2008.

=Freedom of the Borough=

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Southwark.

{{Incomplete list|date=July 2020}}

=Individuals=

{{cite web|url=http://www.southwark.gov.uk/news/article/760/sir_michael_caine_receives_freedom_of_the_borough_of_southwark|title=Sir Michael Caine receives Freedom of the Borough of Southwark | Southwark Council|date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304190602/http://www.southwark.gov.uk/news/article/760/sir_michael_caine_receives_freedom_of_the_borough_of_southwark|archive-date=4 March 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/southwarkcouncil/7196120212/|title=Freedom of the Borough presentation at St. George's Cathedral, Southwark|date=12 May 2012|via=Flickr}}

=Military units=

Source:{{cite web|url=http://www.southwark.gov.uk/news/article/1253/freedom_of_southwark_to_be_bestowed_on_local_military_units_and_regiments|title=Latest News Southwark Council|website=www.southwark.gov.uk}}

See also

{{portal|London}}

References

{{reflist|30em}}