SOUTHWARK

inner borough of Greater London. Situated opposite the central City of London, Southwark borough extends south from the River Thames over such areas and historic villages as Rotherhithe, Southwark (including Bankside, a historic street along the Thames), Bermondsey, Walworth, Camberwell, Peckham (in part), Nunhead, East Dulwich, Herne Hill (in part), Dulwich, and Sydenham Hill. It was formed in 1965 by the amalgamation of three former metropolitan boroughs, Bermondsey, Camberwell, and Southwark. Nearly all of Southwark belongs to the historic county of Surrey, apart from a small section in the east that belongs to Kent. Southwark village, in the borough's northern section, has been important as a junction of roads and as a commanding point to the approach to London ever since the Romans constructed a bridge there across the Thames. Old Southwark, known traditionally as The Borough, was a market town from early Saxon times. It became a haven for criminals and prostitutes in the Middle Ages. In the mid-16th century it became known as the Bridge Ward Without or the ward of Bridge-without. (For another perspective on the area's relationship to the City of London in the Middle Ages, see Bridge-without, which is excerpted from Britannica's 2nd edition .) From the 15th century on, Southwark was known for its inns, theatres, spas, country resorts, and other places of entertainment and recreation, but it also grew in notoriety for its poorer, run-down districts. The Canterbury pilgrims, as imagined by the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, started from what is now Borough High Street at an inn known as the Tabard. The George (built in 1676), now owned by the National Trust, is the last surviving galleried inn in London. Many of William Shakespeare's plays were first produced at the Globe Theatre on Bankside; a reconstruction of the theatre was opened near the original site in 1997. After the Reformation (in the 16th century), the Augustinian priory of St. Mary Overie became the parish church of Southwark. Since 1905 it has been the cathedral church of the see of Southwark. Guy's Hospital, one of London's major teaching hospitals, was opened nearby in 1726. Two former Southwark landmarks have given rise to popular phrases: to be in the clink (i.e., imprisoned), derived from the prison on Clink Street; and a state of bedlam (i.e., animated confusion), derived from the disorder at Bedlam, a royal hospital for the mentally ill. Among the borough's educational and cultural institutions are Dulwich College (founded 1619), the South London Art Gallery, Dulwich Picture Gallery (founded 1626), the Cuming Museum (founded 1782), the Design Museum at Butler's Wharf, and the Imperial War Museum. Berthed along Southwark's riverfront are the HMS Belfast (a heavy cruiser used in World War II) and a reconstruction of The Golden Hinde, Sir Francis Drake's 16th-century flagship. Most of Southwark's architecture postdates World War II, but some Victorian structures remain. Wartime destruction and large-scale redevelopment schemes completely changed parts of the borough, notably the former docks of Rotherhithe, Bermondsey, and Southwark, as well as the Newington area. From the mid-1980s the borough's riverfront east of London Bridge has been the site of the so-called London Bridge City development. Southwark is linked to Tower Hamlets by road via the Rotherhithe Tunnel (190408) and Tower Bridge. There are numerous other rail, road, and Underground (subway) routes. The borough's main crossroads, known as the Elephant and Castle (the name of an inn), is a principal traffic approach for the London, Blackfriars, and Southwark bridges and, via the borough of Lambeth, the Westminster and Lambeth bridges. Southwark has a long history of multiethnicity, evidenced by arrivals of Flemish weavers in the 14th century, Dutch pottery makers in the late 16th century, and Irish labourers from the 18th century. Arrivals in the 20th century include Africans, Afro-Caribbeans, and Turkish Cypriots. Ethnic minorities account for one-fourth of the population. Area 11 square miles (29 square km). Pop. (1998 est.) 232,000.