1 www.southbanklondon.com London Eye to the Imperial War Museum Walk This Way South Bank architecture + history at your feet South Bank is an area of incredible history, architecture, culture and regeneration. Originally isolated and defined by the Thames, for centuries this riverside location developed in a very different way from the affluent north bank. A marshy expanse of slum housing and country estates; a rural haven of green fields and pleasure gardens; a dynamic hub of industry and manufacturing; a nucleus of nineteenth-century theatre and entertainment venues; a host to the largest railway terminus in the country; and a byword for post-war cultural restoration. South Bank is now home to great national centres for art and culture, a vibrant and growing community and some of London’s finest achievements in architecture, such as the London Eye, which drew the attention of the world in the Millennium Year. Throughout its history, the South Bank has endured fire, flood, slum clearance, railway demolition, devastating bombing, and the ebb and flow of investment and industry. Consequently, the area is peppered with unique examples of architecture and hidden mementoes from the past that are waiting to be explored. Walk This Way will guide you through this journey of discovery, into the heart and the history of South Bank. See www.southbanklondon.com for a more detailed profile of the buildings and streets featured in Walk This Way – South Bank. At a brisk pace, the Walk This Way South Bank route will take at least 50 minutes, although it is recommended that you allow more time to stop and sightsee at various points along the route.
Transcript
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www.southbanklondon.com
London Eye to theImperial War Museum
Walk This Way South Bank
architecture + history at your feet
South Bank is an area of incredible history, architecture,
culture and regeneration. Originally isolated and defined
by the Thames, for centuries this riverside location
developed in a very different way from the affluent north
bank. A marshy expanse of slum housing and country
estates; a rural haven of green fields and pleasure gardens;
a dynamic hub of industry and manufacturing; a nucleus
of nineteenth-century theatre and entertainment venues;
a host to the largest railway terminus in the country; and
a byword for post-war cultural restoration. South Bank is
now home to great national centres for art and culture,
a vibrant and growing community and some of London’s
finest achievements in architecture, such as the London
Eye, which drew the attention of the world in the
Millennium Year. Throughout its history, the South Bank
has endured fire, flood, slum clearance, railway demolition,
devastating bombing, and the ebb and flow of investment
and industry. Consequently, the area is peppered with
unique examples of architecture and hidden mementoes
from the past that are waiting to be explored. Walk This
Way will guide you through this journey of discovery, into
the heart and the history of South Bank.
See www.southbanklondon.com for a more detailed profile of the buildings andstreets featured in Walk This Way – South Bank.
At a brisk pace, the Walk This Way South Bank route will take at least 50 minutes,although it is recommended that you allow more time to stop and sightsee atvarious points along the route.
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South Bank Influences The RailwayFrom its arrival in 1848 the Railway has dominated the area,dividing it from the river with a bastion of brickwork andisolating the waterfront. With powers of compulsory purchase,the railway company was free to demolish anything toincrease its railway lines and terminus. (One such casualty in1900 was the insalubrious ‘Whore-terloo’ neighbourhood.) The vast number of steam trains running from the Station (asmany as 700 a day by the end of the nineteenth century)polluted the local air, already choked by two centuries ofindustry, with thick smog.
The Festival of BritainIronically, it was the Second World War, which had done somuch damage to the area, that was responsible for much of itsregeneration. Intending to create a ‘tonic’ for the war-scarrednation, the South Bank was chosen as the site for the Festivalof Britain. The bombed-out riverside was cleared and builtupon, becoming the site, in 1951, of a national celebration.The Royal Festival Hall remained as a permanent legacy, to befollowed in subsequent decades by other arts venues, such asthe Hayward Gallery and Royal National Theatre, adding anew chapter to the history of the South Bank.
CommunityBomb-damage, commercial development and the decline oftraditional industries took their toll on the post-war populationof South Bank and by the 1970’s, the residential populationhad fallen from 50,000 to just 4,000. A proposed skyscraperdevelopment in 1977 threatened to seal the river off from theinterior completely, prompting the protests of the Coin StreetCommunity Action Group. By 1984 this group provedsuccessful and formed a not-for-profit company to redevelopand regenerate the area. Since then, derelict buildings havebeen demolished, new parks and riverside walkways havebeen opened up and affordable housing has been built,reversing the population decline, as well as introducingworkshops, public art and festivals to the area.
One of England’s great religious poets and artists William Blake ( 1757–1827) spent almost a decade in thethen-rural village of Lambeth Marsh, which would inspire theproduction of some of his finest works.
The MarshThe Anglo-Saxon origin of Lambeth: ‘Lambhythe’, implies thata muddy harbour or marsh had been present from the earliestdays of London. As the city grew, the Marsh, a prime locationbut difficult to develop, remained largely untouched, a greenoasis of agriculture and public gardens where urbanites couldfind refreshment in a rural surrounding.
TheatreIn the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the area ofLambeth urbanised and the entertainment world burgeoned.Away from the rigid theatrical duopoly of the north bank, thecheap land of Lambeth enabled individual impresarios tobuild and develop their own performance venues, creating all-year, all-weather venues. Taverns converted to music halls andfringe ‘Penny Gaffs’ were ubiquitious. Without artisticrestrictions or censorship (unlike the north bank), the theatresof the Marsh were quite permissive and, before modern filmand radio put the theatres out of business, many were closeddown for being ‘disorderly houses’.
