The twentieth century
1 total work
This selection of photographs illustrates the transformation of the London Borough of Southwark over the 20th century. It covers Bermondsey, Camberwell, Peckham and Dulwich, as well as Southwark itself, and offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people. It also offers an impression of familiar streets and districts as they developed during a century of unprecedented change. Every aspect of the recent history of the borough is covered, from schools, work and the home, to transport and roads, entertainment, shopping and local politics. The fads and fashions of successive generations are recalled, and famous occasions and individuals are remembered. The book also shows how national and international events had a lasting impact - the Boer war, the two world wars, the Depression, the loss of empire, the welfare state, the accelerating prosperity and, within living memory, the coming of new businesses and lifestyles. The book pays particular attention to local events and the daily concerns of local people and gives insights into their attitudes as they faced the challenges of the day.
It also provides an account of the continuous material changes that have so altered the appearance of the area - rebuilding and the spread of housing, new shopping arrangements and the forms of transport, new road schemes and architecture. Seeking to make sense of a century of development and upheaval, the sequence of photographs records the process of transformation and demonstrates how different the Southwark of today is from the district of 1900.
It also provides an account of the continuous material changes that have so altered the appearance of the area - rebuilding and the spread of housing, new shopping arrangements and the forms of transport, new road schemes and architecture. Seeking to make sense of a century of development and upheaval, the sequence of photographs records the process of transformation and demonstrates how different the Southwark of today is from the district of 1900.