Wikipedia

Old Kent Road

For the closed railway station, seeOld Kent Road railway station.For the proposed tube stations, seeBakerloo line extension.

Old Kent Road[a]is a major thoroughfare inSouth East London,England, passing through theLondon Borough of Southwark.It was originally part of anancient trackwaythat was paved by theRomansand used by theAnglo-Saxonswho named it Wæcelinga Stræt (Watling Street). It is now part of theA2,a major road from London to Dover. The road was important in Roman times linkingLondonto the coast atRichboroughandDoverviaCanterbury.It was a route for pilgrims in theMiddle Agesas portrayed inChaucer'sCanterbury Tales,when Old Kent Road was known as Kent Street. The route was used by soldiers returning from theBattle of Agincourt.

Old Kent Road
Looking south along Old Kent Road from theBricklayers Arms
Old Kent Road is located in London Borough of Southwark
Old Kent Road
Location within South East London
Former name(s)Watling Street
Part ofA2
Maintained byTransport for London
Length1.8 mi (2.9 km)
LocationSouthwark,South East London
Postal codeSE1;SE15
NearestTransport for Londonstation
Coordinates51°29′02″N0°03′59″W/ 51.48390°N 0.06635°W/51.48390; -0.06635
Other
Known for

In the 16th century, St Thomas-a-Watering on Old Kent Road was a place where religious dissenters and those found guilty oftreasonwere publicly hanged. The road was rural in nature and severalcoaching innswere built alongside it. In the 19th century, it acquired the name Old Kent Road and several industrial premises were set up to close to theSurrey Canaland a major business, the Metropolitan Gas Works was developed. In the 20th century, older property was demolished for redevelopment andBurgess Parkwas created. The Camberwell Public Baths in Old Kent Road opened in 1905 with Russian andVictorian-style Turkish baths.[2]In the 21st century, several retail parks and premises typical of out-of-town development have been built beside it while public houses have been redeveloped for other purposes.

The road is celebrated in themusic hallsong "Knocked 'em in the Old Kent Road",describing working-class London life. It is the first property, and one of the two cheapest, on the LondonMonopolyboard and the only one south of the River Thames.

Geography

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The road begins at theBricklayers Armsroundabout, where it meets theNew Kent Road,Tower Bridge Road,andGreat Dover Street.It runs southeast past Burgess Park,Christ Church, Peckhamand the railway line fromPeckham RyetoSouth Bermondsey.[3]

Just east of the railway bridge, the road crosses the boundary between theLondon boroughs of SouthwarkandLewisham,where the road ahead becomes New Cross Road. The road appears on a map to form a boundary betweenWalworth,andPeckhamto the south andBermondseyto the north, although the Bermondsey boundary runs along Rolls Road.[3]

History

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Old Kent Road, one of the oldest roads in England, was part of aCelticancient trackwaythat was paved by theRomansand recorded as Inter III on theAntonine Itinerary.[4][5]The Anglo-Saxons named it "Wæcelinga Stræt" (Watling Street). It joinedStane Street,another ancient and Roman road, at Southwark before crossing the Thames at London Bridge.[5]The Inter III was one of the most important Roman roads in Britain, linking London withCanterburyand the Channel ports atRichborough(Rutupiae); Dover (Dubris) andLympne(Lemanis).[4]Pilgrims,as documented inChaucer'sCanterbury Tales,travelled along the road from London and Southwark on their way to Canterbury.[1][b]In 1415, the road was a scene of celebrations for soldiers returning from theBattle of Agincourtheading towards London.[7]John Rocque's Map of London,published in 1746, shows hedgerows along its course.[1]The Kentish Drovers public house opened in 1840 and was so named because the road was a thoroughfare for market traffic.[8]The road was mainly rural in nature, surrounded by fields and windmills and the occasional tavern until the 19th century.[7]The name Old Kent Road came into use in the early 19th century, with the section fromBorough High Streetto theBricklayers Armsjunction retaining the name Kent Street until it was renamedTabard Streetin 1877.[9]

St Thomas-a-Watering

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The Thomas A'Becket pub was an important landmark on Old Kent Road. The building became the Nolias Gallery in 2005-2009 and now (2022) houses a Vietnamese restaurant.