IndustryIt was in the eighteenth century that industry also began todevelop in the area: some needed the Marsh’s fresh watersupply (for brewing or cloth bleaching); others exploited thecheap land and river access to move or store their bulk goods(limestone, scrap iron and wood). Improved access from thenew Westminster and Blackfriars bridges, combined with theneed for large amounts of industrial labour led to apopulation explosion in the once-quiet village as thousandsflocked to the South Bank to work on the coal wharves, timberyards, potteries, dye works, lime kilns, blacking factories andprinting houses. The growth of industry was one of the keycomponents in Lambeth’s transformation from rural haveninto a centre of industry, the other was the railway.
‘There is a grain of sand in Lambeth that satan cannot find,
Nor can his Watch Fiends find it: ‘tis translucent and has
many angles’
WILLIAM BLAKE, SOUTH BANK RESIDENT
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19Uffo
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UpperGround
Belv
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LambethPalace
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Archbishop’sPark Ca
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Hercule
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Cosser Street
Lambeth Road
Westminster Bridge Road
Mor
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Stre
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Bayli
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BlackfriarsRoad
Cornwall Road
KenningtonRoad
Brook Drive
Lambeth Road
St George’s Road
Waterloo Road
The Cut
Webber
Street
Lower
Marsh
Waterloo Road
Coral St
Short Street
Wooton Street
Waterloo Station
JubileeGardens
ImperialWar Museum
StGeorges
Circus
Gray St
Chapl
inCl
ose
Greet St
Roupell StWhittlesey StreetTheed Street
Exton St
Ten ison Way
Concert Hall App
Waterloo
Bridge
Mepham St
Stamford
Street
Hatfields
ParisG
arden
Meymott Street
BlackfriarsRoad
Colombo St
Barge Ho St
RennieStreet
BlackfriarsBridge
Cornwall
Road
WestminsterBridge
LondonEye
Addington Street
Royal Street
Victoria Embankment
Vict
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Emba
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Lancaster Place
Strand
RIVER THAMES
RIVE
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Golden Jubilee Bridges
Waterloo East
Embankment
Southwark
CoinSt
LambethPalace
Gardens
Cons St
Aquinas St
Broadwall
FrazierStreet
Lambeth North
Walking route
Pier
Toilets
Toilets with disabled access
Baby changing facilities
Rail
Underground
Restaurants
Cafes
Shopping
WaterlooMillennium Pier
Festival Pier
Embankment Pier
Savoy Pier
Key
1 Westminster Bridge
2 South Bank Lion
3 County Hall
4 London Eye
5 Golden Jubilee Bridges
6 Royal Festival Hall
7 National Film Theatre
8 Waterloo Bridge
9 National Theatre
10 Hayward Gallery
11 South Bank Banners
12 Gabriel’s Wharf & Bernie Spain
Gardens
13 Oxo Tower Wharf
14 Blackfriars Bridge
15 Stamford House
16 London Nautical School
17 Palm Housing Co-operative
18 65–19 Stamford Street
19 Royal Waterloo Hospital for
Children & Women
20 bfi London IMAX Cinema
21 St. John The Evangelist Church
22 1–72 Roupell Street
23 Young Vic
24 1–29 Ufford Street
25 The Stage Door
26 David Grieg Department Store
27 Old Vic
28 Waterloo Millennium Green
29 Crown & Cushion
30 London Necropolis Station
31 Christchurch & Upton Chapel
32 Wellington Mills
33 St. George’s Roman Catholic
Cathedral
34 Imperial War Museum
TransportGeneral travel information can be obtained on Transport for London’s 24-hour number: 020 7222 1234, www.tfl.gov.uk
Underground StationsWaterloo Northern, Bakerloo, Waterloo & City and Jubilee(Jubilee Line exit is wheelchair accessible)Southwark Jubilee(main exit is wheelchair accessible)
BusesThe buses that stop at or near Waterloo include:1, 4, 26, 59, 68, 76, 77, 168, 171, 172, 188, 211, 243, 341, 507, 521,X68, N1, N68, N171, N381
Riverside (RV1) Bus ServiceRiverside 1 is a bus service linking Covent Garden, South Bank,Waterloo, Bankside, London Bridge and Tower Gateway, providing a cost-effective, easily recognisable link to over thirty of London’s attractions.
Route Accessibility There is no through access from point 14. Continue along UpperGround to reach Rennie Street and point 15 to resume the route.
Accessibility InformationLondon Eye 0870 990 8885Royal Festival Hall 020 7921 0971National Film Theatre 020 7388 2227National Theatre 020 7452 3000Hayward Gallery 020 7921 0813Oxo Tower Wharf 020 7401 2255bfi London IMAX Cinema 020 7388 2227Imperial War Museum 020 7416 5262
For centuries before the construction ofWestminster Bridge, the monopoly ofThames crossings was held by the Londonferrymen. Battling against these powerfulestablished interests, the campaigners fora new bridge were finally permitted toraise funds for the bridge through a publiclottery, a fact which only increased thederision from those who opposed the‘Bridge of Fools’. In 1739, the firstfoundations of the new bridge were laid,beginning an eleven-year project beset byEuropean warfare, ferrymen sabotage, thedeath of the bridge’s sponsor, a smallearthquake and the Thames freezing over.Even when the bridge finally opened, ittended to sway on its foundations andwas never fully trusted. Rebuilding workbegan in 1853 on a seven-arch bridge ofwrought-iron, decorated with Gothicdetailing by Charles Barry, architect ofParliament. Setting a precedent thatothers soon followed, Westminster was thebridge that opened up the South Bank.
