Follow the Elephant: Exploring Walworth and Elephant & Castle

Did you know?
Charlie Chaplain was born East Street, 1889.
In the late 1890s, he lived in Lambeth
Workhouse (now the Cinema Museum).

Walworth was rural with market gardens and meadows. By 1746, the two commons (Walworth Common and Lower Moor Common became overcrowded as more people came to Walworth. Many people were so poor they squatted on the common which angered the rich! The wealthy used their influence to get an Act of Parliament enclosing the commons which allowed them to build on it.

The population grew fast and in 1870, the slums were demolished and very little of Walworth Common remained.

During the 19th and 20th centuries, the area declined further. After World War Two, it became urgent to clear the slums and bomb damage. New housing estates were built in the 1960s. Today, these estates have been demolished as part of a regeneration programme due to be finished in 2025.

Several notable people have come from this area, including Charlie Chaplin, Michael Faraday and Charles Babbage.

We meet at Kennington Station

We introduce ourselves over coffee before we begin the walk

On the walk we see:

• Cinema Museum (originally Lambeth Workhouse where Charlie Chaplin spent time, 1890s)
• Birth place of Charlie Chaplin
• Metropolitan Tabernacle, built 1861
• Michael Faraday Memorial (chemist and physicist)
• Charles Babbage plaque (mathmetician and astronomer, thought of as the farther of the computer)
• East Street Market, here since 1880
• St Peter's Church, 1824
• Royal Surrey Zoological Gardens (now Pasley Park), one of the first public zoos in London, 1831
  

... and much more!

Did you know?
Charles Babbage was born here, 1791. He
developed the first machines able to perform
mathematical calculations. He also created
the Analytical Engine - the revolutionary
device that led to the invention of computers.
.

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Did you know?
Kennington Common (now Kennington Park)
was known for mass demonstrations and
public executions until 1800. It was also
one of the earliest London cricket grounds
used for major cricket matches from 1724.

Michael Faraday Memorial

Go over the new vocabulary at the end.


At the end, relax over a tea and go over the new vocabulary together. Ask your teacher any questions.

History notes will be given at the end.

Don't forget the vocabulary!

After your walk, find the new vocabulary here ...

Durning Library, 1889

East Street Market, Walworth (Charlie Chaplain was born here)

Did you know?
104 civilians were killed in Kennington Park when their shelter was bombed, October 1940.