The bridge at St Thomas-a-Watering over theRiver Neckingerwas at the junction with what is now Old Kent Road and Shorncliffe Road (previously Thomas Street),[10]and marked the boundary of the Archbishop of Canterbury's authority over the manors of Southwark andWalworth.[1]It was the limit of the City of London's authority in 1550, having been ratified in several charters and marked by a boundary stone set into the wall of the old fire station[11]that marked the first resting place for pilgrims while travelling to Canterbury. A nearby public house, the Thomas a Becket, at the corner of Albany Road was named after this.[1]Henry Vmet soldiers returning from Agincourt at this location in 1415.[12]Charles II's journey along the road on his way to reclaim the throne in May 1660 was described by contemporary writer and diaristJohn Evelynas "a triumph of about 20,000 horse and foote, brandishing their swords and shouting with inexpressible joy".[1]

St Thomas-a-Watering became a place of execution for criminals whose bodies were left hanging from thegibbetson the principal route from the southeast to London. On 8 July 1539, Griffith Clerke, Vicar ofWandsworthwas hanged and quartered here along with his chaplain and two others, for not acknowledging the royal supremacy ofHenry VIII.[13]The WelshProtestantmartyrJohn Penrywas also executed here on 6 April 1593;[14]a small side street nearby is named after him. The Catholic martyrsJohn JonesandJohn Rigbywere executed in 1598 and 1600 respectively.[15][16]

Rolls family

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A Southwark street commemorating Michael Searles in its name

In the early-18th century, theRolls familyof The Grange in nearby Bermondsey acquired a significant amount of land around Old Kent Road.[9]It included residential development that is nowSurrey Squareand the Paragon, which were designed byMichael Searlesin 1788.[17]The main road route gave rise toribbon developmentbecause of the increasing urbanisation of the expanding metropolitan area. In the early-20th century, social housing was built on land previously held by the family who gave away their interests for public benefit including the library at Wells Way in Burgess Park, the girls grammar school at Bricklayers Arms (St Saviour's and St Olave's School) and the Peabody Estate (Dover Flats and Waleran Flats).[18]The last significant remnant of their involvement is the detached White House between the Peabody Estate buildings, built by Searles in the 1790s. The original railings and ironwork survive in the current development at No. 155.[18]The house was later occupied by Searles and became the management office of the Rolls family trust estates.[9]The last of the male Rolls's was the HonCharles Stewart Rollswho was the pioneer motorist and aviator who formed theRolls-Roycepartnership withHenry Royce.[19]

Industrial development

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The opening of theSurrey Canalin 1811[20]changed the character of the road from rural to industrial.Tannerieswere established along it and a soap processing plant was built.[21][22]Older properties occupied by the upper and middle classes were converted into flats for the emerging working class population. By the time Bricklayers Arms goods station opened in 1845, the road was entirely built up and Old Kent Road had one of the highest population densities in Europe, with an average of 280 residents per acre.[21]Sections along the road were commercial with various market stalls and sellers until the construction of the tramway in 1871.[18][23]Camberwell Public Library No. 1, which later became theLivesey Museum for Childrenwas designed bySir George Liveseyin 1890.[24]The road's southern section remained residential throughout the 19th century. Nos. 864, 866 and 880–884 were constructed by John Lamb in 1815, and featureAmmonitecapitals,ornamental features resembling fossils, a feature also used in contemporary architecture inBrighton.[25]

The LicensedVictuallers' National Asylum (now Caroline Gardens), an extensivealmshouseestate off Old Kent Road at Asylum Road, opened in 1827. Its first patron wasPrince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussexwho was followed byPrince AlbertandPrince Edward.[1]

The Metropolitan Gas Works, identifiable by its largegasometers,was founded in 1833. It serviced an area of more than 13 square miles (34 km2), including parts of Southwark,Croydon,Newington,LambethandStreatham.Expansion of the gas works in 1868 required the demolition of Christ Church, Camberwell, which was built in 1838 and rebuilt on the opposite side of the road by Livesey.[1]The gas works was managed by Livesey from 1840 until his death in 1908. A statue of him was sited in the rear courtyard of Livesey Museum, opposite the works.[26]