The South Bank LionWestminster Bridge
This thirteen-ton Lion is one of the last-known products to be made of CoadeStone, a hard-wearing material producedby a mother-and-daughter factory on theSouth Bank. Founded in 1769, EleanorCoade’s stone ornaments were a majorfeature on the buildings of GeorgianLondon. The Lion was commissioned forthe South Bank’s Red Lion Brewery where,painted red, it stood on the roof for over acentury. When the bomb-damaged
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Thomas Page1862
W F Woodington1837
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Brewery was demolished in 1951 to buildthe Royal Festival Hall, the Lion wasspared at the behest of George VI andmoved to its present location in 1966.
County HallBelvedere Road
Home for the London County Council, theMain Building is a six-storey, symmetricalconstruction, faced with Portland Stone, inthe ‘Edwardian baroque’ style. It tooktwenty-five years to complete (outlastingits architect, who died in 1929), withNorth, South and Island Blocks addedthereafter (the last in 1974). The capital’sgovernment, known as the Greater LondonCouncil from 1965, was abolished in 1986.County Hall now houses the SaatchiGallery, Dalí Universe, the LondonAquarium and two hotels.
British Airways London EyeJubilee Gardens
Already an established landmark thatattracts millions, the inspiration for theLondon Eye came from: “The perfectsymmetry of a circle which - from adistance - seems to be transparent,embodies the passages of time.” Anintegration of architecture, engineeringand design, the creation of the LondonEye was a project that brought togetherengineers from all over Europe on a Britishdesign. The sections of this 2,100 tonneconstruction were transported down theThames and raised a massive 135 metreshigh. From that height, 15,000 passengersa day, travelling in the 32 glassobservation pods, can view up to 25 milesover the city and beyond.
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Ralph Knott1911–1933
Marks Barfield2000
Golden Jubilee Bridges
Originally built as a suspension footbridge,the Hungerford Bridge (named after themarket on the north bank) was bought in1859 to extend a railway line to the newCharing Cross station. Much of the originalbridge was recycled and used in Bristol’sClifton Bridge, while the new bridge, oftrussed iron girders (replaced with steel in1982), is the only London crossing to com-bine foot and rail. In 2000, a project wasstarted to create two new foot-bridges toreplace the single dilapidated footbridge.Christened the Golden Jubilee Bridges, this new visual landmark for London hasopened up the heart of the river in one ofLondon’s most breathtaking locations.
Royal Festival HallBelvedere Road
Built on the site of the Red Lion Brewery,the Royal Festival Hall is the onlypermanent legacy of the 1951 Festival OfBritain. Designed in a ‘Modernist’ stylewith glazed screens and Portland Stonefacings, with a green roof of weather-exposed copper, it is the first post-warbuilding to receive a Grade 1 listing.Inside, the auditorium is built high on theupper floors, insulated from the sound ofthe nearby railway, while beneath areplaced galleries, restaurants, shops, cafésand performance areas. In 1965 aredevelopment scheme was completedthat now defines much of the outwardappearance: the Portland Stone exteriorwas re-cased; the river frontage waspushed thirty yards forward; and a newriverside entrance was created. In 2001 a£60 million programme was commenced
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Isambard KingdomBrunel1845
Robert Matthew, Leslie Martin 1948–51
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to renovate and upgrade the facilities,qualities and capabilities of the ConcertHall, as well as restoring much of theoriginal features of the ‘People’s Place’.
National Film TheatreUpper Ground
The NFT owes it origins to the 1951Festival of Britain and the ‘Télekinema’, a purpose-built cinema designed tocelebrate British film-making andtechnology. Never intended to be apermanent exhibition, the Télekinema’spopularity led to the National Film Theatreopening in 1957, tucked underneathWaterloo Bridge’s southern arches. Initiallycontaining only one cinema, the Theatrewas given a second in 1970 and is nowone of the world’s leading cinematheques,organising the London Film Festival.
Waterloo Bridge
Designed as the Strand Bridge, the graniteconstruction was bought by thegovernment, re-named ‘Waterloo Bridge’after the recent victory and opened in1817. Falling into neglect, by 1923 thebridge was deemed beyond repair andclosed permanently. Work eventuallybegan on a replacement in 1939,immediately delayed by the outbreak ofWar, though work continued throughout,mostly with female labour. The new bridgewas even built with demolition chambers,in case of enemy invasion, though it wasnearly demolished in a more direct fashion,being damaged by enemy action severaltimes. Labour shortage and V2 rocketsnotwithstanding, the current constructionof reinforced concrete was opened in 1945.
