Walworth, Surrey

Walworth
Surrey
Manor Place Baths
Location
Grid reference:	TQ325785
Location:	51°29’23"N, 0°5’26"W
Data
Post town:	London
Postcode:	SE1 (Old Kent Road), SE17
Dialling code:	020
Local Government
Council:	Southwark
Parliamentary constituency:	Bermondsey and Old Southwark

Walworth is an ancient parish in the Brixton Hundred of Surrey, deep within the metropolitan conurbation. It is located two miles south-east of Charing Cross, near Camberwell and Elephant and Castle.

Major streets in Walworth include the Old Kent Road, New Kent Road and Walworth Road.

History

Walworth probably derives its name from the Old English "Wealhworth" meaning British farm.

Walworth appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Waleorde. It was held by Bainiard from Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury. Its domesday assets were: 3½ hides; one church, four ploughs, 8 acres of meadow. It rendered £3.

John Smith House is on Walworth Road, and was renamed in memory of John Smith, who was leader of the Labour Party from 1992 up to his sudden death in 1994. A former headquarters of the Labour Party, it was often seen in news reports at election times and in the background as people came and went from meetings of the Labour Party National Executive Committee. It was used by Southwark Council as the home for its education department and reopened in July 2012 as a hostel.

St Peter's Church, built circa 1825, is an excellent example of the neo-classical style of church built by |Sir John Soane. It is an indication of the wealth of the middle-class merchants who then lived in the vicinity that they could afford an architect of such prominence. Charles Upfold was born at Walworth Common and baptised at St Peters. The church is home to the Monkey Gardens - which was once home to a menagerie kept by a past Reverend of the Church, but is now a garden.

Manor Place Baths is a former wash house in Manor Place off Walworth Road. It is a Grade-II listed building. The building was renovated by Kagyu Samye Dzong, Tibetan Buddhist Centre who obtained a five-year lease in 2005. They opened it as their London centre, called Manor Place Samye Dzong on 17 March 2007. Adjacent is the Council's old recycling depot which is now closed and has been replaced by a new facility at 43 Devon Street, off Old Kent Road.

Walworth is also home to the Pullens buildings - a mixture of Victorian live/work spaces and yards. Many of the flats are 1 bedroom, and some of the flats still connect to the Workshops of any of the three yards (Illife Yard, Peacock Yard and one other). They all share communal roof terraces with extensive views over to the West End.

Walworth also used to have a zoo, in Royal Surrey Gardens, which was visited by Queen Victoria.

East Street market is a major street market. There are plenty of parks in the area, including:

• Michael Faraday Park
• Salisbury Row Park
• Nursery Row Park
• Burgess Park
• Victory Park

Regeneration

Large amounts of regeneration and gentrification are occurring in Walworth, including the proposed demolition of the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, the newly built Strata tower, the demolition and regeneration of the Heygate and Aylesbury Estates and redevelopment of St Mary's Churchyard as a new park. The Bakerloo Line Extension is planned to complete in 2028/29 and will see two new stations built along Old Kent Road.

Transport

• Elephant & Castle tube station (Bakerloo and Northern lines)
• Elephant & Castle railway station