Whose Heritage? The Southwark Experience

Southwark has a very rich history. In Medieval times, there were tidal mills for tanning, dyeing and brewing, and a market. Chaucer used Southwark as the beginning of the pilgrims' journey in The Canterbury Tales. By early modern times, the area was one of gambling, bear baiting, brothels and theatres. The Clink and other prisons were used for keeping religious heretics. In the nineteenth century, Charles Dickens's father was imprisoned for debt in the Marshalsea and Dickens himself lived and worked in the area as a child.

Where is this local heritage? It can turn up in some surprising places. We will walk around the area to see the sites and discuss the issues raised. The day ends at the site of the Crossbones Graveyard to see how a democratic heritage can be created to challenge the notion of an officially authorised heritage.