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Leslie Martin, Hubert Bennett1956–58
Giles Gilbert Scott1937–45
National TheatreUpper Ground
In 1976, after more than a century ofplanning and fourteen years in the OldVic, the National Theatre company movedinto the three theatres of their newbuilding: Lyttelton, Olivier, and Cottesloe.Lasdun's 'Modernist'design of reinforcedconcrete and horizontal lines, with askyline augmented by the massive Olivierand Lyttelton fly-towers, has become alandmark of the South Bank. In 1997 workbegan to develop and renovate theNational Theatre's main entrance, boxoffice, bookshop and foyer performanceareas; the backstage equipment wasupgraded; and a new exterior performancespace added: 'Theatre Square'
Hayward GalleryBelvedere Road
Named after Sir Isaac Hayward (leader ofthe London County Council), the Gallery isone of London’s main venues for large artexhibitions. It is considered a classicexample of sixties ‘brutalist’ architecture:reinforced concrete following stronghorizontal lines with the top two of itsthree levels accessible from the pedestrianwalkways that traverse the area. The littlepyramids that crown the building are, infact, skylights for the upper gallery. Thereare five galleries in total, of differingshapes and sizes, displaying both classicaland contemporary art. Crowning thegallery is the neon tower, originally anexhibit, this ‘kinetic sculpture’ changescolour in response to the direction, speedand strength of the wind.
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South Bank BannersUpper Ground
Sixty-six huge banners along the streets ofthe South Bank create London’s biggestopen-air art gallery. Specially designed,selected from more than two thousandentries and illuminated at night, thebanners bring colour and energy to theskyline.
Upper GroundFrom the Middle Ages, artificial banks andcauseways were constructed in Lambethand Southwark to allow crossings of theflooded low-lands and to hold back theThames. The most important of thesecauseways were Bankside, The Broad Walland The Narrow Wall. Once the river hadbeen successfully pushed back, thecauseways became roads, and The NarrowWall remained, changing its name toUpper Ground Street (also because of itscauseway origin) in 1787. The Broad Wallwas a neighbouring street, becomingBroadwall in 1881.
Gabriel’s Wharf & Bernie SpainGardensUpper Ground
The site for the annual Coin Street Festival,Gabriel’s Wharf is a crafts market, havingturned old garages into colourful studiopremises with public seating, a bandstandand a backdrop painted on theoverlooking wall. The Gardens, namedafter local resident and campaignerBernadette Spain, once the site of theEldorado Ice Cream Company, are nowriverside areas of grassland andflowerbeds with public seating.
Denys Lasdun1969–1976
Stanton Williams1997–2000
Hubert Bennet, Jack Whittle1963–68
Liftschutz Davidson andindividual artists1997
Coin Street Community Builders1988
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Paris GardenA small hundred-acre manor betweenLambeth and Southwark, Paris GardenManor dates back to 1113. In 1660 it wasdeveloped into housing and a parishchurch, almost all of which collapsed onthe undrained ground. Blackfriars Road,built in 1769, cut through the Manor,leaving only the name, which replacedthat of Brunswick Street in the twentiethcentury.
HatfieldsOn this site, in the days of rural Lambeth,there were once fields where beaver-skinswere prepared to be manufactured intofine hats. Millinery continued with theconstruction of a hat factory in theVictorian era on the corner of StamfordStreet. The factory is now a public house,The Mad Hatter.
London Nautical SchoolStamford Street
The Nautical School was founded in 1915to educate naval cadets as a response tothe Titanic disaster. The originalRotherhithe premises were destroyed inthe Second World War and it occupied itspresent building in 1965, by which timethe school playground had received aNeo-Classical portico with Greek columns,added when the neighbouring UnitarianChapel (built in 1823) was demolished.Before the Nautical School moved in, thebuilding had previously been owned bythe London School Of Printing (1921-1965), and The Benevolent Society Of StPatrick (1820-1921), a charity founded in1784 to educate and clothe poor Irishchildren.
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Blackfriars Bridge
Opening in 1769 as William Pitt Bridge(after the Tory Prime Minister), theunpopular title was soon changed to thatof the Black Friars, a begging order ofDominican Monks that settled in Londonin 1279. The bridge itself had nineelliptical arches of Portland Stone (thedesigns are depicted on the walls of thesouthern underpass) and was rebuilt withfive cast-iron arches on granite piers. Allthat now remains of the Blackfriars RailBridge, which once ran parallel, are thered columns in the river and the brightlycoloured cast-iron insignia of the company:London, Chatham and Dover Railway.
Stamford HouseRennie Street
From 1890, until October 2001 this sitewas the headquarters of J Sainsbury plc.Once a depot and factory, Stamford Housewas built in 1912 from reinforced concrete,hidden away behind red brick and stonedressings. The lower floors are fronted bygreat archways while the upper floors reston Corinthian-style pilasters.
Rennie StreetThe architect and engineer John Rennie(1761-1821), lived and worked close tothis road. Rennie designed the mechanisedAlbion Flour Mills at Southwark, turningthe site into his workshops when the Millsburnt down. Rennie also designed theoriginal Southwark and Waterloo Bridgesand even, posthumously, the nineteenthcentury London Bridge.
