History
Before the building of Westminster Bridge, Borough High Street was the only connection to London, north of the river, from the south. As a major communications node for traffic between London and Portsmouth, Dover, south-east England generally and also travellers from Europe, Borough High Street had many coaching inns. These were of considerable size, with courtyard and surrounding multi-tier galleries. There were twenty-three in total, including the Bear, the Queen's Head, the King's Head, the Catherine Wheel, the Tabard, the White Hart, and the George. Many of them dated back originally to the mediæval period, and were in use as coaching inns up to the mid nineteenth century, when this mode of transport was superseded by the railway. These inns were very famous and receive mention in the work of such literary giants as Chaucer, Shakespeare and Charles Dickens, though are now all gone - apart from the George.
From the twelfth century to 1862 St. Thomas' Hospital lay to the east of Borough High Street with Guy's Hospital adjacent.
On the west side of the street the modern office block called Brandon House at 180 Borough High Street (opposite Borough tube station) marks the site of a mansion called Suffolk Place, demolished in 1557. It is depicted by Anthony van den Wyngaerde's sixteenth century Panorama of London, which features Borough High Street prominently in the foreground of the picture. After demolition the site of the mansion and the area to the west of Borough High Street here became notorious as the criminal enclave of The Mint.
The infamous Marshalsea and King's Bench Prisons were also located on Borough High Street.
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