During the 19th and 20th century, the industrial and working class makeup of Old Kent Road made it a haven fororganised crimeand violence. The notoriousRichardson Gangoperated in the area, andbo xingclubs became popular.Lennox Lewis' managerFrank Maloneygrew up in the area and recalled, "If you weren't into crime, people thought you were a pansy".Henry Coopertrained in the bo xing club above the Thomas a Becket pub from 1954 to 1968; he unveiled a localblue plaquethere in 2007. Draining the Surrey Canal in 1971 uncovered a number of cracked and blown safes that had been thrown in the water.[27]

Public services

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Old Kent Road railway stationat the southern end of the road opened in 1866 and closed in 1917.[25]The London City Fire Brigade opened a fire station on the road around 1868.[28]It was subsumed into the London Fire Brigade from its formation and in 1904 was replaced by a new station[29]which was in turn replaced by another on the corner of Coopers Road. The station was demolished for redevelopment in 2014 and reopened the following year.[30]


When the Old Kent Road baths were opened in 1905, the then independent Borough of Camberwell became the first London borough to provide municipal Victorian-style Turkish baths in addition to the more usual Russian vapour baths.[31]The building was designed to include two swimming pools, each measuring 75 feet (23 m) by 30 feet (9.1 m).[32]In 1913–4, they were used by 188,336 private bathers, 14,687 of whom used its Russian, Turkish,[33]or special electric baths.[34]The 1923 Municipal Year Book noted the "great success" of the Turkish and Russian baths.[35]The baths were destroyed in the Blitz just before the end of World War II.

Urban Redevelopment

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Panoramic view of Old Kent Road at Dunton Road; from far left to far right: the 'Thomas a Becket', the old Fire Station, a range of ribbon properties dating from 1784, the old Green Man and the Old Dun Cow

Unlike many places in London, the Old Kent Road area did not suffer significant bomb damage duringWorld War II.[36]In 1968, a flyover opened at the northern end allowing access toNew Kent Roadwhich catered for the main flow of traffic.[37][38]During the 1970s, run-down Victorian properties on and around Old Kent Road were demolished to make way for new housing estates.[39]Burgess Parkwas created as part of theCounty of London Planin 1943, which recommended new parkland in the area. Several tower blocks were built along the road, although some earlier 19th-century buildings, such as Nos. 360–386, survived.[40]

Public houses on Old Kent Road have been closing since the 1980s. At one point, there were 39 pubs. The Dun Cow at No. 279 opened in 1856 and was well known as agin palace,and later became achampagne barand featured DJs such asSteve WalshandRobbie Vincent.The premises closed in 2004 to become a surgery.[41]The World Turned Upside Down had been on the Old Kent Road since the 17th century, and may have been named after the discovery of Australia,Van Diemen's Land,orTierra del Fuegoin South America.[1]The pub became a music venue in the 20th century and is whereLong John Baldreygave his first live performance in 1958.[42]It closed in 2009 and is now a branch ofDomino's Pizza.[43]The Duke of Kent was converted into amosquein 1999; in 2021 the building was demolished for a purpose built mosque. The Livesey Museum for Children closed in 2008 owing to council budget cuts and is now used for short term accommodation.[44]

Southwark Borough Council do not consider Old Kent Road to fit the characteristics of an urban town centre, and consequently large retail parks more in character with out-of-town schemes have been developed including a largeAsdasuperstore,B&Qstore,Halfords,MagnetandPC World.[45]Southwark Council have begun consultations on plans to redevelop much of the area, known as the Old Kent Road Area Action Plan.[46]This master plan would mimic similar regeneration projects in other London neighbourhoods such asElephant & Castle,[47]Nine ElmsandCanada Water.The consultations centre on a vision to open four new Bakerloo lineLondon Undergroundstations along the road route, beginning at Bricklayers Arms, as well as 20,000 new homes, a further education college, a health centre and a number of primary and secondary schools.[48]Officials have also suggested the development of a "green spine" of parks and green spaces along the mostly disused Surrey Canal.[49]