Oxo Tower Wharf Upper Ground
Built as a power station, the Wharf wasacquired in the 1920’s by a Meat ExtractCompany, which built great cranes on theriverside frontage to haul meat fromThames barges directly into their factory.In the 1930’s, the Company also built atower that carried the illuminated name oftheir most famous product. Designed tocircumvent strict laws about exterioradvertising, the letters that spelt out ‘OXO’were in fact stained glass windows. Theindustry faded away however, and by the1970’s the building was an empty shell.When a developer proposed to demolishthe building to build a massive hotel andskyscraper, the local community rallied inprotest. After seven years, the communityprevailed and the Coin Street CommunityBuilders were formed as a consequence, torestore and regenerate the area. One oftheir tasks was the refurbishment of thederelict wharf, giving it a paved mall area,retail units, exhibition space, restaurantsand housing, and earning it the 1997Building of the Year Award for UrbanRegeneration.
A W Moore1928
Lifschutz Davidson1995
J. Cubitt1860–69
Sykes 1912
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James Montague1820
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17 Palm Housing Co-operativeBroadwall
The second of the Coin Street CommunityBuilder’s housing developments consists ofeleven three-storey terraced housessandwiched between two four-storeyblocks of flats, with a small nine-storeytower at the north end, directing theterrace towards the river while at the sametime overlooking the neighbouring BernieSpain Gardens. The building itself wasmade from an unusually diverse palette ofmaterials (brick, hardwood, zinc, lead andcopper) which combine with the building’sdesign of red brick, balconies, gabled roofsand glazed screens to produce some of thearea’s most appealing architecture.
Aquinas StreetOriginating around 1819 as Thomas’Street, the street was re-named in 1888Aquinas Street, originating from themedieval theologian, St Aquinas.
Coin StreetOnce Prince’s Street, it was re-named in1893, probably after the nearby Tudor‘mint of coinage’, established by HenryVIII, that had been recently unearthed.
65–119 Stamford StreetStamford Street
This row of Georgian houses stretch along the length of what was once Upper Stamford Street, built to house thereputable residents of the newly urbanisedSouth Bank. Converted into flats in 1912,some gained additional features, like firstfloor pediments over the windows, and theten-bay Corinthian centrepiece.
Lifschutz Davidson1995
David Laing 1829
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M S Nicholson1903–05
Brian Avery & Associates1999
Stamford StreetTranslating as ‘Sandy Ford’, it wasprobably another of Lambeth’s causeways.Once a small street in Southwark, in 1815 it was extended (as Upper StamfordStreet) all the way to Waterloo Road. The two roads were merged in 1868.
Royal Waterloo Hospital For Children & Women Waterloo Road
Beginning as a dispensary in the City, theRoyal Universal Infirmary For Childrenmoved to the South Bank in 1823, one ofthe first buildings on Waterloo Road. It wascompletely rebuilt in 1905 with red brick,terracotta dressings and a ceramic facadethat bore the new name of the institution.The Hospital closed in 1936, and thebuilding now houses one of the campusesof the Schiller International University.
bfi London IMAX CinemaWaterloo Road
Out of Waterloo Road’s sunken ‘bullring’roundabout rises the giant glass drum ofthe IMAX. Home to the biggest cinemascreen in the country: 20m by 26m (theheight of five double-decker buses) andcomplemented by the world’s mostsophisticated sound and projection system. The exterior walls of the buildingproject include a major work of art byHoward Hodgkin, one of Britain’s mostdistinguished artists, and at night they are lit with a variety of colours.
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Waterloo StationThe first Waterloo Station, built from1848-85, was a confused collection ofeighteen platforms spread over fourstations, entirely beyond thecomprehension of the average commuter.By 1900, it was decided to demolish theterminal and build a new station, aconstruction of red brick and PortlandStone, whose twenty-one platforms andgrand booking hall were complete by1922. The Station received fifty bomb hitsduring the War, but remained operationaland was the terminus for the 1951 Festivalof Britain. The Station’s best exteriorfeature is: the main entrance, named‘Victory Arch’ (after the First World War),which includes sculptures around itsmassive fanlight.
St. John The Evangelist ChurchWaterloo Road
Built in the early 1820’s, St John’s isknown as one of the four ‘WaterlooChurches’. It was designed in the ‘NeoClassical’ style, with Greek columns andportico, crowned with a tall thin steeple. In 1940, the church received a direct hitduring a bombing raid, and though thecrypt was strong enough to protect thosewho sheltered within, the interior of thechurch was gutted. (One of the fewsurviving pieces was the eighteenthcentury Italian white marble font.) In1950, the Church was selected forinclusion in the 1951 Festival of Britainand the building was restored.
Francis Octavius Bedford1822–24
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1–72 Roupell StreetRoupell Street
These Grade 2 listed buildings were onceworkers’ houses. Their two-storey terraceswith ‘double-pitched’ (two slopes rising to a point) roofs are an elegant contrastto the truncated ‘monopitch’ (only oneslope) homes of the neighbouringWhittlesey and Theed Street, which are of the same period. Built by and namedafter John Roupell, a local scrap metalmerchant, it was Roupell’s grandson,William, who would give the family name its greatest notoriety, when he was investigated as a corrupt Member of Parliament and convicted of embezzlingthe family fortune.
Windmill WalkWindmill Street took its name fromLambeth’s mills, once a key feature of its pre-industrial economy. A mill was evenused to power the local Horn Brewery,whose taphouse has today evolved into a pub, named ‘The Windmill’. The street,now pedestrianised, is now calledWindmill Walk.
