Bankside and Borough · Southwark
Home Care in Bankside and Borough, SE1
Visiting carers for the people who live between Blackfriars Road and Borough High Street, in Peabody blocks, almshouses, Octavia Hill's cottages, the Tabard Gardens estate and the new flats by the river. London Bridge is about ten minutes by train from our Lewisham office, so regular visits are realistic here when a carer is free at your times.
More than Borough Market and Tate Modern
Bankside and Borough are best known for the market, the cathedral and the galleries, but people have lived in these streets for centuries, and many homes are in housing built by reformers to replace the slums that once stood here:
- Peabody Square on Blackfriars Road, from the early 1870s, one of the largest early blocks of model dwellings in London.
- Hopton's Almshouses on Hopton Street, built in 1752 and still homes today, right behind Tate Modern.
- Red Cross Cottages on Redcross Way, built in the 1880s for Octavia Hill beside the garden she created, now managed by Octavia Housing.
- The Tabard Gardens Estate off Long Lane and Tabard Street, an early London County Council slum-clearance scheme.
Alongside them are post-war council blocks and, closer to the river, new apartment buildings with lifts and concierges. Old buildings bring narrow stairs, small bathrooms and few lifts; new ones bring fobs, entry systems and building rules. We look at both at the assessment.
Stones End, the older people's hub on Scovell Road
Borough has the borough-wide base for older people's services on its doorstep. Stones End Day Centre, 11 Scovell Road, SE1 1QQ, near Borough station, is where Age UK Lewisham and Southwark and Ageing Well Southwark are based. According to Age UK's own services list, from there it runs:
- day care for older Southwark residents, including people living with dementia or at risk of loneliness, with door-to-door transport;
- a handyperson service, Tuesday to Thursday, for small jobs that make a home safer;
- Happy Feet, a not-for-profit toenail cutting service;
- information and advice on money, housing and rights, by phone, at the office or on a home visit.
The main number is 020 7701 9700. Our visits fit around all of this, for example getting someone ready before the day centre's transport arrives.
How quickly carers reach SE1 from Lewisham
Quickly, by London standards. Southeastern trains run from Lewisham to London Bridge, and from there Borough is a short walk or one stop on the Northern line, while Southwark station on the Jubilee line serves the Bankside end. Blackfriars station has an entrance on Bankside itself. That short journey is why visiting care works here. It still depends on having a carer free for your times, and we will be straight with you about that.
Carers come by train, not by car. Borough and Bankside are inside the Congestion Charge zone, and parking is tight. Bankside's controlled parking zone, C1, runs every day from 8am to 11pm, and the London Bridge zone, F, runs Monday to Saturday. A family member or friend who is the main carer can apply for Southwark's resident informal carer permit with a GP letter, but it covers on-street bays only; estates run their own permits.
Guy's, St Thomas' and the memory service on Blackfriars Road
Guy's Hospital sits on the eastern edge of Borough, by London Bridge, but has no A&E. Emergencies go to St Thomas' in Lambeth, run by the same trust. After a stay, Southwark's reablement team may give short-term support at home first. When that ends, or if more help is needed, our hospital discharge support can follow on. Call us early.
The Southwark and Lambeth Memory Service is in the neighbourhood itself, at 151 Blackfriars Road, SE1 8EL. GPs usually make the referral; it assesses adults with memory problems and supports carers afterwards. A carer can go with someone to the appointment. See our dementia care page.
Can Southwark Council help pay for home care in Borough?
It may. Southwark's Older People and Physical Disabilities team assesses whether someone is eligible. Use the online referral, or phone on weekdays if you cannot use the form or need urgent help. If the council funds care, it means-tests the contribution, and a direct payment lets the person choose their own provider. We give a written quote after the free assessment. Our Southwark home care page covers carers' assessments and direct payments.
Live-in care and breaks
Where the home has a spare bedroom, live-in care in Bankside and Borough gives support through the day and night. For a family carer who needs time off, respite care can be extra visits or a short live-in stay.
Everything our carers can help with →
Home care elsewhere in Southwark
Around Bankside and Borough
Getting to and around Bankside and Borough
Postcodes
SE1
Stations and buses
London Bridge (Southeastern direct from Lewisham, Thameslink, Southern, Jubilee and Northern lines), Borough (Northern), Southwark (Jubilee), Blackfriars (Thameslink and Southeastern, with a Bankside entrance)
Parking
Bankside CPZ C1 operates every day 8am-11pm; London Bridge zone F Monday to Saturday. Red Cross Garden and Mint Street Park (Bankside Open Spaces Trust).
Council adult social care
London Borough of Southwark, 020 7525 3324.
Mum lives in Peabody Square on Blackfriars Road. Is that Bankside or Waterloo?
Blackfriars Road is in Southwark, so she is covered here and her council is Southwark. Addresses further west, around Coin Street and Waterloo station, are usually in Lambeth; see our Waterloo page.
Can a carer take Dad to the Stones End Day Centre?
The centre runs its own transport, but if he needs help getting ready first, a morning visit can be timed around the pick-up. Contact Age UK Lewisham and Southwark about a place.
My aunt lives in one of the almshouses. Can she have carers coming in?
Yes. Tell the charity or warden that carers will be visiting and agree how they get in. Almshouse flats are often small, so we check the bathroom and any equipment at the assessment.
Is this the same area as your Bermondsey and Elephant and Castle pages?
No. This page covers the riverside and Borough High Street side of SE1. Bermondsey begins further east, around Bermondsey Street, and Elephant and Castle lies to the south.
Nearby
Nearest areas to Bankside and Borough outside Southwark
Closest first, measured in a straight line from the centre of Bankside and Borough.
