Events Walks & Tours
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Why are the words ‘Facts not Opinions’ carved over the door at 99 Southwark Street? 

This is Kirkaldy’s Testing and Experimenting Works, and it was the world’s first independent commercial materials testing house, right here in Bankside’s original innovation district. From the day it opened on 1 January 1874 huge samples of bridges and other engineering structures arrived here from around the world to be tested to destruction on David Kirkaldy’s patented 116-ton ‘Universal Testing Machine’. Kirkaldy’s ‘facts’ were transforming the ‘opinions’ that underpinned Victorian cities.

Today, thanks to a small group of passionate volunteers, you can still experience David Kirkaldy’s single-minded ingenuity. Take the tour and you will see – and smell – the authentic workshop with its working machines, bringing the story of materials testing and the Kirkaldy family to life. It’s a direct link with a pioneering age of engineering and thanks to an education programme being developed with local schools, now it is inspiring future generations. Go and visit - you might even get to break something yourself!

[post_title] => 5 Aug - Kirkaldy Testing Works tour [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => 5-aug-kirkaldy-testing-works-tour [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2025-06-10 16:21:17 [post_modified_gmt] => 2025-06-10 15:21:17 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://betterbankside.co.uk/?post_type=event&p=6398 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => event [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [1] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6394 [post_author] => 11 [post_date] => 2025-06-10 16:13:08 [post_date_gmt] => 2025-06-10 15:13:08 [post_content] =>

Join ghost signs expert Sam Roberts for a leisurely stroll through Bankside, learning about the area's fading painted signs. Sam will tell the stories of the signs and the companies they advertised, supported by a collection of archival photography and other contextual images.

The Bankside Ghostsigns Walk was originally developed in 2015 for the London Design Festival in collaboration with Better Bankside. Many of the signs on the route are featured alongside over 250 from across the Capital in Sam's book, Ghost Signs: A London Story..

Tour meeting point, Embassy Tea Building, Union Street.

[post_title] => 29 July - Ghostsigns of Bankside tour [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => 29-july-ghostsigns-of-bankside-tour [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2025-06-13 11:20:24 [post_modified_gmt] => 2025-06-13 10:20:24 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://betterbankside.co.uk/?post_type=event&p=6394 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => event [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [2] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6342 [post_author] => 11 [post_date] => 2025-05-27 11:47:11 [post_date_gmt] => 2025-05-27 10:47:11 [post_content] => This walking tour, hosted by Team London Bridge, along the Low Line will take in the mighty Victorian railway viaducts spanning Bankside, London Bridge and Bermondsey. The Low Line connects diverse neighbourhoods and communities in south London, creating hubs of creativity, entertainment, and industry along its course. Each intervention includes the voices of hyper-local neighbourhoods. Low Line project partners will walk you along and tell you what is happening on the Low Line. Meeting point: Outside Southwark Underground Station (68-70 Blackfriars Rd, London, SE1 8JZ) This event is part of the The London Festival of Architecture (LFA). With activity happening across London, the Festival will once again be platform for conversation, testing new ideas, promoting emerging talent, helping shift us towards a more equitable, sustainable city. All Festival activity for 2025 focuses on the theme of ‘Voices’. You can find some thoughts from the team and LFA2025 Curation Panel below, and explore the LFA2025 programme here. [post_title] => 1 June - LFA 2025: The Low Line - Weaving Through London’s Diverse Neighbourhoods [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => lfa-2025-the-low-line-weaving-through-londons-diverse-neighbourhoods [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2025-05-27 12:41:01 [post_modified_gmt] => 2025-05-27 11:41:01 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://betterbankside.co.uk/?post_type=event&p=6342 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => event [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [3] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6169 [post_author] => 11 [post_date] => 2025-03-18 16:59:07 [post_date_gmt] => 2025-03-18 16:59:07 [post_content] => Discover the Black history of Bankside in this walk that covers over 500 years and includes: Shakespeare, black sailors, international trade, pirates, food , religion, Pan Africanism, Marcus Garvey, Roman ruins and Windrush. The tour is led by Black History Walks, who run guided Walking Tours of London to include its African history which goes back 3,500 years. You are welcome to join this event if you live or work in Bankside. The whole tour will be held outdoors. Meet by the Pizza Express sign at the entrance, by the steps sign as shown here This tour takes place outdoors, so please wear comfortable footwear and dress appropriately for the weather.     [post_title] => 9 October – Black History Tour [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => 9-october-black-history-tour [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2025-04-24 11:14:02 [post_modified_gmt] => 2025-04-24 10:14:02 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://betterbankside.co.uk/?post_type=event&p=6169 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => event [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [4] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6173 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2025-03-18 16:54:59 [post_date_gmt] => 2025-03-18 16:54:59 [post_content] =>

Join Katie Wignall, Blue Badge Tourist Guide and Founder of Look Up London on a walk revealing the exciting, inspiring and courageous women of Bankside.

The walk will explore the stories of woman who lived and worked in Bankside, from social pioneers like Octavia Hill, to famous writers like Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley as well as shedding light on lesser known women like unsung heroines Alice Ayres and Janet Johnson.

Wander the backstreets and beautiful hidden gardens of Bankside as you discover the street names, plaques and hidden details that reveal these incredible women.

Meet at Southwark Station - WhatThreeWords - exact location.

  [post_title] => 23 April - Bankside's Inspiring Women Tour [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => 23-april-banksides-inspiring-women-tour [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2025-04-04 12:26:57 [post_modified_gmt] => 2025-04-04 11:26:57 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://betterbankside.co.uk/?post_type=event&p=6173 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => event [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [5] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6177 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2025-03-18 16:52:36 [post_date_gmt] => 2025-03-18 16:52:36 [post_content] => Discover the Black history of Bankside in this walk that covers over 500 years and includes: Shakespeare, black sailors, international trade, pirates, food , religion, Pan Africanism, Marcus Garvey, Roman ruins and Windrush. The tour is led by Black History Walks, who run guided Walking Tours of London to include its African history which goes back 3,500 years. You are welcome to join this event if you live or work in Bankside. The whole tour will be held outdoors. Meet by the Pizza Express sign at the entrance, by the steps sign as shown here  This tour takes place outdoors, so please wear comfortable footwear and dress appropriately for the weather. [post_title] => 21 May – Black History Tour [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => 21-may-black-history-tour [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2025-04-24 10:52:05 [post_modified_gmt] => 2025-04-24 09:52:05 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://betterbankside.co.uk/?post_type=event&p=6177 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => event [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [6] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6170 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2025-03-18 16:50:48 [post_date_gmt] => 2025-03-18 16:50:48 [post_content] => Sail through history aboard the full-size reconstruction of the famous Elizabethan galleon. The first English ship to circumnavigate the Globe, captained by Sir Francis Drake. Come aboard The Golden Hinde and learn about the two histories, 400 years apart - the circumnavigation of Sir Francis Drake during 1577-80 and the voyages of the reconstruction in the 20th century. The tour covers Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigation and the life, and living conditions, of the Tudor sailors, as well as the building of the reconstruction and its circumnavigations in the 20th century. Please arrive 10mins early. [post_title] => 11 June - Golden Hinde tour [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => 11-june-golden-hinde-tour [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2025-03-20 10:59:27 [post_modified_gmt] => 2025-03-20 10:59:27 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://betterbankside.co.uk/?post_type=event&p=6170 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => event [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [7] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 5737 [post_author] => 11 [post_date] => 2024-10-07 13:36:43 [post_date_gmt] => 2024-10-07 12:36:43 [post_content] => This tour will be run by Unseen Tours, who were born in 2010, and supports vulnerable housed individuals to develop, curate, and lead guided walks to different neighbourhoods of London. Unseen Tours empowers its guides by providing them with a platform to share their stories, offering paid work, confidence, and opportunities for growth. As a social enterprise, the majority of ticket revenue goes to the guides, with any profit reinvested to support more guides and expand the initiative. David, a lifelong Londoner, will guide you on a fascinating walk along the south side of the Thames, uncovering mystery and history. You'll explore the Bankside and venture into Borough’s hidden alleys, visiting a renowned food market, a gothic cathedral, an infamous prison, and a secret archaeological dig. Along the way, David will share stories of inequality, crime, and ghosts, finishing the tour at one of London’s oldest pubs. The meeting point is outside London Bridge Station, by the Shipwrights Arms (88 Tooley Street, SE1 2UN). You can’t miss the pub, it’s painted bright blue! To ensure you have the best experience on your tour (especially with the weather in London being so unpredictable), we encourage you to wrap up warmly, bring extra layers of clothing, and wear comfortable footwear. [post_title] => 7 Nov - Mysterious Alleys, Hidden Pathways: The Unseen Tour of Bankside [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => 7-nov-mysterious-alleys-hidden-pathways-the-unseen-tour-of-bankside [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-10-07 13:36:43 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-10-07 12:36:43 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://betterbankside.co.uk/?post_type=event&p=5737 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => event [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [8] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 5564 [post_author] => 25 [post_date] => 2024-08-27 11:48:04 [post_date_gmt] => 2024-08-27 10:48:04 [post_content] => Discover the Black history of Bankside in this walk that covers over 500 years and includes: Shakespeare, black sailors, international trade, pirates, food , religion, Pan Africanism, Marcus Garvey, Roman ruins and Windrush. The tour is led by Black History Walks, who run guided Walking Tours of London to include its African history which goes back 3,500 years. You are welcome to join this event if you live or work in Bankside. The whole tour will be held outdoors. Meet by the Pizza Express sign at the entrance, by the steps sign as shown here https://www.google.com/maps/@51.508301,-0.0960509,2a,75y,206.66h,89.94t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sM74F1Sa15AAJcrz6Mqa9hA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu    [post_title] => 1 Oct – Black History Tour [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => 1-oct-black-history-tour [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-10-01 11:28:10 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-10-01 10:28:10 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://betterbankside.co.uk/?post_type=event&p=5564 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => event [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [9] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 5553 [post_author] => 13 [post_date] => 2024-08-22 11:57:09 [post_date_gmt] => 2024-08-22 10:57:09 [post_content] => As part of London Design Festival 2024. Ghostsigns are advertisements for products or companies that are no longer available today, yet they still cling to the walls above and along today's streets offering a window into the past. The signs can be hand-painted onto walls, carved into wood, incised into the fabric of a building or forged in metal. Take Courage and 'Commit No Nuisance' as you discover letterforms of various shapes, types, forms and sizes in the backstreets of Southwark between Blackfriars Road and Borough Market. See how sign makers of old had their own styles and how they created and applied their designs. Hear the fascinating stories about the companies advertised, with products as varied as hops and shops, boxing and boxes, tea and textiles, lightwells and linctus, churches and chocolate. See the site of one of the largest breweries in the country, hear how one company grew rapidly to become a kind of B&Q of its day, and how another created security systems that changed the banking world. We'll also say hello to a dog that Dickens knew and consider a few enigmas along the way in the form of signage that ought to belong elsewhere and examples recently-created pastiches. The tour lasts approx two hours and ends a few minutes' walk from London Bridge station. Jane Parker is a qualified London guide, a typographer, designer and keen photographer. For many decades she has been 'collecting' and researching London's oven-overlooked details. [post_title] => Looking at Letterform – The Ghostsigns of Southwark with Jane Parker [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => looking-at-letterform-the-ghostsigns-of-southwark-with-jane-parker [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-08-22 11:57:09 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-08-22 10:57:09 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://betterbankside.co.uk/?post_type=event&p=5553 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => event [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [10] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 5277 [post_author] => 25 [post_date] => 2024-04-19 10:40:39 [post_date_gmt] => 2024-04-19 09:40:39 [post_content] => Join us on Tuesday 7 May for a special lunchtime tour of Shakespeare's Globe! Get ready to immerse yourself in the world of the famous playwright as we explore the iconic theatre where many of his greatest works were performed. You are welcome to join the tour if you live or work in Bankside. [post_title] => 7 May - Tour of Shakespeare's Globe [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => 7-may-tour-of-shakespeares-globe [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-04-19 11:28:22 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-04-19 10:28:22 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://betterbankside.co.uk/?post_type=event&p=5277 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => event [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [11] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 5140 [post_author] => 25 [post_date] => 2024-02-14 16:11:06 [post_date_gmt] => 2024-02-14 16:11:06 [post_content] =>