Cons StreetOnce Little Windmill Street, it wasre-named after one of Lambeth’s mostvigorous nineteenth century socialreformers: Emma Cons. Cons is bestremembered for her attempts to reformthe ‘Old Vic’ Music Hall, which she ownedfrom 1880. Alcohol and ‘unsuitable’performances (such as Shakespeare) werebanished from the Old Vic, and replacedwith coffee and sobriety lectures, withoutgreat success.
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The Young Vic Theatre The Cut
In 1970, with the National TheatreCompany based at the Old Vic, LaurenceOlivier and Frank Dunlop established theYoung Vic to give emerging actors anddirectors the opportunity to presenttheatre to a younger audience in anintimate, informal space. The theatre’sentrance is through an old butcher’s shop– the only building remaining on the sitefollowing a direct hit during the Blitz in1941. A thriving part of London’s theatrescene it has recently undergone redevelop-ment. A large painting by abstract artistClem Crosby will surround the mainauditorium. It reopens in autumn 2006.
1–29 Ufford StreetUfford Street
These cottages were constructed at theturn of the twentieth century, with featuresinteresting enough to distinguish themfrom their contemporaries and a Grade 2listing from English Heritage.
The Stage DoorWebber Street
In Samuel Pepys’ diary of 1665, hementions drinking at a ‘Half-the-Way’ inn.The tavern was probably the HalfwayHouse, positioned exactly halfwaybetween London Bridge and theWestminster crossing at Stangate. TheHalfway House lasted until 1985 when itwas remodelled and renamed The StageDoor, presumably because of theneighbouring Old Vic theatre.
W G Howell1970
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H Payne1928–29
R Cabanel 1816–18
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David Grieg Department Store (former)
133–155 Waterloo Road
In the 1920’s this building wasconstructed as a department store forDavid Grieg Ltd. Only the building’s ashlarfaçade of giant three-storey columns nowremain (awarded a Grade 2 listing), whilethe remainder of the building has long-since been demolished. Behind the façade,a new building was erected in 1979 tohouse the Department of Health.
The Old Vic TheatreThe Cut
Opening in 1816 as The Royal CoburgTheatre (original arches still on the walls),it was renamed the Royal Victoria Hall in1833, which quickly became the ‘Old Vic’,a bawdy and drunken music hall. For thisreason the social reformer Emma Consbought the theatre in 1880, and turned it into the Royal Victoria Coffee Hall, for sobriety and learning, driving outcorrupting influences like alcohol and‘blood-and-guts’ Shakespeare. In 1912,Cons’ niece, Lilian Baylis, took control and re-established the theatre’s dramaticproductions to great success. By 1962, the Old Vic was one of London’s premiervenues and the natural choice to housethe fledgling National Theatre, which itdid until 1976. In 1983 the building was extensively restored, resulting in its present façade, and operates as asuccessful London theatre.
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Waterloo CommunityCharity2001
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Waterloo Millennium GreenBaylis Road
Opposite the Old Vic is WaterlooMillennium Green, a new public parkcreated by a community-led regenerationproject funded predominantly by theLondon Borough of Lambeth, theCountryside Agency and charitable trusts.The park provides green public space inWaterloo for workers, residents andvisitors, hearkening back to the days whenLambeth was dotted with leisure gardensand public areas, before the mass-urbanisation of the nineteenth century.
Frazier StreetNamed after Frazier’s Circus, a nineteenthcentury ‘Penny Gaff’. ‘Gaffs’ were theatricalshows performed by out-of-work actors inderelict buildings, both of which wereplentiful in Lambeth Marsh. Bawdy songs,garbled Shakespeare and ‘blood-and-thunder’ melodramas were performed inarenas that could squeeze in as many as a thousand. Cheap and appealing, these‘Gaffs’ were a popular attraction ofLondon’s night-life.
Lower MarshThe name originated from Lambeth Marsh,the rural village that developed andurbanised in the eighteenth century. The road leading through the village wasdivided by the Waterloo Railway line in1848 and renamed Upper Marsh andLower Marsh, on either side of the tracks.
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Crown And Cushion Pub135 Westminster Bridge Road
In 1615, ‘The Dunghill Cock’ tavernopened in Lambeth. By 1785, the namehad changed to ‘The Crown And Cushion’and a century later, the pub moved to itsnew premises, a three-storey Victorianbuilding on the former site of the Flora TeaGardens, another of pre-urban Lambeth’sopen-air venues.
London Necropolis Station (former)
121 Westminster Bridge Road
From this building operated London’s onlyone-way train service. Founded in 1854 inresponse to the city-wide cholera epidemic,the Necropolis and its hearse-carriagestook the dead of London (as many as fiftya day) to their final destination. BrookwoodCemetery, Surrey, the world’s largest at the time, contained separate platforms for Anglican and Non-Conformistdeceased, and the station even had alicensed bar (with a sign that read ‘SpiritsServed Here’). The first Necropolis wasdemolished in 1900 to allow for theexpansion of Waterloo Station. Thisreplacement continued to function untilafter the Second World War and while theground floor has been converted into amezzanine, much of the building’s originalfeatures remain.
