Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Bankside
W
visitbankside.com
Bankside is dominated by the awesome
Tate Modern
, while close by, the
Millennium
Bridge
provides a wonderful pedestrian link from the City and St Paul's. To the east are
two thoroughly researched reconstructions:
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
and Drake's
Tudor galleon, the
Golden Hinde
. At this point, the shops, cafés and stalls of nearby
Borough Market
, which has become a gourmet food haven (Thurs-Sat), provide a
welcome refuelling stop, before you check out some of the city's best-preserved Gothic
architecture in
Southwark Cathedral
.
The reconstruction of Shakespeare's Globe is pretty much all there is above ground
today to remind you of Southwark's pre-industrial golden age of entertainment under
the Tudors and Stuarts. For centuries, however, Bankside was best known for its
brothels
, which were already doing a thriving trade under the Romans. In 1161, the
brothels were licensed by royal decree, but made to adhere to various rules and
restrictions: prostitutes could now be fined three shillings for “grimacing to passers-by”,
but were given Sunday mornings off in order to attend church. The women wore
red-and-white-striped caps and white aprons, and were known as “Winchester Geese”,
since the land was owned by the Bishop of Winchester. The Church made a small
fortune out of the rent until Henry VIII closed the bawdy houses down.
In Elizabethan times, Bankside
once more became the most nefarious area in London,
known as “Stew's Bank” for its brothels or “stewhouses”, and was studded with
bull- and bear-pits
. Pepys recalls seeing “some good sport of the bulls tossing of the
dogs; one into the very boxes”, but opinion was by then inclining towards Evelyn's
Temple
Towe r
Gateway
Blackfriars
Fenchurch Street
Station
V I C TO
E N T
Monument
Cannon Street
Station
Blackfriars'
Station
Towe r
Hill
SEE 'BANKSIDE AND BERMONDSEY' MAP FOR DETAIL
OXO
To we r
Globe
Theatre
Tower of
London
London
Studios
Tate
Modern
National
Theatre
HMS Belfast
Southwark
Cathedral
SOUTHWARK
Borough
Market
To we r
Bridge
London Bridge
Station
City Hall
BFI
IMAX
Waterloo
East Station
Southwark
The Shard
London Bridge
U N
I O N S T R E E T
Butler's
Wharf
Guy's
Hospital
Waterloo
Waterloo
Station
St George
Borough
Fashion
& Textile
Museum
Leather
Market
White
Cube
Lambeth
North
Antique
Market
Imperial
War Museum
Elephant
& Castle
N
T R O A D
Elephant
& Castle
Station
0
500
Cuming
Museum
yards
