The South Bank, SE1

The South Bank is a vibrant central London area set along the south banks of the River Thames between Lambeth Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge and back to Waterloo Station. It overlooks the City of Westminster and the City of London and incorporates the landmark South Bank Centre.

The South Bank term was first used in 1951, during the celebrated Festival of Britain. Lately, the name has been used as a reference to the extended embankment area stretching from Lambeth Bridge to the Tower Bridge.

Significant investments in the 1950s, and since 2008 have transformed this run-down industrial suburb serving the City into London’s most visited arts and entertainment destination with striking residential schemes and modern transport infrastructure. The transformation of the South Bank is ongoing with new, ambitious projects such as the 76 Southbank, 72 Upper Ground, Bankside Yards and the Waterloo Station revitalisation. Waterloo Opportunity Area is set on the edges of the South Bank and is a designated London development district with significant potential for delivering new homes and jobs in the future.

The residential housing stock is a mix of period conversions, and new, luxury riverside homes often with spectacular city views. A few of London's landmark company building conversions are located on the South Bank including the Shell Centre and the London City Hall. The extensive architectural glossary of the South Bank includes details from Victorian, Modern, Mid-century, and contemporary urban schemes.

Future developments in the extended South Bank district are supported by the two London boroughs, Lambeth and Southwark. The South Bank BID is an important, independent support organisation set up in 2014 to promote the area as a ‘world-class place for businesses and all those that work, visit, live and study here’. It has been involved with the recent upgrade plans for Waterloo Station and the surrounding real estate.

The South Bank History

Before the first urban settlements that appeared between Westminster and Waterloo Bridge in the 17^th century, the South Bank was a marshland regularly flooded by the Thames. The land close to the river was gradually drained to build foundations for many small industries moving out and relocating from the City.

The medieval South Bank was a place with numerous brothels and bear-baiting arenas, visited by sailors and generally men of ‘vice’. As with most of London's suburban districts, 19^th century industrialisation with the advance of railways excelled the urban growth along the South Bank. Waterloo Station opened in 1848 and the new Westminster Bridge was unveiled in 1862, followed by the Blackfriars Bridge in 1869. Wharves and warehouses were constructed along Bankside Road to facilitate the movement and storage of goods transported via the Thames. There were also various workshops and factories for the treatment and supply of leather, glass, lead, beer, and drinking water. Substantial terraced houses appeared in the area in the first half of the 19^th century.

The South Bank suffered great destruction during the aerial bombing in World War II. The post-war transformation accelerated with the construction of various attractions along the South Bank, which was the focus of the Festival of Britain Exhibition in 1951. The exhibition was a wide cultural event promoting science, technology, industry, arts and architecture in London and the country. The land between County Hall and Waterloo Bridge was cleared and the South Bank Centre was built. From then on, the area has steadily shifted towards arts, entertainment, and culture.

The South Bank Culture and Entertainment

The South Bank is home to an astonishing mix of arts and entertainment venues set in an attractive riverside location. There are world-famous art galleries, museums, performing art centres, and sightseeing attractions.

The Crypt at Lambeth Place, the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, is one of the oldest structures in the district built in the 1200s. Part of the same complex of buildings is St Mary-at-Lambeth, a medieval and Victorian church which now houses the Garden History Museum. In the vicinity is a popular modern attraction, the Leake Street Arches and its graffiti tunnel/gallery that displays free urban art.

Closer to Westminster Bridge is County Hall with the London Eye, Waterloo Pier, and Jubilee Gardens. County Hall is a prominent building designed and built for the London government in the Edwardian Baroque style in the 1920s. Today, County Hall is an entertainment centre comprising an aquarium, a hotel, cafes and restaurants, and is home to a collection of luxury riverside apartments. The London Eye or Millennium Wheel is the landmark observation wheel and a popular tourist attraction.

The Southbank Centre is the world-famous venue hosting ‘visual arts, theatre, dance, classical and contemporary music, literature, poetry and debate.’ It incorporates the Royal Festival Hall, The Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Purcell Room, and the Hayward Gallery. Next door to the complex is the British Film Institute and the BFI Imax cinema.

The centre delivers a rich programme of events, exhibitions, and festivals most of which are public and take place within the realm surrounding the building complex. Its river frontage is part of the tree-lined Southbank Boardwalk, which follows the Thames Path and offers unobstructed views of many historic London sites including the Houses of Parliament and St Paul’s Cathedral.

Located east of Waterloo Bridge is the National Theatre. A piece of British Modernism by the architect Denys Lasdun, the concrete structure is also one of London’s best-known Brutalist buildings. There are three very distinctive auditoriums inside the venue and a variety of public viewing terraces on the extended riverside frontage.

Gabriel’s Wharf is a charming pedestrian public square with shops, restaurants and art studios. It is part of the Coin Street neighbourhood, which supports a range of local parks, gardens, and other public services in the area. The striking Oxo Tower Wharf is in the same neighbourhood as the wonderful Bernie Spain Gardens.

The Old Vic and Young Vic are two exceptional London theatres near London Waterloo station. The Vaults, an alternative theatre space, is located in the arches in the Waterloo Station area.

The South Bank is a setting for an astonishing variety of festivals and public events-the most famous is the New Year’s Eve firework display. The Meltdown is an artist-curated music festival held in the Southbank Centre; the EGG London Jazz Festival is an opportunity to see and hear world-class jazz artists and emerging talents; the British Film Festival at the BFI is a global event celebrating film.

Also held in the South Bank are the Winter Festival, the BREW//LDN beer festival, Illuminated River, and the regular Southbank Centre Food Market.

The South Bank Transport

National Rail

London Waterloo is the third busiest transport station in the country and a major gateway into the City. Services by Southwestern Railway run trains to Bournemouth, Guildford, Portsmouth, Southampton, Windsor and many more destinations across the south and south-west.

Waterloo East Station is serviced by South-Eastern Railway running trains to the south-east of London and Kent.

Blackfriars Station is serviced by Thameslink, with trains running to Kings Lynn, Cambridge, Bedford, East Croydon, Gatwick and Brighton.

London Underground

Waterloo Station gives access to Bakerloo, Jubilee, Northern and Waterloo and City lines. Southwark Station gives access to the Jubilee line services.

River boat services

London Eye Waterloo Pier has access to commuter river boat services to Canary Wharf, Greenwich, Woolwich and Barking in one direction, and to Vauxhall, Battersea Power Station and further on along the Thames to Hampton Court Pier.

Buses – 1, 4, 26, 59, 68, 76, 77, 139, 171, 172, 176, 188, 211, 243, 341, 381, 507, 521, RV1, X68

Developments

County Hall

Southbank Place

One Blackfriars

River Court

Southbank Place

Southbank Tower

Triptych

Council

Southwark and Lambeth

Council Tax