Always a bridesmaid, never the bride: A historical walking tour of Southwark

Southwark is as rich in history as the City of London, its neighbour across the water. Historically, the area was always treated as a kind of dumping ground for practices, pastimes and people that the City didn’t want within the confines of its walls. Yet, without Southwark, the Roman settlement of Londinium may never have been built where it was.

On this walking tour, I’ll show you how this undervalued parcel of land was an important trading hub, ecclesiastical stronghold, and place for arts and entertainment for nearly a thousand years. Today’s Southwark is no less interesting and vibrant than its predecessor, and the two happily cohabitate in its ancient streets.

The tour starts on Tooley Street, near Hays Galleria, where you’ll follow the riverside, taking in a floating museum about Britain’s senior service, HMS Belfast. You’ll hear about one of the greatest wonders of the medieval world, Old London Bridge, and other structures built over the River Thames from Southwark’s Roman era onwards.

As you’ll travel along the South Bank, I’ll point out areas that were well-known to the likes of William Shakespeare. I’ll tell you about Victorian Southwark as you traverse its streets. The walk ends right back in modern Southwark at the iconic Shard building.

Along the way, you’ll also have a chance to:

• See the site of one of the area’s oldest churches and hear how it became Southwark Cathedral
• Visit one of the oldest coaching inns in Britain, George Inn Yard, and hear how Southwark became a thriving hub for the coach trade
• Marvel at the architectural and building skills of 12th-century artisans who created Winchester Palace and spot the original site of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
• Walk through an area that’s synonymous with pain and suffering, oh and beer!
• Take in Bankside Power Station, once a monument to early 20th-century science and industry, and today an avant-garde art gallery
• Hear tales of local inhabitants, some good, some bad and some who were at the forefront of Southwark life
• Walk in the footsteps of a young Charles Dickens as he visited his family in the notorious Marshalsea Prison
• Learn about Thomas Guy’s philanthropy at Guy’s Hospital, which changed the face of medicine, surgery and aftercare

As you enjoy this 75-minute walk, you’ll be travelling through more than a thousand years of history. By the end of the tour, you’ll see that Southwark was always far more than a dumping ground for the city’s unwanted, and that its vibrant roots are still reflected in the area today.