Elephant and Castle, SE17

The Elephant and Castle, commonly shortened to the Elephant, is a major road intersection in inner south London, and is also used as a name for the surrounding district. The Elephant consists of two fairly large roundabouts connected by a short road called Elephant and Castle, part of the A3. Adjacent to the northern roundabout is the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, with an office block called Hannibal House on top, and a residential block called Metro Central Heights, formerly Alexander Fleming House — now both widely derided as "ugly".[citation needed] "Elephant and Castle" has largely replaced the original name of the area — Newington.

The roundabouts direct traffic arriving from and heading to the south-east of England along the A2 — called here the New Kent Road and then the Old Kent Road — and towards the south of England on the A3 as well as splitting traffic into the West End and the City of London via St George's Road, London Road and Newington Causeway from the northern roundabout. Newington Butts and Walworth Road adjoin the southern roundabout. The two roundabouts form part of the London Inner Ring Road and as such form part of the boundary of the London congestion charge zone.

In the middle of the northern roundabout is the Michael Faraday Memorial, a large stainless steel box built in honour of Michael Faraday who was born nearby. His name does not appear on the structure, but there is an inscription in the ground nearby. The structure also contains an electrical transformer for the Northern Line.

The Elephant is also home to Elephant & Castle station, Skipton House (housing the Department of Health), London South Bank University, London College of Communication, Metro Heights (formerly Alexander Fleming House), the Ministry of Sound nightclub and the Metropolitan Tabernacle. The Cuming Museum is nearby.

The name of the area derives from a pub of the same name in the area. The earliest surviving record of the pub's name is in the Court Leet Book of the Manor of Walworth. The court had met at "Elephant and Castle, Newington" on 21 March 1765. An external sign displayed in 2006 asserts that the pub was rebuilt in 1816 and 1898, although the present building, that offers budget accommodation on upper floors, appears to be of mid-20th Century construction.

Useful Links:
Elephant and Castle on Wikipedia
Elephant and Castle
Elephant and Castle regeneration programme
Elephant and Castle map
London Borough of Southwark

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