View of Lower Marsh
View of Lower Marsh
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View of Lower Marsh
SC_PHL_01_251_80_3916 (Collage 90325)
London Metropolitan Archives: LCC Photograph Library
View of Lower Marsh, Waterloo, looking east across Waterloo Road. Shown on James De La Feuille's Map of London, c1690, as a lane lined with cottages and small holdings crossing Lambeth Marsh, it was known as Lambeth Marsh until the middle of the nineteenth century when it became Lambeth Lower Marsh. By the end of the nineteenth century, it was just known as Lower Marsh. Lined with shops, it has also had a market in the street since the nineteenth century. The foreground is crowded with shoppers inspecting the stalls and includes a woman in a hat pushing a pram and looking directly at the camera. On the right a terrace of three and four storey buildings includes number 61 Lower Marsh; the Green Cafe Restaurant, number 62; Cycle Factors, and on the corner with Waterloo Road, The Olive Branch public house, advertising Watneys Ales. These buildings were demolished and the site is now part of the Millennium Green Park. Across Waterloo Road, is The Old Vic Theatre, with a sign for OPERA. The Old Vic was first built in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and was renamed in 1833 as the Royal Victoria Theatre. It was rebuilt in 1871 by J. T. Robinson and reopened as the Royal Victoria Palace. It was remodelled by Elijah Hoole in 1880 and its name changed again to the Royal Victoria Hall although by this time it was known as 'The Old Vic'. It was badly damaged by bombing in World War II and reopened after restoration by Pierre Sonrel in 1951. There was a further major restoration in 1983 and it is Grade II* listed, number 1068710. Emma Cons, the British social reformer, strongly committed to women's suffrage, and campaigner for educational opportunities for the working class, managed the Old Vic from 1880, assisted by her niece Lilian Bayliss.
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