The Journal

The story of South London will most probably forever be linked to the most famous of all the capital’s landmarks – The Thames – the great river that runs through it. Historically, the land on the south banks was where large swathes of industrial areas emerged as the river became easier to cross in the 18th and 19th centuries. This made it possible for the docks to be built and for the city to become the giant of industrialisation and trade that we all recognise in the modern world. Neighbourhoods such as Southwark, Lambeth and Bermondsey were adopted as new homes for the workers, while the leafier suburbs of Blackheath, Wimbledon and Dulwich represented the more affluent middle classes and nobility that followed.