Cultural references

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Income Tax
Pay £200 		Whitechapel Road
£60 		Community Chest Old Kent Road
£60 		Collect
£200 Salary
As You Pass
GO
A segment of a BritishMonopolyboard, showing Old Kent Road andWhitechapel Road

Old Kent Road is the first property square on the BritishMonopolyboard, priced at £60 and forming the brown set along with the similarly working-classWhitechapel Road.It is the only square on the board in South London and south of the Thames.[24][50]

The road makes several appearances in literature. InCharles Dickens'David Copperfield,the titular character runs down the road trying to escape from London to Dover, though in the narrative the street is still partly rural in nature.[7]A public garden on theNew Kent Roadis named David Copperfield's Garden to mark a spot where the character stopped on his journey[51]and a quote from his aunt is inlaid on the path through the park. In 1985, the BBC arts seriesArenaincluded a documentary about the road.[52]

The road is mentioned in the title of the music hall song "Knocked 'em in the Old Kent Road".It was written in 1891 byAlbert Chevalier,who was the lyricist and original performer; the music was written by his brotherCharles Ingle.[53]The song was popularised byShirley Temple's performance in the 1939 filmA Little Princess[54]The street is mentioned multiple times in theMadnesssong "Calling Cards", a song about running an illegitimate business "in a sorting office in the Old Kent Road".[55]It is featured in the chorus of theLevellers' song "Cardboard Box City", which criticises the slow action on helping the homeless in London, specifically Old Kent Road being infrequently visited by the wealthy due to its being south of the Thames.[56]British girl groupGirls Aloudrefer to running down the road in the lyrics to their 2005 single "Long Hot Summer".[57]

References

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Notes

  1. ^Though official maps refer to "Old Kent Road", some print media uses "the Old Kent Road".[1]
  2. ^The prologue, which reads "And forth we ridden a litel more than pas; Unto the watering of Seint Thomas; And then our host began his hors arrest" refers to the stop along the road.[6]

