Broken Bottles Research

As we all do, these days. First stop in finding information about anything in the world: WIKIPEDIA!!!

Interesting information I found within the Wikipedia article:

"Elephant and Castle" has largely replaced the original name of the area — Newington.

In the middle of the northern roundabout is the Michael Faraday Memorial, a large stainless steel box built in honour of Michael Faraday, who was born nearby. His name does not appear on the structure, but there is an inscription in the ground nearby.

Famous former residents include Charlie Chaplin and Michael Caine, who were born and grew up locally. Electronic musician Aphex Twin lives in a converted bank in the area.

Known previously as Newington (Newington Butts and Newington Causeway are two of the principal roads of the area), it was in the mediaeval period simply a part of rural Surrey, of the manor of Walworth. This is listed in the Domesday Book as belonging to the Archbishop of Canterbury; the income from its rents and tithes supplied the monks at Christ Church Canterbury with their clothing; a 'church' is also mentioned. However, the parish was called 'St Mary, Newington'. That church occupied the site of the current leisure centre, next to the Tabernacle, being first recorded by name in 1222.

In May 1557, William Morant, Stephen Gratwick, and a man named King (known as the Southwark Martyrs), were burnt at the stake in St. George's Field on the site of the present Tabernacle during the Marian Persecutions.[1]

Further about regeneration of the area:

The area is now subject to a masterplanned redevelopment budgeted at £1.5 billion. A Development Framework was approved by Southwark Council in 2004. It covers an area of 170 acres (688,000 m²) and envisages restoring the Elephant and Castle to the role of major urban hub for inner South London which it occupied before World War II. Planned features include:

800,000 square feet (75,000 m²) of retail space (far larger than the existing shopping centre)
5,300 new and replacement homes
five new open spaces
an integrated public transport hub
a new Academy
a new library.
Elephant and Castle was to have been served by the Cross-River Tram scheme, which under Boris Johnson has now been cancelled.

There will be major changes to the road intersection designed to make the area more pedestrian-friendly. Walworth Road is to be expanded to the north through the site of the present shopping centre, which will be demolished. This will create a pedestrianised boulevard to what is now the northern roundabout. Two skyscrapers will flank the boulevard and the roundabout will be turned into a public square. A substantial amount of post-World War II social housing which is deemed to have failed will be demolished, including the Heygate Estate. This will be replaced with new housing developments consisting of a mix of social and private-sector housing. There have also been moves to protect the last of the architecturally important tenement blocks nearby through the creation of a conservation area covering the Pullens buildings.

The timetable originally announced was as follows, but is already behind schedule:


The shopping centre, scheduled for demolition in 20122005 Selection of commercial development partner (this finally happened in 2007).
2006 First residential projects commence
2006 Removal of roundabouts and subways (now postponed indefinitely).
2005–2010 Development of the southernmost section of the regeneration area including the Walworth Road extension, the Heygate Boulevard and St Mary's Churchyard.
2006–2011 Phased demolition of the Heygate Estate and relocation of tenants to new social housing in and around Elephant & Castle (now postponed to 2012).
2010 Demolition of the Elephant and Castle shopping centre (now postponed to 2012).
2010–2014 Construction of the Civic Square and start of development on the Heygate footprint.
2014 Completion.
At an international climate change summit in South Korea in May 2009, the Elephant and Castle regeneration scheme was named among 16 worldwide projects which will release less carbon dioxide than they use. At the summit former US President Bill Clinton praised the scheme as a global example for sustainable growth.[4]