Waterloo Road, London
Encyclopedia
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
and Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England. It runs between Westminster Bridge Road
Westminster Bridge Road
Westminster Bridge Road is a short, but busy, road in London, England. It runs on an east-west axis and passes through the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark....
close to St George's Circus
St George's Circus
St George's Circus is a road junction in Southwark, London, England. At its centre, which is now a traffic roundabout, is a historic obelisk, designed by Robert Mylne , in his role as surveyor and architect of Blackfriars Bridge.-History:...
at the south-east end and Waterloo Bridge
Waterloo Bridge
Waterloo Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, England between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge. The name of the bridge is in memory of the British victory at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815...
across the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
towards London's West End
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
district at the north-west end.
At the northern end near the river are the Queen Elizabeth Hall
Queen Elizabeth Hall
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is a music venue on the South Bank in London, United Kingdom that hosts daily classical, jazz, and avant-garde music and dance performances. The QEH forms part of Southbank Centre arts complex and stands alongside the Royal Festival Hall, which was built for the Festival...
and the Hayward Gallery
Hayward Gallery
The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre, part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames, in central London, England. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings and also the Royal National Theatre and British Film Institute...
to the west, the National Film Theatre below the road, and the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
to the east. In earlier times, this was the location of Cuper's Gardens
Cuper's Gardens
Cuper's Gardens were an 18th century tea garden on the south side of the River Thames in Lambeth, London, looking over to Somerset House near where Waterloo Bridge is located .The gardens opened in the 1680s and were named after the original proprietor, Abraham Boydell Cuper, the...
.
Just to the south in the middle of a large roundabout
Roundabout
A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...
with underground walkways is the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
(BFI) London IMAX
London IMAX
The London IMAX is an IMAX cinema in the South Bank district of London, England, just north of Waterloo Station. It is operated by the British Film Institute.The cinema is located in the centre of a roundabout on Waterloo Road...
Cinema. Nearby to the east is the James Clerk Maxwell Building of King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
, named in honour of the physicist James Clerk Maxwell
James Clerk Maxwell
James Clerk Maxwell of Glenlair was a Scottish physicist and mathematician. His most prominent achievement was formulating classical electromagnetic theory. This united all previously unrelated observations, experiments and equations of electricity, magnetism and optics into a consistent theory...
(1831–1879), who was a professor at the college from 1860.
A little further to the south is St John's Waterloo church, designed by Francis Octavius Bedford
Francis Octavius Bedford
-Life:In 1812-13 Francis Bedford made a tour of classical antiquities in Greece, Turkey, Italy and Sicily on behalf of the Society of Dilettanti, in the company of Sir William Gell, Keppel Craven and John Peter Gandy...
and built in 1824 to celebrate the victory of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. The church was firebombed in 1940 and much of the interior was destroyed. It was restored and reopened in 1951, serving as the parish church for the Festival of Britain
Festival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition in Britain in the summer of 1951. It was organised by the government to give Britons a feeling of recovery in the aftermath of war and to promote good quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities. The Festival's centrepiece was in...
on the South Bank
South Bank
South Bank is an area of London, England located immediately adjacent to the south side of the River Thames. It forms a long and narrow section of riverside development that is within the London Borough of Lambeth to the border with the London Borough of Southwark and was formerly simply known as...
nearby.
Continuing south, to the west is Waterloo Station
Waterloo station
Waterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. The station is owned and operated by Network Rail and is close to the South Bank of the River Thames, and in Travelcard Zone 1....
. To the east is the Union Jack Club
Union Jack Club
The Union Jack Club is a residential London club for members and veterans of the British Armed Services , including serving members of the Volunteer Reserve Forces, below commissioned rank...
in Sandell Street and, further on, the well-known and historic Old Vic Theatre to the south of the corner with The Cut
The Cut (London)
The Cut is a street in Lambeth and Southwark, London. It runs between Waterloo Road and Blackfriars Road . At the western end to the south is the well-established Old Vic Theatre and half way along on the north side is the more experimental Young Vic. Opposite the Young Vic is Short Street which...
. Also located even further south in Waterloo Road on the west side is the headquarters of the London Ambulance Service
London Ambulance Service
The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust is the largest "free at the point of contact" emergency ambulance service in the world. It responds to medical emergencies in Greater London, England, with the ambulances and other response vehicles and over 5,000 staff at its disposal.It is one of 12...
. On the opposite side is 157 Partnership House, former headquarters of USPG
USPG
The USPG or United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel is a 300-year-old Anglican missionary organization, formed originally as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts in 1701...
, CMS
Church Mission Society
The Church Mission Society, also known as the Church Missionary Society, is a group of evangelistic societies working with the Anglican Communion and Protestant Christians around the world...
and other church mission/community-based organisations. Now boarded up and ready for redevelopment.
The road is designated as the A301, which continues across Waterloo Bridge.
Adjoining roads
- Baylis RoadBaylis RoadBaylis Road is a thoroughfare in Lambeth, London SE1, England running between Westminster Bridge Road to the South-West and Waterloo Road to the North-East....
- The CutThe Cut (London)The Cut is a street in Lambeth and Southwark, London. It runs between Waterloo Road and Blackfriars Road . At the western end to the south is the well-established Old Vic Theatre and half way along on the north side is the more experimental Young Vic. Opposite the Young Vic is Short Street which...
- Stamford StreetStamford StreetStamford Street is a street in Lambeth and Southwark, London England, just south of the River Thames. It runs between Waterloo Road to the west and Blackfriars Road to the east. At the western end, in the middle of a large roundabout, is the British Film Institute London IMAX Cinema...
- Westminster Bridge RoadWestminster Bridge RoadWestminster Bridge Road is a short, but busy, road in London, England. It runs on an east-west axis and passes through the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark....
- York RoadYork Road, LambethYork Road is a road in Lambeth, London running between Westminster Bridge Road and Waterloo Road . To the west is the old County Hall, Shell Centre, Jubilee Gardens and, beyond, the London Eye and the River Thames. Waterloo Station is located on the road's eastern edge, as well as the former...
- St George's CircusSt George's CircusSt George's Circus is a road junction in Southwark, London, England. At its centre, which is now a traffic roundabout, is a historic obelisk, designed by Robert Mylne , in his role as surveyor and architect of Blackfriars Bridge.-History:...
External links
- Survey of London entry (1951)
- Waterloo Quarter Business Alliance — official Business Improvement District website