Citations

  1. ^abcdefghiWalford, Edward (1878)."The Old Kent Road".Old and New London.Vol. 6. London. pp. 248–255.Archivedfrom the original on 4 July 2015.Retrieved3 July2015.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^Gordon & Inglis 2009,p. 111.
  3. ^ab"London South" (Map).1:25 000 Explorer.Ordnance Survey. 2015. 161.
  4. ^abThomas Reynolds (1799).Iter Britanniarum.J. Burges. pp.66–67.
  5. ^abM.C. Bishop (28 February 2014).The Secret History of the Roman Roads of Britain.Pen and Sword. p. 41.ISBN9781473837256.Archivedfrom the original on 15 January 2023.Retrieved25 September2020.
  6. ^English Heritage 2009,p. 9.
  7. ^abcMoore 2003,p. 309.
  8. ^English Heritage 2009,p. 108.
  9. ^abcDarlington, Ida (1955)."Tabard Street and the Old Kent Road".Survey of London.25, St George's Fields (The Parishes of St. George the Martyr Southwark and St. Mary Newington). London: 121–126.Archivedfrom the original on 17 April 2022.Retrieved24 April2022.
  10. ^A. D. Mills (11 March 2010).A Dictionary of London Place-Names.Oxford University Press. p. 173.ISBN978-0-19-956678-5.
  11. ^Johnson, David (1969).Southwark and the City.Oxford University Press. p. 118.
  12. ^Wheatley, Henry (1904).The Story of London.M. Dent & Co.
  13. ^Walford, Edward (1878)."Wandsworth".Old and New London.6:479–489.Archivedfrom the original on 1 July 2021.Retrieved27 July2015.
  14. ^"Pilgrim Fathers".London Borough of Southwark. Archived fromthe originalon 24 September 2015.Retrieved3 August2015.
  15. ^Butler, Alban; Burns, Paul (1995).Butler's Lives of the Saints.Vol. 7. A&C Black. p. 89.ISBN978-0-860-12256-2.
  16. ^Butler, Alban (1981).Butler's Lives of the saints.Vol. 3. Christian Classics. p. 87.
  17. ^Cherry & Pevsner 1983,p. 596.
  18. ^abcEnglish Heritage 2009,p. 8.
  19. ^Moore 2003,p. 310.
  20. ^A New British Atlas: Comprising a Series of 54 Maps, Constructed from the Most Recent Surveys and Engraved by Sidney Hall.Chapman V. Hall. 1836. p. 208.
  21. ^abMoore 2003,p. 311.
  22. ^The Volta Review.Volta Bureau. 1927. p. 36.
  23. ^"Metropolitan Tramways".The Railway News.17.London: 511–512. June 1872.Retrieved11 September2015.
  24. ^abWeinreb et al 2008,p. 600.
  25. ^abEnglish Heritage 2009,p. 107.
  26. ^Mills, Mary (January 2004)."The Gas Workers Strike in South London".Greenwich Industrial History.7(1). Goldsmiths College, London. Archived fromthe originalon 12 May 2004.Retrieved10 August2015.
  27. ^Moore 2003,p. 317.
  28. ^Nadal 2006,p. 67.
  29. ^Nadal 2006,p. 104.
  30. ^"Old Kent Road's new fire station opens as rebuild work begins at Dockhead fire station".London Fire Brigade News.25 March 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 29 July 2015.Retrieved10 August2015.
  31. ^'New baths for Camberwell'Daily Telegraph(19 Oct 1905) p.12
  32. ^The Surveyor and Municipal and County Engineer.1904. p. 850.
  33. ^"VICTORIAN TURKISH BATHS: Camberwell Turkish Baths: the cooling-room, 1905".Victorianturkishbath.org. 17 April 2001.Archivedfrom the original on 10 December 2015.Retrieved26 September2015.
  34. ^Skoski 2000,p. 165.
  35. ^The Municipal Year Book of the United Kingdom.Municipal Journal. 1923. p. 214.Archivedfrom the original on 15 January 2023.Retrieved12 October2016.
  36. ^Moore 2003,p. 323.
  37. ^Moore 2003,p. 324.
  38. ^"New Kent Road/Old Kent Road, London: flyover at Bricklayers Arms intersection".The National Archives.1968. MT 118/409.Archivedfrom the original on 26 January 2016.Retrieved27 August2015.
  39. ^Platt 2015,p. 43.
  40. ^English Heritage 2009,p. 48.
  41. ^Lock & Baxter 2014,p. 157.
  42. ^Frame 1999,p. 94.
  43. ^Lock & Baxter 2014,p. 156.
  44. ^Livesey Building FAQs(Report). London Borough of Southwark Council. pp. 1–2.Archivedfrom the original on 24 September 2015.Retrieved11 September2015.
  45. ^Retail Background Paper(Report). Southwark London Borough Council. March 2010. p. 39. CDB5. Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2016.Retrieved27 August2015.
  46. ^"Home".Old Kent Road.Archivedfrom the original on 14 December 2018.Retrieved14 December2018.
  47. ^"Elephant & Castle Partnership".Elephant and Castle.Archivedfrom the original on 14 December 2018.Retrieved14 December2018.
  48. ^"Would you like a new town in Old Kent Road?".South London News.Archivedfrom the original on 2 December 2018.Retrieved5 February2018.
  49. ^https:// homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/buying/new-homes/where-to-buy-a-home-near-southeast-londons-bakerloo-line-extension-a116716.htmlArchived6 February 2018 at theWayback Machine,Get the inside track: where to buy a home near south-east London's Bakerloo extension – Evening Standard
  50. ^Moore 2003,p. 291.
  51. ^"Inventory Site Record".Archivedfrom the original on 6 May 2021.Retrieved17 July2021.
  52. ^"Old Kent Road (Arena)".London Screen Archives.Archivedfrom the original on 4 February 2016.Retrieved29 August2015.
  53. ^Bratton 1986,p. 19.
  54. ^Constable 2007,p. 110.
  55. ^"Calling Cards".Madness (official website).Archivedfrom the original on 29 November 2015.Retrieved1 September2015.
  56. ^"Cardboard Box City".Levellers Tabs.Archivedfrom the original on 27 January 2016.Retrieved1 September2015.
  57. ^Girls Aloud – Long Hot Summer,archivedfrom the original on 30 June 2020,retrieved30 June2020

Sources

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