Join Katie Wignall, Blue Badge Tourist Guide and Founder of Look Up London on a walk revealing the exciting, inspiring and courageous women of Bankside as part of our series of events celebrating International Women's Day.

The walk will explore the stories of woman who lived and worked in Bankside, from social pioneers like Octavia Hill, to famous writers like Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley as well as shedding light on lesser known women like unsung heroines; Alice Ayres and Janet Johnson.

Wander the backstreets and beautiful hidden gardens of Bankside as you discover the street names, plaques and hidden details that reveal these incredible women.

Meet at Southwark Station - WhatThreeWords - exact location.

  [post_title] => 5 March - Bankside's Inspiring Women Tour [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => 5-march-banksides-inspiring-women-tour [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-02-14 16:11:58 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-02-14 16:11:58 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://betterbankside.co.uk/?post_type=event&p=5140 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => event [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) ) [post_count] => 12 [current_post] => -1 [before_loop] => 1 [in_the_loop] => [post] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6398 [post_author] => 11 [post_date] => 2025-06-10 16:18:08 [post_date_gmt] => 2025-06-10 15:18:08 [post_content] =>

Why are the words ‘Facts not Opinions’ carved over the door at 99 Southwark Street? 

This is Kirkaldy’s Testing and Experimenting Works, and it was the world’s first independent commercial materials testing house, right here in Bankside’s original innovation district. From the day it opened on 1 January 1874 huge samples of bridges and other engineering structures arrived here from around the world to be tested to destruction on David Kirkaldy’s patented 116-ton ‘Universal Testing Machine’. Kirkaldy’s ‘facts’ were transforming the ‘opinions’ that underpinned Victorian cities.

Today, thanks to a small group of passionate volunteers, you can still experience David Kirkaldy’s single-minded ingenuity. Take the tour and you will see – and smell – the authentic workshop with its working machines, bringing the story of materials testing and the Kirkaldy family to life. It’s a direct link with a pioneering age of engineering and thanks to an education programme being developed with local schools, now it is inspiring future generations. Go and visit - you might even get to break something yourself!

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