1893
C B Tubbs1902
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Hercules RoadThe road’s name derives from HerculesBuildings, Georgian houses developed bydare-devil horseman and theatricalimpresario, Philip Astley. In 1779 hefounded Astley’s Amphitheatre, apermanent circus building which lasteduntil the end of the nineteenth century,despite burning down several times. Thebuildings were named after Astley’s‘Hercules’ strong-man act and one of hisfirst residents was the Romantic poet andartist, William Blake. Blake lived on thesite of the flats named ‘Blake House’ fromthe early 1790’s, and the years that hewould spend in ‘lovely Lambeth’, some ofthe most productive of his life, would beexpressed in his poetry and prose morethan any other part of London.
Once the site of a female orphanage(founded in 1758), the local clergyman (astrong supporter for the Union in theAmerican Civil War) received manydonations from America to build theChristchurch. Consequently the design ofthe church spire, named the ‘LincolnTower’, incorporates red bands andgeometric shapes to form a ‘stars andstripes’ pattern that is still visible. Duringthe bombing of 1940, the Church was all-but destroyed but the Tower was spareddemolition and given a new chapel in1960. A six-storey office block was alsoadded, resulting in the interestingspectacle of a nineteenth century GothicTower integrated into a twentieth centuryoffice block.
H J Paull & A Bickerdike 1873
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Wellington MillsWestminster Bridge Road
This housing co-operative comprises of140 maisonettes, built by the G.L.C., nowprivately-owned. Originating as aneighteenth century female orphanage,part of the site was bought by J Oakeyand Sons, who established a factory in1873 (named Wellington Mills) to produceemery paper (sandpaper) and blacking.
St George’s Roman CatholicCathedralSt. George’s Road
Ironically or intentionally, the high altar of the Cathedral stands on the very spotwhere the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots of1780 began. Opening as the largestRoman Catholic Cathedral in England, thearchitect was A.W.N. Pugin, famed for theGothic grandeur of his designs, includingParliament. Pugin’s visions had exceededthe budget, however, and his grandcruciform cathedral was never fullycompleted. A century later, in 1941, St. George’s was incinerated during abombing raid and the neighbouringAmigo Hall became the pro-cathedral.Rebuilding work commenced in 1953,attempting to mix an ‘Arts and Crafts’ style with the remnants of the original,both elements are now visible from within.
B Bienias1970–76
A W N Pugin 1840–48
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Imperial War Museum Lambeth Road
Originally the home of the Bethlem RoyalHospital for the Insane which opened in1247 as a London priory. St Mary ofBethlehem gradually began to specialisein care for the insane and by 1815‘Bedlam’ had moved to its new building inLambeth. The hospital’s design, a giantportico with six Ionic columns, was lateraugmented by a tall copper dome and twogreat flanking wings that gave thebuilding the longest frontage in Europe.When the institution moved to Kent in1926, the London County Council took thebuilding, demolished the wings and leasedthe central portion to the Imperial WarMuseum (which had opened at CrystalPalace in 1920). With both large-scalehardware (including the two gargantuannaval guns before the entrance) andexhibitions on the social effects of war, theMuseum now covers all British conflictssince 1914.
Where the great hospital wings once stoodis now the expansive Geraldine MaryHarmsworth Park, named after the motherof Viscount Rothermere. One of the Park’smost recent additions is the Samten Kyli –the Tibetan Garden of Contemplation andPeace, which was opened by the DalaiLama in 1999. Around the garden aresculptures representing earth, air, waterand fire, while the centrepiece is aBuddhist symbol connected with peaceand well-being.
James Lewis 1815
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34 More Walking Guides
If you have enjoyed this guide then please visitwww.southbanklondon.com to discover the other titlesin the series:
Walk This Way – Riverside LondonFrom Tate Britain to the Design Museum
Walk This Way – Golden Jubilee BridgesFrom Soho & Covent Garden to South Bank
Walk This Way – Millennium BridgeFrom St Paul’s Cathedral to Bankside and Borough
Walk This Way – A Young Person’s GuideA discovery of the Thames, especially written for young people
AcknowledgementsThe Walk This Way series has been researched andpublished by South Bank Employers’ Group, apartnership of the major organisations in South Bank,Waterloo and Blackfriars with a commitment toimproving the experience of the area for visitors,employees and residents.
This guide has been made possible thanks to fundingfrom the Waterloo Project Board and Cross RiverPartnership, which are supported by the LondonDevelopment Agency.
For further information about Walk This Way or theSouth Bank, please see www.southbanklondon.com
South Bank Employers’ Group103 Waterloo RoadSE1 8ULT: 020 7202 6900E: [email protected]
Photography: Peter Durant/ arcblue.comGraphic design: Mannion DesignMap design: ML Design
BA London Eye (4) is the world’stallest observation wheel offeringspectacular views across London. A London Eye river cruise operatesfrom the pier throughout the day.☎ 0870 990 8883www.ba-londoneye.com
Jubilee Gardens (4) is the perfectplace to relax with a picnic and soak-up the sensational riverside views.
