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London | Southwark
The County of London was formed in 1889 from parts of the ancient counties of Middlesex, Kent and Surrey, with the City of London remaining an independent body. In 1965 Greater London was formed, taking in the rest of Middlesex (which no longer existed as a county) together with parts of Essex and Hertfordshire and further areas of Kent and Surrey.



 Greater London is made up of 13 Inner and 19 Outer London boroughs together with the City of London.



 Southwark once lay in Surrey and Kent is today one of the 13 boroughs making up Inner London. Its northern border lies on the River Thames, on the opposite bank to the City of London.

London Boroughs

Actors and Directors
The actor Boris Karloff was born as William Henry Pratt at 36 Forest Hill Road in East Dulwich in 1887. In 1909 he emigrated to Canada before moving to Hollywood where he starred in many classic horror films such as Frankenstein in 1931 and The Mummy in 1932 securing a reputation as Hollywood's biggest star in the genre. He returned to live in England in the 1950s.

Boris Karloff



 The film comedian and director Charlie Chaplin was born as Charles Spencer Chaplin in Kennington in 1889. He emigrated to the United States in 1910 on the same ship as Stan Laurel who had acted as his understudy.

In 1914 Chaplin arrived in Hollywood and over the next decades became one of the major stars of the silent movie age, providing him with the money and power to be a co-founder of United Artists. In 1928 The Circus won him an Academy Award. In the 1950s Chaplin returned to Europe disillusioned with America's preoccupation with anti-Communism and made his home in Vevey in Switzerland. He died there in 1977.

Charles Chaplin

Places of Interest

Cathedrals and Abbeys
 Southwark Cathedral has had cathedral status since 1905 due to London's rapidly increasing population in the 19th century. Parts of the building date back into the 13th century and the site is the location of earlier churches from the first millennium. Also known as the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie (Overie = "over the river") it stands on the opposite bank of the Thames to the City of London at the location of London's oldest river crossing.

 Cathedrals of England and Wales

Historic Buildings
The Globe Theatre is a reconstruction of the theatre in which Shakespeare had shares, acted and had many of his plays performed. The original theatre burnt down during a performance of "Henry VIII" in 1613.

 William Shakespeare
 William Shakespeare
 Shakespeare -The Early Years
Shakespeare - The Later Years
 British Library - The Plays


Historic Locations

Nunhead Cemetery was opened in 1840 the fourth of what became known as the "Magnificent Seven", seven new London cemeteries needed due to the booming population of London. All were built within a decade: the first in 1832, Kensall Green Cemetery, and the last Tower Hamlets Cemetery in 1841.



Prime Ministers
Prime Ministers

21st Century
Keir Starmer was elected Prime Minister in 2024 after 14 years of Conservative rule. He was born in Southwark in 1962.

Keir Starmer


Royal Consorts and Heirs

House of York
Catherine of Valois died in childbirth in 1437 at Bermondsey Abbey. Born in Paris in 1401 she had married Henry V at Troyes in 1420 and in 1421 given birth to the future Henry VI. When her husband died in 1422 she secretly married Owen Tudor and their grandson was the future Henry VII, the first Tudor King of England. She is buried at Westminster Abbey.

Catherine of Valois
 Royal consorts buried at Westminster Abbey



 Elizabeth Woodville, Queen to Edward IV, died in 1492 at Bermondsey Abbey. She is buried in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. She was Queen until her husband's death in 1483 and was the mother to Edward V.

Elizabeth Woodville
 Royal consorts buried at Windsor




Writers and Poets
The poet Robert Browning was born in Camberwell in 1812.

Robert Browning


Never the time and the place
And the loved one all together!
Never the Time and the Place (1842)

Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what's a heaven for?
Andrea del Sarto (1855)

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