Bankside Property – A Guide To The Area & History

Posted by thizzfacedisco on January 2, 2012

If you contact good Bankside estate agents these days, they’re going to have a plethora of state of the art contemporary properties on their books. So it may surprise you to know this is actually one of the very oldest parts of London and began life as an ancient settlement millions of years ago. This guide will give you a fascinating glimpse into the area’s history; its current attractions; and the type of Bankside property you’ll likely to find today.

Ancient History to Victorian times

In recent times, there has been a wealth of important archaeological finds unearthed from beneath Victorian buildings. Some of the areas archaeological treasures have been dated up to half a million years old. the very first London Bridge was even older; it is thought to have been built two million years ago and until 1750 it was the only way to cross the Thames on foot. the very first prison was also built locally in Clink Street – so this is where the expression, in the clink comes from, meaning in prison. the dedicated museum standing on the site of the old prison earned a place on the hit paranormal investigation TV show, Most Haunted. it was featured along with nearby Tower Bridge on a Halloween special centred on the notorious Victorian serial killer, ‘Jack-the-Ripper’.

Famous VIP Residents & Visitors

None other than William Shakespeare lived in Southwark at one time and his plays were of course mounted at the local Globe and Rose theatres. Fellow playwright Ben Jonson was also employed by the Globe and diarist Samuel Pepys witnessed the Great fire of London in 1666 from a local Bankside tavern. Charles Dickens immortalised aspects of Bankside in his novel ‘Little Dorret’ and Queen Elizabeth was known to like to visit. by the 1800s, one of the most important local activities was leather crafts, which you can still see today reflected in street names such as Tanner’s Yard, Leathermarket court and Tanner’s Street.

Some important Bankside property postcodes are SE1, SE5, SE16 and SE17; you should also remember the names London Bridge, Borough, Tower Bridge, Shad Thames, Rotherhithe, Elephant & Castle, Southwark, Waterloo, Bermondsey and of course, Bankside. Local Bankside estate agents are happy to tell you substantial local regeneration was helped no end by world-class cultural centres, which you can easily reach by strolling over the Millennium Bridge. the area is home to the Tate Modern, and the Bankside art gallery, which hosts the Royal Watercolour Society and Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers. Shakespeare’s London can be visited at the famous Globe Theatre and a nearby exhibition dedicated to the Rose Theatre. along from the Clink Street Prison Museum you’ll find Winchester Palace, famous for its medieval round ‘rose’ window. the whole family will love the ever-popular London Dungeons in Tooley St, SE1, and do also take in the beautiful Southwark Cathedral. Finally, London’s gourmets are justifiably proud of Borough food market and the many world-class restaurants in the neighbourhood, which pop up often in London’s Time out magazine.

Bankside estate agents will be able to show you contemporary loft living conversions, offering splendid penthouse views of London, for example, at the Jam Factory on Green Walk. there is a little ‘City Village’ created by Bermondsey Street (SE1), full of superb quality restaurants, cafes and bars. This is an area where there are both warehouse conversions and better quality new builds. Newer developments on new Globe Walk have excellent riverside views, from which you’ll see St Paul’s Cathedral. You’ll also find interestingly ‘socially minded’ luxurious 2 and 3 bed new builds in Bermondsey Square, SE1. Generally speaking, there is not a shortage of 1 bed properties, and often you’ll get a terrific amount of space, sometimes with mezzanine levels. If you’re looking for two and three beds, this is another good area: the standards can often be particularly high. Ask Bankside estate agents to show you property benefitting from the better views, ample floor space and natural light. Expert agents will have no trouble finding you this type of Bankside property in a prime location for both transport links and local attractions.

Bankside Property – A Guide To The Area & History

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