CULTURAL HERITAGE
The Site
Crossbones is a small plot of land with a fascinating history. It is believed to have been an unconsecrated graveyard for sex workers, or “single women”, who were known as “Winchester Geese” because they were licensed by the Bishop of Winchester to work within the locality, the Liberty of the Clink. It later became a cemetery for the poor of St. Saviour’s parish and was closed in 1853 amid concerns for public health. The site was subsequently used as a builder’s yard until warehouses were built on the land. They were demolished in the 1960s and the site became derelict and largely forgotten. In the mid-1990s, half of the site was lost to a sub-station for the new Jubilee Line extension. This brought together a group of activists who sought to protect the remaining half from further development. Bankside Open Spaces Trust began managing the space and enabled a range of improvements including construction of a goose-wing canopy that welcomes visitors at the entrance.
Design Services
LGLA Projects has worked in collaboration with the Crossbones community since 2019, developing a scheme that recognises the cultural history and more recent site interventions in order to enhance accessibility and protect it for future generations.
Results
The proposals will be realised in conjunction with a new development, the Liberty of Southwark, on adjacent land to the north by architects Allies & Morrison.
Client: Landsec
Leaseholder: Bankside Open Spaces Trust
Architect: Allies and Morrison
Planning Consultant: Lichfields
Communications Consultant: Lowick
Engineers: Robert Bird Group
Cost Consultant: Atkins Realis
Bespoke Structures: YesMake
MEP: Arup
