Writer and freelance marketing consultant Fiona was born in London but spent her childhood travelling in Malaysia, Germany, Libya and Saudi Arabia. She returned to her London roots and set up London-Unattached, for which she was named Avis Travel Blogger of the Year in 2013-14.
The ‘wrong’ side of the River, Southwark borders the Thames and is a part of London that I love for its colourful history, not least because it wasn’t originally part of the City at all.
The Thames provided a great divide between strictly governed London and an area of theatres, prostitutes, gambling and animal baiting. This pocket of disrepute - dubbed the ‘Liberty of the Clink’ after the Bishop’s Prison - belonged to the Bishop of Winchester and was originally known as the ‘Liberty of Winchester. Under the jurisdiction of the Bishop, prostitution here was legal and the local women of the night were called the ‘Winchester Geese.’ Regarded as unfit to be buried in a Church Yard, up to 15,000 women were buried in a small, nondescript space at The Cross Bones Grave Yard from the Middle-Ages until the mid-Nineteenth century. Now used as a machinery store, you’ll find a plaque marking the spot and the fencing is festooned with tributes from visitors and locals. There’s a monthly memorial ceremony run by local poet John Crow on the 23rd to commemorate these women and all ‘outcasts.
Bermondsey and Borough have a history of providing entertainment in a number of ways. Queen Elizabeth I used to keep her fighting bears here and it has a great theatrical tradition too, with playwrights like Shakespeare and Marlowe making it their London base. The Rose Theatre is one of London’s oldest, built in 1587. Partly restored, you can visit the excavation and exhibition or watch a play in the studio theatre, surrounded by the carefully delineated outlines of the old playhouse. For me it’s a slightly ethereal experience, almost as if the ghosts of the original actors are lurking on the edges.
Wander down to the river to find the striking Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, around 750 feet from the original theatre that was built in 1599 by Shakespeare’s playing company. It is the lifetime work of actor and director Sam Wanamaker and a faithful reconstruction of the original building. You can watch performances standing up in the open air pit or sitting on the rather hard and narrow benches (be warned: you can and should hire cushions).
If Southwark has a tradition of providing Londoners with entertainment, the City’s current obsession with food is now well served here. Bermondsey Street is one of my favourite places to enjoy tapas – at Jose’s or Pizarros (both owned by Jose Pizarro, who expanded to a slightly larger site). It is also home to one of London’s finest Italian restaurants, Zucca where you’ll find excellent food and an Italian wine list that won it Decanter’s 2012 Restaurant of the Year Award.
Borough Market, originally for wholesale fruit and vegetables, is now home to an extensive range of British and Continental speciality food sellers and people flock there to buy cheese, meat and deli specialities. It’s worth popping into Roast while you are there for their great English menu or if you just have time to kill before joining the queue at Monmouth Coffee for one of London’s finest brews.
You should definitely pay a visit to The George Inn, which dates back to 1676 and is the only original galleried inn left in London. Now managed by the National Trust, you’ll find it tucked away off Borough High Street. A network of small, panelled rooms with low ceilings, lattice windows and real fires in the winter, it’s easy to imagine why it was a favourite of Charles Dickens. It serves a good pint of ale too, though in winter I prefer the mulled wine.
The food cognoscenti have moved on a bit. Stall rental prices at Borough pushed out many of the artisan producers who set up just along the road at Maltby Street and Spa Terminus instead. For the best experience, get there on a Saturday morning when some of the wholesale operators open to the public too. Whether it’s coffee from Craft Coffee, artisan gin from The Little Bird Gin Company or cake from Bad Brownie, you’ll find plenty of food and drink on offer, without the tourist prices of Borough.
My favourite thing about this part of Southwark is that it’s a part of London steeped in some quite nefarious history. The narrow streets, ancient buildings, ruins and historic restorations give visitors one of the best insights into London in the Middle Ages. For the most part it’s not elegant and pristine, but just a little grubby and worn at the edges and altogether more convincing for it.
Food and theatre seem to be the main theme for Southwark, but there’s plenty more in this vibrant part of town. My perfect morning takes in a walk along the banks of the Thames to the Tate Modern. The Gallery is free - excluding special exhibitions - and upstairs in the 5th floor restaurant and café where I can enjoy breakfast looking out over the river and the City.
I’d then walk back across the Millennium Bridge - the so called ‘wobbly bridge,’ for arguably the best view of St Paul’s from the ground.
