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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Southwark
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(London SE1) One of the oldest districts of London and a focal point from Roman times, being on the bank of the Thames at the southern end of *London Bridge. The riverside area known still as *Bankside was London's entertainment district in the early 17C. With travellers arriving from the southern counties and the coast, Southwark was a place of inns. The Tabard was here, the starting point for the *Canterbury Tales; and the 17C George Inn has London's only surviving galleried courtyard, of the kind used for performances of plays before the permanent theatres were built. When Southwark was made a diocese, in 1905, the parish church of St Saviour became the cathedral; the building dates from the 13C, with an enlarged nave added in the 1890s.
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The area has been greatly enlived at the turn of the century by the opening of the *Globe theatre and Tate Modern on *Bankside.
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