Removals in London Bridge, between the river and the railway

What a London Bridge move is actually like

Southwark’s own Tooley Street conservation area appraisal describes the area as a tight riverside strip hemmed in by London Bridge, Tower Bridge and its approach, and the railway viaduct into London Bridge station. On the 1896 map the river frontage from London Bridge to Tower Bridge was almost entirely wharves and warehouses. The station and its viaduct cleared much of the slum housing, and the number of people living here fell. That history explains the homes we move people out of today. There are few houses, a handful of Victorian blocks, some estate housing and the flats that have filled the gaps since. A London Bridge move is nearly always a flat removal, and the plan starts with the building, not the van.

Devon Mansions and the mansion blocks on the south side

Devon Mansions went up in 1875 along the south side of Tooley Street, built as tenement blocks, part of the answer to overcrowding and poor sanitation in the streets around the wharves. The appraisal describes six- and seven-storey mansion blocks at the east end of the street, with rows of sash windows and street railings that guard the half-basements and the main entrances. For us that means two things. Upper flats are usually a stair carry, so we ask whether your entrance has a lift and price the stairs if it does not. Half-basement flats sit below the pavement behind those railings, so everything goes up a short flight of steps before it reaches the van. Our notes on moving into or out of a basement flat cover what to measure first.

Victorian stairs turn tightly, and a sofa that came in flat-packed may not leave in one piece. Before the day we ask for the width of the stair at its narrowest turn and the size of your largest pieces. If something will not make the turn, we say so at the quote and plan to take it apart, rather than finding out on the landing. The checklist for measuring furniture before a flat move is worth working through before you book.

Fair Street, Magdalene Street and the yards behind Tooley Street

The St Olave’s Estate block on Fair Street, next to the Victorian pub on the Druid Street corner, is the most obvious estate housing in this part of SE1. Behind the Tooley Street frontage, the appraisal picks out yards between Tooley Street and the viaduct where infill housing has been built, with Lion Court by Magdalene Street as its example, and notes the fenced yards and parking areas around it. Some of these blocks have a private yard or car park where a van can stand, and some only have the street. Ask your managing agent whether the gate takes a van and who holds the fob, and we will plan from the answer. Newer blocks usually want the lift booked and protected, and some ask for our insurance certificate first. Our guide to what to ask a block of flats before moving day covers the rest, and it is worth sending to the building before you book a date.

The river side of Tooley Street

North of Tooley Street, the big riverside buildings are former warehouses and their replacements: Hay’s Galleria, the London Bridge Hospital riverside block and the More London offices. Few people live on that side and a great many work there, so the moves there are mostly office removals in London Bridge. The river walk in front is for people on foot, so a van does not load from the riverside. Everything leaves through the Tooley Street side or a service entrance, and the building manager tells us which one and when.

The viaduct and the station footways

The appraisal also notes that the railway arches converted to shops and cafés bring signage, pedestrian access problems and crowding on the footway, and it singles out the traffic works on Duke Street Hill. In practice the Tooley Street pavements are at their busiest when the station is, early morning and early evening. We stage boxes inside the building rather than on the pavement, keep one porter with the van at all times, and on weekdays aim to load outside those peaks. Tell us if your entrance is under or beside an arch, because a narrow pavement there changes how we carry.

Short tenancies and gaps between keys

If you rent here, whether you work at the hospitals or study at King’s College London’s Guy’s Campus, the end of one tenancy and the start of the next rarely line up, so we often collect from a flat here and hold the load in secure storage until the next set of keys is ready. If you are leaving a rented flat, our page on end-of-tenancy moves covers the checkout, the final gas and electricity readings and how to time the clean around the van.

Call 020 3983 5199 with your building, floor and date for a fixed price on your London Bridge removal.

Removals London Bridge price guide

Typical prices for a flat or house with normal access. Your fixed quote is confirmed before you book:

Guide prices only. A Southwark bay suspension, the Congestion Charge during charging hours and any long carry from the kerb are shown as separate lines in your quote.

Next door to London Bridge

London Bridge’s neighbours have their own pages, and we cover Bankside and the streets towards Southwark Bridge from here too: