Bankside
| Bankside | |
| Surrey | |
|---|---|
 Bankside from across the River Thames | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ319805 |
| Location: | 51°30’30"N, 0°6’0"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | London |
| Postcode: | SE1 |
| Dialling code: | 020 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Southwark |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Bermondsey and Old Southwark |
Bankside is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in Surrey, extending generally between Blackfriars Bridge to the west and London Bridge to the east.
This stretch of the Thames is known for theatres, entertainment, the media and cultural institutions, in a tradition reaching back to William Shakespeare's day.
History
The 'banke' was reclaimed by the Bishop of Winchester who owned the manor of the Clink of which this is part. There is a map plan in the Duchy of Lancaster archive showing 'the way to the banke'.[1] The name is recorded in 1554 as the Banke syde and means 'street along the bank of the Thames'.[2] In 1860 Southwark Street was created to connect the Blackfriars and London bridge crossings here and that can be regarded as the area's informal southern perimeter.
The Bishop of Winchester had a palace here, Winchester Palace, whose excavated ruins can be seen. The Bishops as landlords of the area had some 'interesting' tenants for a clergyman – in Troilus and Cressida, Shakespeare's uses the term 'Geese of Winchester' to refer to ladies of negotiable virtue.
Bankside is the riverside of the former Liberty of the Clink and Liberty of Paris Garden. In the Elizabethan period, because it was outside the City of London and its authority, the area of the Clink and Paris Garden became occupied by the bear baiting pits and playhouses, including the Rose, the Hope Theatre, the Swan and the Globe Theatre: a replica, 'Shakespeare's Globe', was built in the late 1990s.
The history of the area is traced in a study that traces the earliest known history of a particular building on Bankside until the present day.[3] It has experienced regeneration in recent decades, becoming a significant tourist destination, and forms a business improvement district. The skyline of Bankside is dominated by the former Bankside Power Station, which now houses the Tate Modern.
A major new development in the area is the Bankside 1/2/3 complex on Southwark Street. Together, these three buildings house about 5,000 employees. Bankside 1, also known as the Blue Fin Building, was built for and partially occupied by IPC Media, while Bankside 2 and 3 are occupied by The Omnicom Group Ltd. The architect for the buildings was Allies and Morrison.
Outside links
References
- ↑ 'Old Southwark and its People' by William Rendle 1878
- ↑ Mills, Anthony David: 'A Dictionary of British Place-Names' (Oxford University Press, 2003) ISBN 978-0-19-852758-9
- ↑ Gillian., Tindall (2007). The house by the Thames : and the people who lived there. London: Pimlico. ISBN 978-1844130948. OCLC 73956885.