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Southwark

Areas of LondonDistricts of London on the River ThamesDistricts of the London Borough of SouthwarkHistory of the City of LondonMarket towns in Surrey
Pages including recorded pronunciationsUse British English from September 2015
Southwark Cathedral, 24th floor
Southwark Cathedral, 24th floor

Southwark ( (listen) SUDH-ərk) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed due to its position at the southern end of the early versions of London Bridge, the only crossing point for many miles. London’s historic core, the City of London, lay north of the Bridge and for centuries the area of Southwark just south of the bridge was governed by the City. By the 12th century Southwark had been incorporated as an ancient borough, and this historic status is reflected in the alternative name of the area, as Borough. The ancient borough of Southwark's river frontage extended from the modern borough boundary, just to the west of by the Oxo Tower, to St Saviour's Dock (originally the mouth of the River Neckinger) in the east. The urban area expanded over the years and Southwark was separated from the City in 1900. Local points of interest include Southwark Cathedral, Borough Market, Shakespeare's Globe theatre, The Shard, Tower Bridge, Butler's Wharf and the City Hall offices of the Greater London Authority from 2002 to 2021.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Southwark (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Southwark
Tabard Street, London Borough (London Borough of Southwark)

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Wikipedia: SouthwarkContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.4988 ° E -0.0901 °
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Address

Becket House

Tabard Street
SE1 4XZ London, Borough (London Borough of Southwark)
England, United Kingdom
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Southwark Cathedral, 24th floor
Southwark Cathedral, 24th floor
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Marshalsea
Marshalsea

The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners, including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition, it became known, in particular, for its incarceration of the poorest of London's debtors. Over half the population of England's prisoners in the 18th century were in jail because of debt.Run privately for profit, as were all English prisons until the 19th century, the Marshalsea looked like an Oxbridge college and functioned as an extortion racket. Debtors in the 18th century who could afford the prison fees had access to a bar, shop and restaurant, and retained the crucial privilege of being allowed out during the day, which gave them a chance to earn money for their creditors. Everyone else was crammed into one of nine small rooms with dozens of others, possibly for years for the most modest of debts, which increased as unpaid prison fees accumulated. The poorest faced starvation and, if they crossed the jailers, torture with skullcaps and thumbscrews. A parliamentary committee reported in 1729 that 300 inmates had starved to death within a three-month period, and that eight to ten were dying every 24 hours in the warmer weather.The prison became known around the world in the 19th century through the writing of the English novelist Charles Dickens, whose father was sent there in 1824, when Dickens was 12, for a debt to a baker. Forced as a result to leave school to work in a factory, Dickens based several of his characters on his experience, most notably Amy Dorrit, whose father is in the Marshalsea for debts so complex no one can fathom how to get him out.Much of the prison was demolished in the 1870s, although parts of it were used as shops and rooms into the 20th century. A local library now stands on the site. All that is left of the Marshalsea is the long brick wall that marked its southern boundary, the existence of what Dickens called "the crowding ghosts of many miserable years" recalled only by a plaque from the local council. "[I]t is gone now," he wrote, "and the world is none the worse without it."