Bankside
Coordinates: 51°30′30″N 0°06′00″W / 51.5082°N 0.1001°W
| Bankside | |
 Bankside including the Tate Modern |
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 Bankside
Bankside shown within Greater London |
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| OS grid reference | TQ319805 |
|---|---|
| London borough | Southwark |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | London |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LONDON |
| Postcode district | SE1 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| EU Parliament | London |
| UK Parliament | North Southwark and Bermondsey |
| London Assembly | Lambeth and Southwark |
| List of places: UK • England • London | |
Bankside is a district of London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the River Thames, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Charing Cross, running from a little west of Blackfriars Bridge to just a short distance before London Bridge at St Mary Overie Dock to the east . It is part of a business improvement district known as Better Bankside.
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[edit] History
[edit] Toponymy
The name is recorded in 1554 as the Banke syde and means 'street along the bank of the Thames'. It is formed from Middle English 'banke' and 'side'.[1]
[edit] Urban development
Bankside is the riverside of the former liberties of the Clink and Paris Garden. In the Elizabethan period, because of its location outside the jurisdiction of the City of London, the area of the Clink and Paris Garden were outside of the City of London's authority and so became occupied by the bear baiting pits and playhouses, including the Rose, the Hope Theatre, the Swan and the Globe Theatre of which a replica was constructed in the late 1990s. 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 building house about 5,000 employees. Bankside 1, also known as the Blue Fin Building, is occupied by IPC Media, while Bankside 2 and 3 are occupied by The Royal Bank of Scotland. Architect for the buildings was Allies and Morrison.
[edit] Governance
It is part of the Borough and Bankside Community Council which corresponds to the Southwark electoral wards of Cathedrals and Chaucer.[2] They are part of the Bermondsey and Old Southwark Parliament constituency and the Member of Parliament is Liberal Democrat Simon Hughes. It is within the Lambeth and Southwark London Assembly constituency and the London European Parliament constituency.
[edit] Transport
London Bridge and Southwark are the stations closest to Bankside, located to the east and west of it respectively. Blackfriars station on the north bank of the river is currently being extended and rebuilt and will have an entrance on the south bank from 2011.[3] A direct pedestrian connection exists between the Tate Modern and St Paul's Cathedral via the Millennium Bridge.
[edit] References
- ^ poo. (2000). Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names. Oxford.
- ^ "Where's your community council". Southwark London Borough Council. http://www.southwark.gov.uk/download/4663/community_councils_map. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
- ^ http://www.thameslinkprogramme.co.uk/cms/pages/view/40
[edit] External links
- Bankside page on London SE1 community website
- Better Bankside - official Business Improvement District website
- Bankside Mix - local promotion and tourism website
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