London Districts: Bermondsey (Documentary)

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Bermondsey is a district within the London Borough of Southwark in south-east London. It is surrounded by Rotherhithe, Deptford, Walworth and Peckham.

By the late 19th century, Bermondsey had become synonymous with manufacturing. From 1866, Bermondsey was known as Biscuit Town owing to the presence of Peek, Frean and Co.

Bermondsey has always been associated with the tough working classes but has evolved in recent decades into a mixture of local authority housing and luxury apartments. It now contains some of the Capital’s priciest properties, particularly when overlooking the Thames.

By the 19th century, this part of London had become a slum and was notoriously dangerous. It was widely regarded as one of the worst areas of London. Charles Dickens was a former resident and used his experiences and local knowledge to depict his novel ‘Oliver Twist’ from here. It was in St Saviour's Dock that villain Bill Sykes met his grizzly end.

This is an area steeped in history, documented back to the Domesday Book of 1086. Until 1889, it was officially within the county of Surrey. In addition to the Thames, it hosts another river which is largely enclosed now.

The Neckinger rises in Southwark and flows one and a half miles into the Thames at St Saviour's Dock. The name 'Neckinger' is believed to be a derivative of the phrase ‘devils neckcloth', a colloquialism for hangman’s noose. Many pirates were hung here in the 17th century in full view of other river users as a warning to keep within the Kings Law.

Tower Bridge forms a border between Bermondsey and Southwark and is perhaps one of the most iconic bridges in the World as well as a globally recognised symbol of London. It took 8 years to build between 1886 and 1894. It’s two raising platforms, or Bascules, raise to give a width of 200 feet and a headroom of 135 feet to allow access for taller ships to the dock of London. It is raised over a 1000 times a year and is crossed daily by over 40,000 motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. It has an upper level walkway, originally intended to enable workers to continually traverse the river if the bridge was raised. Now used by sightseers, it has a glass floor 137 feet above the water.

Shad Thames offers premium boutique shopping with bars and restaurants as well as offering great views of St Katherine’s Dock and Wapping. It's also home to the Design Museum.