Ria

Michael Faraday Memorial substation

Pullens Estate · 0.1 miles

A stainless-steel box sits on Elephant Square at the northern side of the Elephant and Castle gyratory, commemorating the Victorian scientist Michael Faraday. Designed by modern-movement architect Rodney Gordon in 1959 and erected in 1961, the structure occupies the centre of what was formerly a roundabout. Inside the metal casing lies a London Underground electrical substation that powers the Northern and Bakerloo lines, a fitting tribute to a pioneer of electricity. The original concept called for glass panels so that the transformer work could be seen, but concerns about vandalism led to the current metal cladding. The monument carries an inscription set into the surrounding concrete paving, identifying it as the Faraday Memorial. Since being granted Grade II listed status in 1996, it has been fitted with a series of lighting schemes: a school-girl-designed installation from a 1996 Blue Peter competition, and a “disco” theme introduced by Southwark Council in May 2012 that illuminates the box each evening after dark. Although early-2000s regeneration plans considered relocating the monument 400 metres to Walworth Road, the scheme was abandoned and the memorial remains in its original position, now more readily reachable after the roundabout was “peninsulised”. Visitors can view the monument at any time without charge; it is openly visible from the surrounding streets and pedestrian routes. Access is straightforward via the Northern and Bakerloo Underground lines, whose tunnels the substation serves, and the site is operated by London Underground as part of the public transport infrastructure.

The Cinema Museum

Kennington · 0.6 miles

Building name is The Lambeth Workhouse. Constructed in 1873. The building was eventually turned into a hospital. The workhouse's former master's house and chapel are now occupied by the Cinema Museum which is a grade II listed building.

Bricklayers Arms Roundabout

Southwark · 0.6 miles

A complex road junction in south London merges a four-way green roundabout with an elevated flyover and a one-way bypass lane, linking the A2 and the London Inner Ring Road where Bermondsey, Walworth and Elephant & Castle meet. The roundabout sits at the convergence of Tower Bridge Road, Old Kent Road, New Kent Road and Great Dover Street, and can be reached from any of these routes. Pedestrians can cross the surrounding streets via pelican crossings that have been in place since 2009, while the former underpasses that once connected to a proposed Bakerloo line extension were filled and levelled in 2013, creating broader paved walkways around the green space. The site is recorded as a park on OpenStreetMap and falls within the Southwark area. The name derives from a coaching inn that occupied the location for more than six centuries, its sign displaying the coat of arms of the Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers. Excavations during the inn’s 1890s reconstruction uncovered very old foundations and a hoard of ancient coins. After the mid-18th-century construction of Westminster Bridge and New Kent Road, the inn served as a stop for coaches travelling between the City of London and the West End, particularly those heading to Kent’s brick-producing towns. The junction’s modern layout was authorised by the London County Council in December 1962, with construction commencing in 1967 and involving demolition of buildings on the three main roads. There is no admission charge, and the green central island provides a brief respite for motorists and walkers alike. The surrounding streets give direct access to local amenities, and the area remains a focal point for traffic moving between the south-east quadrant of the orbital motorway and the bridges west of London Bridge.

Gordon Museum

Borough Market · 0.6 miles

A collection of human pathological specimens, the Gordon Museum of Pathology forms part of King’s College London’s medical teaching facilities. Situated on the Guy’s Campus near Borough Market, the museum holds roughly 8,000 items, ranging from early specimens dating to about 1608 to historic artefacts such as Joseph Lister’s antiseptic spray and Thomas Hodgkin’s first stethoscope used in England. Highlights include the original kidneys, adrenal glands and lymph nodes that enabled Thomas Hodgkin, Thomas Addison and Richard Bright to describe the eponymous diseases, as well as Joseph Towne’s anatomical wax models and Lam Qua’s pre-operative tumour paintings. The collection also contains the mummified remains of Alan Billis, a former taxi driver who participated in research on ancient Egyptian mummification. The museum opened in 1905 on King’s Guy’s Campus after a donation from the lawyer Robert Gordon and was intended solely as a teaching resource. Specimens began to be gathered in 1802 under the first medical curator Thomas Hodgkin, forming the basis of the museum when the first medical school opened in 1826. By 1829 the collection numbered about 3,000 exhibits, and contemporary reports in 1861 placed it among the nation’s foremost medical collections. Admission is free, although the museum is not generally open to the public and access is limited to educational use within the college.

Winchester Palace

Borough Market · 0.6 miles

Constructed in the 12th century, the former bishop’s palace once formed the London townhouse of the Bishops of Winchester. Its remains sit on Clink Street in the London Borough of Southwark, opposite the City of London and close to Southwark Cathedral, with the nearest market being Borough Market. The surviving fragments are Grade II listed, designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and cared for by English Heritage. The palace originated under Henry of Blois as a high-status residence for the bishop, who also acted as the king’s royal treasurer. A 17th-century remodel added Corinthian columns and pilasters, work attributed to Edward Strong the Elder. Occupancy continued until around 1700, after which the buildings were split into tenements and warehouses; a fire in 1814 destroyed most of these later structures. Visible today are part of the great hall, thought to date from about 1136, and the west gable end with a rose-window added in the 14th century, possibly by Bishop William of Wykeham. Beneath the hall lay a richly decorated vaulted cellar with direct river-bank access, and the complex once surrounded two courtyards and included a prison, brewery, butchery, garden, tennis court and bowling alley. Royal guests such as King James I of Scotland attended a 1424 wedding here, and during the Civil War Sir Thomas Ogle was imprisoned on the site. The archaeological site is administered by the Bankside Open Spaces Trust, with limited wheelchair access. As a scheduled monument, the remains are open to the public under the stewardship of English Heritage, and can be reached on foot from the surrounding Southwark streets.

London Fire Brigade Pop-up Museum

Lambeth · 1.2 miles

A collection of more than 20,000 objects, ranging from leather fire hoses to fine-art paintings, records the development of firefighting in London since the Great Fire of 1666. The items were formerly displayed in Winchester House, the former residence of Captain Sir Eyre Massey Shaw, who served as Superintendent of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade. Winchester House functioned as the London Fire Brigade headquarters until 1937, when King George VI inaugurated a new building on the Albert Embankment on the south bank of the Thames. The museum closed to the public in September 2015, after which the artefacts were audited and placed in storage while plans for a dedicated new museum were pursued. In July 2015 the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority attached the provision of a new museum and an accompanying fire station to the sale and redevelopment of the old Albert Embankment headquarters in Lambeth. Although an opening was originally projected for 2023, the museum remained closed in 2025 and the entire collection is now accessible only in digital form. Temporary exhibitions, outreach visits and educational events have been used to present parts of the collection across London, and the institution continues to commemorate milestones such as the 150th anniversary of the brigade. The site is currently listed on OpenStreetMap as the London Fire Brigade Pop-up Museum, classified as a museum with Lambeth recorded as the nearest town. Wheelchair access is limited and opening times are published on the listing, though no further visitor facilities are described.