walk/tour
Camberwell Green, SE5 8RT
Marking the 60th anniversary of London’s 32 boroughs, this walking tour explores the evolution of local government through the story of Camberwell. It charts the development of institutions in response to intense social and economic change to shape the city we know today. We will celebrate the visible reminders of this history in the streets around us and ask: why does this matter to Londoners today?
Elephant & Castle, Oval, Vauxhall
Denmark Hill, Loughborough Junction
12, 148, 171, 176, 185, 345, 35, 36, 40, 45, 463, 468, 68
Camberwell is on a number of bus routes from tube and mainline services at Vauxhall and Elephant & Castle, and overground at Denmark Hill.
Many parts of the tour are in residential areas with limited places to sit down. There are some toilets near the start and end of the walk.
Walking tour
18:30–20:30
How to book
Please create a free visitor account to book your festival tickets.
The tour will follow the chronology of London’s government as it developed, guided by the physical reminders it has left behind. We will walk through a familiar neighbourhood from the perspective of the different bodies that shaped it - and the people who shaped it in return. We will travel from the early parish vestries to the Victorian Metropolitan Board of Works, onward to the London County Council and the Metropolitan Boroughs, and through to the boroughs that we know today.
Choosing this area is, in part, an attempt to bring back into our consciousness the Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell (1900 to 1965). It once covered much of what we now know as Southwark: from the Old Kent Road in the north to Peckham in the east, and down to Crystal Palace in the south. However, like many of the 28 metropolitan boroughs that governed inner London during a pivotal 65 years in the city's history, these bodies – and their often pioneering, progressive legacies – were written out of history by a stroke of the administrative pen with the abolition of the London County Council in 1965. Compact and rich in history, Camberwell is the perfect place to tell this undertold story of London's local government.
Only by knowing where we started can we begin to understand the model of government that we have today. For the most part, it is a history shaped more by circumstance than by design. As institutions rose and fell in influence over the years it became a story of politics, people, and power – one that can teach us much about how we live in and govern the city today.
Polly Bass works in housing in local government and has a background in history, social policy, and urbanism. She joined Open City’s Golden Key Academy to share the joys of London’s municipal and lived histories with new audiences.
The Golden Key Academy is a course training up insightful and engaging guides dedicated to explaining London and bringing its many stories to life. It is part of a wider collection of tours created by Golden Key Academy guides for the Open House Festival celebrating their conclusion of the eight month course.
Further information on the Golden Key Academy can be found here https://open-city.org.uk/golden-key-academy
