Southwark Borough Guide

Southwark is an inner London borough that fronts the river Thames and is home to extensive commerce, business and entertainment. The north of the borough has been transformed in the past ten years. The centre has some of the most deprived communities in the country whereas the south, by contrast, is more residential with less diversity and most people on above average earnings. The population of Southwark is growing and getting younger and more diverse with people from a wide range of different backgrounds. Three-quarters of pupils in Southwark schools are from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds. A very high proportion of people live in social rented housing.

Southwark enjoys many attractions in its boundaries and as such benefits from significant volumes of tourists and the associated income and jobs.

The following blog entries from the All In London blogs channel contain references to Southwark.

• Chekhov’s "Three Sisters" at The Young Vic, Southwark
• Your favourite London spot is…
• Southwark celebrity bash ends in stabbing
• London's Best Independent Bike Shops
• Vote For London's Best Short Film
• Christmas Events London... For Free!

See all blogs

Borough Market

Borough High Street, Stoney Street and Winchester Walk SE1 1TL

More information | Location Map

Tower Bridge

50 Lower Thames Street EC3R 6DP

More information | Location Map

The Tate Modern

Bankside SE1 9TG

More information | Location Map

Bermondsey
Bermondsey, located in the London Borough of Southwark, is one of the dark horses of Central London. Despite being within a couple of miles of the city centre, Bermondsey has generally remained an unp...More information

Camberwell
It is thought that the name ‘Camberwell’ originates from the old name for a British well, ‘Comberwell’, mainly because the area was known for having a plentiful supply of wells in Grove Park. Situa...More information

Southwark
Just one and a half miles south east of Central London, Southwark or ‘the Borough’ as it is often known, is located immediately south of London Bridge. Huge amounts of money have been poured into ...More information

Peckham
Peckham’s already insalubrious reputation has greatly deteriorated in the last decade thanks to widely reported murders and a soar in knife crime. The council is desperately trying to improve the area...More information

Dulwich
This affluent area is beloved of its locals thanks to its villagey feel and slight insularity (Margaret Thatcher lived in a gated community in the area after her time as Prime Minister). Dulwich Villa...More information

Norwood
Vast sections of South London remain unknown and unexplored by North Londoners due to their lack of a tube, which has resulted in both parties turning their noses up at each other when given the oppor...More information

Walworth
The birthplace of Charlie Chaplin and Michael Caine has long been one of London’s poorest areas, however the area around Elephant & Castle is due to undergo a massive regeneration programme. The shabb...More information

Sydenham
Sydenham started to become fashionable after the 1851 Great Exhibition took place in Crystal Palace, a futuristic glass and iron building situated in Sydenham Park, now renamed as Crystal Palace Park....More information

Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe is one of the Docklands districts that is becoming heavily populated by luxury developments and their wealthy owners, in stark contrast to the dock worker’s houses that used to fill the ar...More information

Surrey Quays
Surrey Quays borders Rotherhithe and faces Canary Wharf over the river; the area is part of the Docklands, although most of the warehouses where the dock workers used to live have now been demolished ...More information

Lambeth
Stretching from the Southbank of the Thames to suburbs of Clapham and Streatham, this is a vibrant, exciting area to live and work. ...More information

Tower Hamlets
From Brick Lane market to the Canary-wharf-backed stock market the London borough of Tower Hamlets has seen its fair share of development and change over the years however it remains still one of the ...More information

City of London
Not just a borough but a City in it's own right, this is the Small but perfectly formed economic powerhouse of London, UK and Europe. Residential housing is sparce as offices and retail outlets domina...More information

Bromley
Bromley is the largest London Borough by area and as such has many contrasting sides in landscape and people. The growth of the railway system in the nineteeth century turned the northern half of the ...More information

Lewisham
One of the youngest and most ethnically diverse communities in the country, Lewisham ranks as one of London's more affordable boroughs benefitting from the open spaces of Blackheath as well as the rec...More information