All node items

Node

Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The Elephant and Castle was once considered the "Piccadilly Circus of South London", but these days it is a centre of student life, with London South Bank University and the London College of Communication (formerly London College of Printing) having campuses nearby. LCP has occasional exhibitions at the Eckersley Gallery. As a consequence the Elephant benefits from a Blackwell's bookshop in London Road and the excellent Tlön Books secondhand shop in the shopping centre.

The whole area is set to be transformed as part of a much-delayed major regeneration initiative. The most visible place of worship in the area is the Metropolitan Tabernacle with its striking frontage but tucked away in Meadow Row, off Old Kent Road, is the parish church, known as St Matthew's-at-the-Elephant, a lively place with lots going on.

Shopping and culture

Best known for its brightly coloured shopping centre, people either love or hate the Elephant and Castle. The distinctive name is often said to be a corruption of the Spanish "Infanta de Castilla", but there are many other theories - see this discussion in our forum.

The Shopping Centre management has made a real effort in recent years and the quality of the shopping environment has improved dramatically. The ground floor houses chain stores such as Tesco Metro, Iceland, WH Smith, Woolworths, Superdrug, Boots and Peacocks, whilst an eclectic mix of small stores and restaurants has made the first floor a really lively cultural centre. Also in the

Shopping Centre is Palace Bingo and the Elephant and Castle Mega Bowl. A market operates outside the shopping centre.

After several years of dereliction the Coronet has been revived as a superclub, cinema and corporate hire venue. Round the corner in Gaunt Street the Ministry of Sound continues to draw clubbers from across London and beyond.

Food and drink

Pub- A modern pub, The Elephant and Castle, the pub that named the area and has been around in one form of another since 1765. Originally sitting where the Faraday monument is in the middle of the Elephant and Castle roundabout, the pub was first listed in 1765 and catered for the coach traffic coming in and out of south London.

Mamuśka! - Polish Kitchen and Bar Classic Polish cuisine, beer and vodka in an unpretentious location

Schools

London College of Printing and Distributive Trades - It has approximately 5,000 students on almost 50 courses in media, design and screen preparing students for careers in the creative industries. Courses cover diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate level. Multi-media convergence now influences LCC’s specialist areas, including graphic design and advertising, photography, film and animation, journalism, publishing and public relations, sound arts and design and interactive and spatial design.

Charlotte Sharman Primary School-Charlotte Sharmon is an exciting learning community with supportive staff members. Located within the diverse community of elephant and cadstle with excellent treansport links and all the benefits of central London.

Sports

The Castle Centre recently underwent a £20M redevelopment introducing a redeveloped sports hall, brand new state of the art gym, group exercise studios and swimming pools. Along with these facilities they also offer indoor cycling studio.

Snap Fitness Elephant and Castle, a residential 24/7 gym providing access to world-class Techogym cardio equipment, a large free weights area with Olympic lifting rack, group fitness classes (live and virtual!), Spin, functional training area, TRX, and more!

Transport

Elephant and Castle is served by London Buses, London Underground Bakerloo and Northern lines serve the area from Elephant and Castle Station Southeastern and Thameslink services towards Ashford International, Bedford, Dover Priory, London Blackfriars, Luton, Sevenoaks, St Albans City, St Pancras, Sutton, West Hampstead and Wimbledon serve the area.