The South Bank Centre, including theRoyal Festival Hall (6), offers musicand performing arts from around theworld. There are free installations andperformances in the Royal FestivalHall foyer every weekday lunchtime.☎ 0870 401 8181/www.rfh.org.ukRFH reopens in Summer 2007
National Film Theatre (7) is one ofthe world’s greatest cinemas and hostsa wide range of screenings and talks.It is home to the London Film Festivaland also offers themed seasonsthroughout the year.☎ 020 7928 3232www.bfi.org.uk/nft
National Theatre (9) presents an eclectic mix of new plays andclassics. Also, there are threerestaurants, a bookshop, free foyermusic on weekdays at 6pm andSaturdays at 1pm & 6pm, and everysummer, the colourful street theatrefestival ‘Watch This Space’.☎ 020 7452 3000www.nationaltheatre.org.uk
Hayward Gallery (10), also part ofthe South Bank Centre, is the largestmost versatile public art exhibitionspace in the country, presentingexhibitions that span history, cultures and media. ☎ 0870 169 1000www.hayward.org.uk
From June to September, Bernie Spain Gardens (12) hoststhe Coin Street Festival culminating in The Mayor’s Thames Festival in mid-September☎ 020 7401 2255www.coinstreetfestival.org
thegallery@oxo (13) at Oxo TowerWharf and Bargehouse are two venueswith regular free exhibitions. ☎ 020 7401 2255www.oxotower.co.uk
bfi London IMAX Cinema (20)allows you to experience larger-than-life images and ultra-realistic digitalsound. The cinema shows 2D and 3Dfilms on the largest cinema screen inthe UK.☎ 0870 787 2525www.bfi.org.uk/imax
Young Vic (23) is the country'sleading home for world-class directorsand younger theatre artists presentingseasons of classic plays andrediscovered theatrical gems.☎ 020 7928 6363 www.youngvic.org
The Young Vic is on Walkabout while its home isredeveloped. Its shows will be appearing acrossLondon before it reopens in autumn 2006. Visitwww.youngvic.org for details
Old Vic Theatre (27) is one ofLondon's oldest theatres, famousthroughout the English speakingworld. Long known as 'the actors'theatre', many of the greatestperformers of the last century haveplayed on its stage, and since 2004 ithas been under the artistic direction ofKevin Spacey. ☎ 0870 060 6628 www.oldvictheatre.com
Imperial War Museum (34) usespersonal stories to tell the story ofconflict from the First World War to thepresent day. Free events for all thefamily are held throughout the year.☎ 020 7416 5320 www.iwm.org.uk
Also on the South Bank:The Museum of Garden History☎ 020 7401 8865www.museumgardenhistory.org
The Florence Nightingale Museum☎ 020 7620 0374www.florence-nightingale.co.uk
Oxo Tower Wharf (13)With three levels of design shops OxoTower Wharf is a hotbed of creativityand design flair in home style, design,jewellery and fashion. Pick up stylishpresents from £5 or commissionsomething unique.
Gabriels Wharf (12)Gabriel's Wharf is home to an array ofshops selling unique design itemsincluding jewellery, fashion and homeaccessories. From Indian fair-tradefurnishings to affordable artwork.Qualified therapists also turn GabrielsWharf into a shopper’s retreat.
Festival Riverside (6)Fantastic arts-related shops inbeautiful riverside location, frominternational music at MDC Music &Movies to the latest books at Foyles.
Lower Marsh and The Cut(29–28–23)Minutes from Waterloo Station, thesehistoric streets are vibrant, and friendly,offering an eclectic array of shopsselling everything from vintageclothing to quirky gifts.
The Best of the RestDon’t miss the fantastic shops at theseSouth Bank attractions. ■ Hayward Gallery ■ Imperial War Museum■ London Eye ■ National Theatre
South Bank Centre (6)Drop into the Hayward Gallery for acoffee at Starbucks or, at the FestivalRiverside, choose from sandwiches atEAT, family-friendly dining at Giraffe,Italian cuisine at Strada or noodles atWagamama. Alternatively try a lightbite at the Festival Square Café.
National Film Theatre (7)Relax with a chilled drink from the coolbar or enjoy a light meal. The outdoorterrace is perfect for long, lazy summerafternoons.
National Theatre (9)Enjoy sandwiches and pastries at theground floor Espresso Bar, light mealsat the Terrace and Circle Cafés andformal dining at the MezzanineRestaurant.
Gabriels Wharf (12)A range of bars, cafes and restaurantswith both indoor and outdoor seatingand stunning riverside views. A perfectspot for lunch or grabbing a quick snack.
Oxo Tower Wharf (13)You can enjoy soup, sandwiches or sushi at EAT café on the groundfloor or travel to the 8th floor and havea drink at the OXO Tower Bar or dinein the famous brasserie or restaurant.
The Old Vic Bar & Restaurant (27)Join an arty crowd for a drink at thisbuzzy theatre bar or explore the variedrestaurant menu.
Lower Marsh and The Cut(29–28–23)These two streets play host to anenormous selection of cafes, bars andrestaurants, featuring tastes fromaround the world.
Marriott Hotel County Hall (3) provides luxurious accommodationright at the heart of the South Bank.The hotel has an amazing and recentlyrenovated spa and leisure club,boasting the largest gym andswimming pool in a hotel in London,where relaxing treatments and aleisurely swim can be enjoyed after ahard day's shopping and sightseeing.☎ 020 7928 5200
■ Things to do ■ Shopping ■ Eating & drinking ■ Where to Stay
