Lambeth in Victorian Times Live links to other web sites are
included. If you visit an external source please use your back
arrow to return to this page or to your previous page. For most
of the century Lambeth remained part of Surrey. Parish
boundaries were then the only form of local organisation;
Lambeth, or the area known as South Marsh, beyond the river bank
was still mostly rural and remained so for several decades, low-
lying, marshy in places but crowded with market gardens which
helped to provide London with fresh vegetables. To the south
also were St George's Fields, the scene of many rather riotous
gatherings, including the famous Gordon Riots of 1780. Street
markets sprang up here which have survived in various forms, and
the theatres and music halls and other less desirable places of
entertainment drew large crowds from London across the river.
The more northerly part of Lambeth was referred to as North
Marsh. It was a hive of activity. There was now a continuous
line of docks and wharves and stai